A few weeks ago, Kenyon College released a YouTube video featuring all of Kenyon’s sports teams rallying around the college’s newest student organization. Juniors Avery Anderson and Emilia Louy are the co-founders of Kenyon College Athletes for Equality (KCAE). Both students wholeheartedly support the message the video is trying to get across: if you can play, you can play. HerCampus sat down with these two amazing women to learn a little bit more about KCAE, their mission, and what they do here at Kenyon.
Interview Part I: Avery Marie Anderson
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Major: Neuroscience & Psychology
Hometown: Hinsdale, IL
Kenyon Activities: Women’s Basketball, President of Kenyon Student-Athlete Association, Kenyon College Athletes for Equality co-founder and co-president, Relay for Life Committee, Dean’s Advisory Council, rollerblading on the gap trail, eating chocolate chip scones from Peirce, frequenting NiteBites for a Nutella shake, laying on south quad reading poetry, watching my roommate climb trees.
HCK: How has being an athlete shaped your Kenyon experience?
AA: Coach Helfant has greatly shaped my Kenyon experience. She has challenged me to grow more than anyone in my life thus far, because she expects the best from us. Being an athlete has also shaped the groups of people I hang out with—maybe because we are around each other all the time anyways or because our schedules are so similar or because we can relate to each other. More recently, though I’ve started spreading my wings a little bit in the sense that I don’t only hang out with athletes anymore, and it’s a nice change…I’m not sure why our campus is pretty divided athletes and non-athletes but I don’t think it needs to be.
What kind of support system does your team offer you?
My team is my family on campus. Every single one of them is like a sister to me, I’m not exaggerating. We have each other’s backs no matter what. I’m sure a lot of people are sort of intimidated or put off by the fact that we do everything together, but that’s just because we are so close. I’m even friends with KCWB alums that I’ve never even played with because when they come back there’s a simple understanding that they are part of the family too.
What has been your favorite class at Kenyon?
Drawing I with Read Baldwin…he’s the coolest. I also just love art and this is the first studio class I’ve taken at Kenyon. It’s a really fun and relaxed atmosphere with great people.
What is an important lesson you have learned in college?
To be open to anything. An open mind is the secret weapon to life. I feel like trying to approach every day with that perspective has made me a happier, more confident person.
What is your favorite TV show? Favorite character on the show?
24, by far. Jack Bauer was literally my idol through high school. He always saves the country, and it only takes him 24 hours to do it! He’s a baller. I still secretly dream of being him when I grow up…or Chloe O’Brien, Jack Bauer’s partner in crime but doing the behind the scenes strategic work, because she is badass.
What are you most proud of having accomplished at Kenyon?
The Athletes for Equality video we just recently produced and released. I think sexuality is something that is ignored or avoided in athletics, specifically in comparison to the rest of campus, and I don’t think it should be that way. Being LGBTQ should be viewed no differently that being straight and that means it shouldn’t be an awkward thing to talk about. It also means that LGBTQ students have the right to completely own their identity and be proud of it just as much as anyone else does.
More about this video: what message were you trying to get across to Kenyon students?
The main message of our video is that sexuality is not something that alienates you in our athletic programs. We have teams that accept each other and are there for each other no matter what. It is important for prospective students to see that Kenyon is a safe place for all athletes, and it is important for closeted athletes to see that they have support.
Why did you feel it was important to found KCAE?
The main reason I wanted to start KCAE was to eliminate stigma attached to being openly LGBTQ and talking about it, specifically as it relates to participating in athletics.
What do you hope KCAE will provide for athletes here at Kenyon?
I hope KCAE provides students and student-athletes with the confidence to know there are supporters out there, and there are people like you. We are not alone. I hope that KCAE can be a safety net, an outlet, a community, and a fun spot to talk and learn about the LGBTQ presence in athletics and feel comfortable with who you are.
If you could say something to every athlete who is afraid of revealing their sexual orientation to their team, what would it be?
No one should feel pressured to do something they don’t want to, but I do believe that being out is the healthiest thing an LGBTQ person can do for him/herself. You will feel a huge weight off your shoulders when you come out, and there will be people there to support and love you. You have a right to be happy and honest with yourself.
Leave us with some words of wisdom. What do you really believe in? What do you think is really important?
I like to live my life on a foundation of honesty, and I truly believe that being honest solves nearly, if not all, issues. Yeah, the truth can be hard sometimes, but if it’s the truth, there will be a way to deal with it and move forward. Love and friendship and happiness are all based off of honesty.
Continue onto the next page for Interview Part II with Emilia Louy!
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Interview Part II: Emilia Manon Louy
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Major: International Studies, Concentration in Environmental Studies
Hometown: Santa Monica, CA
Kenyon Activities: Unity House, Overnight Hosting Chair in Admissions, Kenyon College Athletes for Equality co-founder and co-president, Classroom Volunteer at Wiggin Street Elementary, Community Service Pre-Orientation Leader, Crozier Sisters, former member of the Ladies Softball Team.
HCK: What has been a powerful moment for you at Kenyon?
EL: First semester last year when a group of students, faculty, and staff members met on Middle Path at 8:00 am the Wednesday after Unity House’s pride flags had been vandalized that past weekend. It was really inspiring to have so many people rally together to line Middle Path with rainbow flags and stand in solidarity in light of recent events. I remember walking up from the science quad after class and seeing all of Middle Path lined with rainbow flags – it was absolutely beautiful.
Who inspires you and why?
Dorothea Lange. Many people know her as the photographer responsible for the famous Migrant Mother portrait that was taken during the Great Depression, but she also documented Japanese Americans in World War II internment camps for the U.S. government. As a part of her contract, Lange was instructed to show the U.S. government in a positive light – meaning she couldn’t photograph barbed wire, watchtowers, or armed soldiers guarding the camps. However, Lange decided to portray the internees in their true social context in order to accurately document the violation of Japanese Americans’ civil rights. In the end, she abided by her contract and turned in all negatives, prints, and undeveloped film from her assignment. The controversial material was impounded and stored in the National Archives instead of the Library of Congress, and wasn’t revealed to the pubic until 2003.
How does she inspire you?
Dorothea Lange’s courage inspires me to stand up and fight for what I believe is right in the world even if it means taking risks and doing something that is different from my peers.
What is your favorite Peirce food?
Blueberry scones
What is your favorite Halloween movie?
Hocus Pocus
If you had one million dollars and one day to spend it, what would you do?
I would book a first class plane ticket to Australia and go on a duckbilled platypus tour with my aunts and cousins (yes, that exists.)
Where do you hope to be in five years and what do you hope to be doing?
I hope to be happy and loving life as a teacher or as a grad student working towards my Masters Degree in Education.
Why did you feel it was important to found KCAE?
KCAE stemmed from the Sports and Sexuality discussion that Unity House hosted last semester. After that discussion Avery Anderson, Coach Suzanne Helfant, and I felt that this was a conversation that needed to happen on a regular basis rather than just once a year. We want people to know that it’s okay and possible to be a successful athlete who happens to be LGBTQ.
Tell us a little bit about the video you made and the message you were trying to get across to students at Kenyon.
This video was something we planned over the summer and filmed at the beginning of this semester. We asked a few teams, student-athletes (both varsity and club teams), coaches, and faculty to partake in conveying our message. With help from Mia Barnett’15, Tate Glover’16, and the rest of Public Affairs we were able to successfully shoot, edit, and complete this project. The main message of our video is for current and prospective students and student-athletes to know that, no matter your sexuality or gender identity, you are welcome in the Athletics Department at Kenyon. If you can play, you can play.
What do you hope KCAE will provide for athletes here at Kenyon?
I hope that KCAE will foster an open and safe environment for people to discuss how we all can make athletics a safe space for those who identify as LGBTQ or as a straight ally.
Leave us with some words of wisdom. What do you really believe in? What do you think is really important?
“I personally subscribe to the belief that normal is just a setting on the dryer.” – Jodi Picoult, House Rules; and “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
[Photo Sources: Facebook]