Iona’s Love is Love club kicked off Coming Out Week with their “Post-It Positive” event, where students wrote anonymous Post-it notes with positive messages and placing them on a decorated board, in LaPenta Lobby on Oct. 8.

Many of the students passing by the board jumped at the chance to share their positivity with the rest of the Iona community. The main purpose of the board is for “people to come and write notes of encouragement as well as showing their acceptance and support of students looking to come out this week,” said Love is Love President Kaitlyn Camperlino.

A number of students came to support the club’s event and posted notes that shared encouraging messages including “you are strong” and “you matter.” Many of the students who gathered around the board spoke about how they wanted to give encouragement to those who might not feel loved.

“One of the things I love about this event is that it highlights the whole community coming together and supporting this one particular group,” senior Alyssa Garcia said.“‘Post-It Positive’ just shows that we can still spread positivity one Post-it at a time and encourage the acceptance of people in our community.”

Other students had similar thoughts as they read the board of messages before posting their own.  Many hoped that the notes would be a guiding light for those in the LGBTQ community who struggle with acceptance.

“For anybody who doesn’t feel valid or accepted, if you don’t think you have a great support system, you have us!” Giovanna Scrimo, the Love is Love Social Media and Public Relations Chair, said, “That’s what this club is all about!”

Scrimo’s sentiment was shared among the other participants, like senior Lisa Arbizu.

“You never know what somebody’s going through and maybe just walking past and reading something or writing something can help them out,” Arbizu said.

The theme of acceptance went hand in hand with the feeling of positivity that Love is Love wants to spread.  Many students hope that the board will help shine a light on a community that they feel is underrepresented.

Love is Love Treasurer Te’Rell Knox hopes the board will shine some light on the community as a whole.