Four crosswalks in downtown State College have been painted the colors of a rainbow in celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month.
The Borough of State College and Penn State’s University Park Undergraduate Association teamed up to create the rainbow crosswalks to show a welcoming message toward the LGBTQ community.
At the intersection of South Allen Street and Calder Way, Rebecca Lundin watched her two sons, Alex and Cam, play on the rainbow crosswalks.
Lundin said she talks to her young sons about what the rainbow symbolizes.
“I think if they’re raised knowing that same sex relationships are okay, then they just know that it’s okay,” she said.
Tamar London, chair of the Centre LGBTQ Support Network, said her organization had thought about doing rainbow crosswalks next year, so the crosswalks being painted over the weekend was a meaningful surprise.
“It meant a tremendous amount,” she said. “It’s really an important symbol of what this town is about, and how welcoming it is to the LGBTQ community.”
“Pride month is a celebration of the contributions, history, lived experiences and identities of the LGBTQ+ community,” Borough Councilman Dan Murphy, who headed the idea, said in a statement. “It is a powerful statement for State College to join that celebration with the rainbow crosswalks downtown.”
Douglas Shontz, spokesperson for the borough, said the latex paint used to create the rainbow crosswalks should last about a month, but the borough is looking into making a rainbow crosswalk permanent.
