Fox Pride Brings Students Together for Lavender Ball

Victoria Cardone '26 and Abigail Storing '26, the president and treasurer of Fox Pride, standing together at the Lavender Ball. Photo via Mia DeSimone '25

The Fox Pride Club held its annual Lavender Ball in the Cabaret on April 20.

Fox Pride is a club at Marist College that aims to create a safe space and support network for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, alumni and allies. The Lavender Ball is held at the end of the spring semester as a way for club members to come together, dance and listen to music.

Every year, the Lavender Ball has a different theme that allows attendees to express creativity and their sense of style. The themes were suggested by members back in September and included Halloween, witchy and gothic. They landed on ‘Ghostly Gothic,’ the top-voted theme among members.

Fox Pride got creative when planning and decorating for the Lavender Ball. Treasurer Abigail Storing ‘26 put lots of time and dedication into making the big cauldron that was set up by a purple backdrop for pictures.

To pull off such an event, Fox Pride got all hands on deck to make sure everything ran smoothly. Victoria Cardone ‘26, president of Fox Pride, reached out to her sister for extra help. Cardone's sister made the decorations for the ball.

Cardone proclaimed their love for the club and pride in the outcome of this year's Lavender Ball. “My high school self has a place to go,” said Cardone.

“I think it’s very important we have a proud club; it feels much more inclusive, and you get to meet more queer people,” said Juniper Wong ‘27, who thinks that having spaces for the LGBTQ+ community on campus is important and the Lavender Ball is a great way to promote the club and the community surrounding it.

The ball not only services the Marist community, but also the Dutchess County community. The proceeds are donated to Dutchess County Pride, which helps raise awareness and support the LGBTQ+ community through events and support groups.