An Oxford College Hoists First Ever Rainbow Flag

Wadham College, an Oxford University campus, has raised its "first-ever rainbow flag" above a main school building in commemoration of its annual Queerfest celebration, according to PinkNews.

Queerfest organizer and student Michael Brooks, 19, came up with the idea after consulting with other students and decided to discuss it with school officials. "We discussed it with the college dean and then it went through to the Governing Body," he said in the report. "Everyone responded really positively to the idea and we ended up flying the rainbow flag over Wadham for an entire week."

Queerfest, which began last week, is part of Queerweek, a collection of talks, forums, and social events intended to celebrate gay history and culture as well as raise awareness of LGBT rights.

"Putting up the flag was such a simple thing to do, but it had a huge effect on Oxford. I heard many people from different colleges talking about it. It challenges the stereotypes people have of Oxford and I hope that will make those within Oxford who do hold very conservative views concerning LGBTQ rights to think differently," added Brooks.