April 28, 2025: LGBTQIA+ Wedding Protest and Performance

Requesting journalist: Natalie Comerford

Respondent: Sarah Bolton, President

1. How do you see this wedding as a piece of protest and/or performance?

I think that the words of the people whose wedding this was, which were also echoed in my comments in the ceremony, say it best.  This wedding was many things.  Most centrally, it was a moment to celebrate a lifelong commitment of two people who are choosing to be each other's partners and family forever, witnessed by a community of loving friends who pledge to support them.  It was also a protest, a performance, and a reminder of the importance of the rights to choose family and to have those commitments formalized under the law. 

2. Does the timing of this protest contribute to its significance?

I think so, in the sense that rights for the LGBTQIA+ community are being eroded in many states, as well as at the federal level.

3. How did you see your role as officiating the ceremony? Does your role as President of the College contribute to the protest/performance of the event?

My main role, as I saw it, was to make sure that the ceremony was official under Washington State law, and also to celebrate the marriage of this wonderful couple whose life together started here at Whitman.   It is not an entirely unusual thing for college presidents to be asked to officiate at a wedding.