{"id":798,"date":"2023-07-14T21:08:59","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T21:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/?p=798"},"modified":"2023-07-14T21:08:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T21:08:59","slug":"extraordinarily-excellent-academic-achievement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2023\/07\/14\/extraordinarily-excellent-academic-achievement\/","title":{"rendered":"Extraordinarily Excellent Academic Achievement"},"content":{"rendered":"

New LGBTQ+ academic award named for alumni leaders and awarded to accomplished graduating senior and digital animator Griffin Weber.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

By Deborah Alvarez O\u2019Neil<\/span><\/strong>
\nPhotos by Matt Wright \u201910<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the make-believe world of YouTube show<\/span> Excellent Entities<\/span><\/i>, the endearing little characters undertake some outrageous hijinks and more than a bit of troublemaking as they vie for <\/span>1 BAJILLION DOLLARS!<\/span> There\u2019s the time Moonstone confuses hydrofluoric acid for milk. Oops. And Broomer and TOL break into their friend Chalky\u2019s house to unapologetically drink all his soda. Once during a paintball match, Feather rigs a scary contraption to hurl fellow competitors into space.<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that is not allowed: homophobia. In episode 7 of season 2 (dubbed <\/span>Extraordinarily Excellent Entities<\/span><\/i>), Chocolate Bar learns this the hard way when he makes a shocking declaration to the competitors: \u201cYou are all eliminated because you are gay!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The characters appear crestfallen. Latte\u2019s mouth falls open. Clay winces in pain. Chalky scratches his head, puzzled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Chocolate Bar\u2019s phone rings. The caller announces that Chocolate Bar is under arrest for discrimination and suspended from the show. Gummy Bear will be taking his place. And that\u2019s that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"This lovable and spirited animated show with positive LGBTQ+ messages woven throughout boasts some 365,000 viewers and is the creation of Worcester State 2023 graduating senior Griffin Weber. An accomplished and self-taught digital animator and communications major, Weber is the first recipient of Worcester State\u2019s new Negr\u00f3n Cruz-Audet LGBTQ+ Academic Excellence Award, honoring an LGBTQ+ student with an outstanding academic record. Weber accepted the award in April and graduated <\/span>summa cum laude<\/span><\/i> in May.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means so much to me to be representing my community and to be awarded academically for a lot of hard work. I\u2019ve put a lot of work into college at Worcester State,\u201d Weber said. \u201cI\u2019ve been out and in the community since I was 11. Everyone who watches my show knows I will always stand up for my community. This award really ties into that. It celebrates the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The award was established by Worcester State University Assistant Vice President of Assessment and Planning Sarah Strout and is named for two longtime LGBTQ+ rights advocates, Worcester State alumnus Leopoldo Negr\u00f3n Cruz, MEd \u201916, and Gloria Audet, a one-time Worcester State student.<\/span><\/p>\n

Negr\u00f3n Cruz moved to Worcester from Puerto Rico after graduating from college in 1983 and has been working at the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center since 1986, now serving as the clinical supervisor of the center\u2019s community health workers. As a pillar of Worcester\u2019s public health community, Negr\u00f3n Cruz has worked at the intersection of HIV\/AIDS and the Latine LGBTQ+ community. He has developed, implemented, and advocated for HIV health education and prevention, testing, and support for more than 30 years. In 1989, he created Worcester\u2019s Gay and Lesbian Latino Organization (GALLO), which helped bring people together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are dealing with homophobia in one community and racism and discrimination in another,\u201d Negr\u00f3n Cruz said. \u201cPeople were so isolated. We were very successful in our efforts. There were a good number of LGBTQ individuals we were able to bring together in community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among his many other community and activist roles, Negr\u00f3n Cruz also serves on the board of Worcester State\u2019s Latino Education Institute (LEI). Still, he was surprised when he learned that his graduate school alma mater wanted to name an LGBTQ+ academic award for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor to lend my name for that award at a public institution,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I went to college for my undergrad, this would not even have been a thought. Not only because I went to school in Puerto Rico, but even here in the US, it would not have been a consideration to have an award for an LGBTQ student. LGBTQ wouldn\u2019t have even been mentioned at all. Regardless of who it is named after, it is worth celebrating an LGBTQ award. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The award grew out of Strout\u2019s longtime work on the university\u2019s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. She took a leading role in ushering in policies that allow student records to reflect their pronouns and chosen names.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2021, Strout was heartened to see that the university\u2019s efforts to make the campus a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ students were paying off. Worcester State earned high marks as one of the best colleges in the nation for support of LGBTQ+ students in <\/span>2021\u2019s Campus Pride Index<\/span><\/a>. One category the index looks for are academic awards and scholarships for LGBTQ+ students. Worcester State didn\u2019t have any. So, Strout decided to create the award with a donation of $2,500. Her hope is the award will pave the way for the establishment of an endowed academic scholarship, which requires a donation of $25,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe award is for an LGBTQ+ student who has an excellent academic record,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just they are active on campus. We\u2019re recognizing that it\u2019s difficult for LGBTQ+ students<\/span> to do really well in school while managing the unique challenges related to their identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Weber, LGBTQ advocacy has come through his creative work. In the early days of his show, he said, YouTube wasn\u2019t a particularly welcoming space. With time, he says, that has shifted. Now, he has a huge fan base of people who love to follow his characters on their adventures. By design, all of the characters on <\/span>Extraordinarily Excellent Entities<\/span><\/i> are LGBTQ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m making a statement,\u201d Weber said. \u201cThere are no straight people. Chalky and Broomer are two guys in a relationship, and they hold hands. I celebrate that these two characters love each other. It\u2019s always been important to me to push boundaries. I\u2019m not going to tolerate intolerance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New LGBTQ+ academic award named for alumni leaders and awarded to accomplished graduating senior and digital animator Griffin Weber. By Deborah Alvarez O\u2019Neil Photos by Matt Wright \u201910 In the make-believe world of YouTube show Excellent Entities, the endearing little characters undertake some outrageous hijinks and more than a bit of troublemaking as they vie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[28,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-worcester-state-magazine-fall-2023"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExtraordinarily Excellent Academic Achievement | Worcester State University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2023\/07\/14\/extraordinarily-excellent-academic-achievement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Extraordinarily Excellent Academic Achievement | Worcester State University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New LGBTQ+ academic award named for alumni leaders and awarded to accomplished graduating senior and digital animator Griffin Weber. 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