What’s next for the Pride Walk?

As construction begins on campus, questions about the fate of the beloved Pride Walk are rising. The news of the removal of ETSU’s Pride Walk has made many wonder what will happen to these memorable traditions.  

“The Pride Walk is a very culturally important piece of campus, and it is something that as a freshman you look forward to doing your first week,” said SGA’s President, Trent White.  

White, alongside SGA, is working hard to ensure these important and impactful stories do not leave ETSU forever. SGA’s focus and goal are to find ways to keep the Buccaneer culture alive and to preserve the culture of the Pride Walk. As different ideas and inputs are factored into this decision, SGA is hoping to find a temporary solution for the Pride Walk for the next incoming freshman class.  

“The Pride Walk is integral to our community so something we wanted to do is make sure that we did not lose that over the process of the construction,” White said. “What we’ve done is request three other spaces to paint while the Pride Walk is in use for Preview.” 

Students walk toward the D.P. Culp Center on the Pride Walk. (Nicholas Ransom/East Tennessean).

Finding different and new spaces for the temporary pride walk has been a challenge for SGA. Three spaces have been requested, but as of now it is uncertain what the spaces are and if they would be allotted for the usage. If the requested spaces are not allotted, then that raises the idea of what will happen next as they move forward in the next years.  

White says that hopefully having new spaces will bring a new perspective to students, which will help students etch their stories on a new canvas. Moving forward, it is uncertain when the Campus Center construction will be finished, but that does not mean the Pride Walk traditions have to end here. 

“Building onto that culture is crucial when it comes to making sure students belong here and that ETSU is their home,” White said. “The nature of the Pride Walk is a student-focused initiative that brings out all of our student’s talents.”