Three words: it’s about time. This past week marked the first ever Queen’s Pride Week, organized by the Education on Queer Issues Project (EQuIP). Because the Kingston Pride Parade takes place in the summer, many students are out of town during the official Pride Week held June 15 to 24, giving very little opportunity for students to get involved on their own campus.
The EQuIP Pride Week goals of generating dialogue in the Queen’s community on queer issues and challenging the cultural climate of Queen’s campus were ambitious and admirable—creating University-wide discussion about queer issues is no easy task. The group should also be commended for focusing on the underrepresented academic element of queer studies, which will hopefully help to acknowledge the research going on at the University surrounding queer theory and alternative cultural and social perspectives. The inclusiveness of the events is perhaps the most important aspect of Queen’s Pride Week. By making their events inclusive and encouraging all students and staff to participate, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the week will help increase solidarity across the University and as Anna Fischer, Outwrite! chair, said, “it will increase the visibility of queer students on campus, and help to foster a safer, more accepting environment.”
Three words: it’s about time. This past week marked the first ever Queen’s Pride Week, organized by the Education on Queer Issues Project (EQuIP). Because the Kingston Pride Parade takes place in the summer, many students are out of town during the official Pride Week held June 15 to 24, giving very little opportunity for students to get involved on their own campus.
The EQuIP Pride Week goals of generating dialogue in the Queen’s community on queer issues and challenging the cultural climate of Queen’s campus were ambitious and admirable—creating university-wide discussion about queer issues is no easy task. The group should also be commended or focusing on the underrepresented academic element of queer studies, which will hopefully help to acknowledge the research going on at the University surrounding queer theory and alternative cultural and social perspectives.
The inclusiveness of the events is perhaps the most important aspect of Queen’s Pride Week. By making their events inclusiveand encouraging all students and staff to participate, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the week will help increase solidarity across the University and as Anna Fischer, Outwrite! chair, said, “it will increase the visibility of queer students on campus, and help to foster a safer, more accepting environment.”
With any luck, the groups’ inclusiveness will help future Pride Weeks extend beyond those students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer to include all students and staff who consider themselves allies of the queer community and are eager to show their support.
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