Found on the third floor of Wyckham House, the Pride Centre is open for anyone and everyone.
Queer perspectives and lives are often overlooked in modern society, if not ignored completely. Despite the overwhelming acceptance and growing number of queer allies as queer issues gain more traction in mainstream media, bigoted and hateful perspectives seem to arise just as fast, with Statistics Canada reporting a 64 per cent increase in violence and hate crimes towards queer Canadians. For queer students, in a world that feels increasingly unsafe and dismissive, organizations such as the Pride Centre serve as a beacon of hope, love, and acceptance.
Tailored for some, open for all
Opened in 2008 (back when we were a college), Mount Royal University’s first dedicated queer space aims to provide an inclusive and celebratory space for people of all genders, orientations, and sexualities. While emphasis is put on LGBTQ+ students, any student regardless of identity is more than welcome to visit the space and foster connections with their fellow pupils.
The centre serves as much more than simply a support space, offering spaces to socialize and talk with students from different disciplines and walks of life. In the few times I’ve been there to visit, the students have been overwhelmingly nice and respectful, and despite not being part of the queer community myself, it’s made me feel much more included and seen than many other clubs and organizations before.
Gloria Sesay, SAMRU’s Pride and Healthy Relationships Coordinator, talks about the importance of an accepting space on campus: “I think it’s really important to have a pride centre on campus, especially because there’s so many times when people come into university, it can be a very overwhelming experience, especially for students who are coming from communities where they may not necessarily have been really accepted for their identity. So it’s really important to be able to have a pride center and to be able to have a space where people can feel accepted and to be have a safe place to explore, their identity, their sexuality, as well as their gender identity too, as well.”
Community outreach
A warm, welcoming community is far from the only thing that the Pride Centre offers, with community partners often hosting events and seminars related to queer life. The community calendar details all the events that the Pride Centre is involved with, including student favourites such as Crafternoon and Wellness Wind Down, with new events including the Queer and Trans BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Circle taking place every Tuesday, offering additional support for queer students who are seeking extra support, on top of the other services the Pride Centre offers.
Additionally, community partners often reach out to plan events, start fundraisers, and raise awareness of new and arising LGBTQ+ issues. Some communities that the Pride Centre has been involved with include:
- QriTical
- Rainbow Elders of Calgary
- Skipping Stone Calgary
- Diversity and Womyn
- End Of The Rainbow Foundation
These community partners allow for easier access and understanding of topics such as gender affirming care, queer help lines, and how to reach out to local support groups. Sesay discusses the importance of these communities collaborating with SAMRU, specifically describing Rainbow Elders of Calgary events as “..a really great way for students to be able to connect with elders and to be able to be and see themselves represented within older queer and trans people. But then also it was really important for trans individuals and being able to like offer advice and information to younger people too as well.”
Because of organizations such as the Pride Centre, amongst many other queer spaces, foster a more inclusive and friendly community not just for all students. It ensures students have a safe place to visit, and access to the care, community, and support they deserve.
Want to learn more about the Pride Centre? Click below to watch a short video!
Personal reflection
Working with Gloria, AJ, and everybody else involved in the Pride Centre has been nothing but amazing and a great insight into the inner workings of a SAMRU organization. My biggest challenge for this project was reaching out to meet their expectations not only professionally, but also to understand and meet what they wanted from the video. As the Pride Centre is part of SAMRU, there were a lot more forms and sheets to fill out than I thought, as SAMRU has their own social media teams for their facilities. I’ve had the privilege to meet with many SAMRU employees and learn how the filming process works, not just for my independent project, but for other guests of SAMRU. I’ve always wondered how businesses are granted permission to advertise and film in and around Wyckham house, and it feels a little strange, but also somewhat intriguing knowing I filled out the exact same sheet as much larger corporations have many times before. Makes me feel like one of them, almost.
Ultimately, I hope my project can inspire more queer youth to reach out to their local support centers. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that the world seems against queer youth now more than ever, as LGBTQ+ identities become more and more politicized rather than accepted. With my project, I hope to bring more eyes to not just queer issues, but to queer resources as well for those who need them.
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