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On March 31, we recognize International Trans Day of Visibility. This is a day to celebrate our trans and gender diverse students, faculty, staff, and community members. It is also a day to recognize the continued effort needed to stand up for the protection and promotion of human rights for transgender communities.
The University of Winnipeg is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming space for all 2SLGBT+ students, staff, and faculty. We are committed to gender inclusivity, countering homophobia and transphobia, and building community by, with, and for UWinnipeg community members with minoritized gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities.
At 10 a.m. on March 31, everyone is invited to gather in front of Wesley Hall for a rally and flag raising event presented by the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA), the University of Winnipeg Queer Students’ Association (UWQSA), and the Rainbow Lounge.
It’s nice to just be able to exist in queer and trans joy for a second. Just time for people to kind of hang out, reflect and share in the joy of it.
James Webster
Following the flag raising, the celebration will continue with a community lunch in the Hive from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“This is an important time to recognize the significant steps our community members are taking to ensure UWinnipeg is an inclusive and welcoming space for all 2SLGBT+ students, staff, and faculty—as well as to acknowledge that there is more work to be done,” said Dr. Todd Mondor, President and Vice-Chancellor. “We’re proud of the many in our community—including inspiring and dedicated student leaders—who have worked so hard make this a place where everyone can belong and thrive.”
The UWSA Rainbow Lounge is one of the lead organizers of this year’s event.
“It’s a time to reflect, be grateful for the people that came before us and all the work they did,” said Rainbow Lounge coordinator, James Webster. “It’s nice to just be able to exist in queer and trans joy for a second. Just time for people to kind of hang out, reflect and share in the joy of it. Because the advocacy is important, but it’s tiring. We need to find time for that joy too.”
The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) Rainbow Lounge is a safe, social space on campus for trans and gender diverse students all year long.
“People hang out, people eat their lunch,” said Webster. “People come in sometimes because they want to talk to me. People come in sometimes because they want to talk to other members. People come in sometimes because they want to put their headphones on and ignore the rest of the world.”
The Rainbow Lounge has a sensory-friendly time twice a week, they host fun events for students on campus, and they provide education, information and resources to students. This year, the Rainbow Lounge community also collected 75 articles of warm winter clothing to donate to the Main Street Project.
“It’s great to just have an open, welcoming, forgiving space for people,” Webster said. “A lot of people are coming from rural communities, or even other countries, and it can be hard to form a community, especially if the place you came from isn’t super supportive.”
“It can be hard to adjust to actually being allowed to be out, or actually having places like this,” he continued. “I think that that’s a lot of what these events do. They just kind of have a calm and fun atmosphere that’s open and welcoming and that allows students to kind of get acclimated to it.”
Webster said it’s important for people to stick together. He said being an ally to the trans and gender diverse community outside of days like Trans Day of Visibility doesn’t have to be complicated.
“Supporting doesn’t have to be this whole advocacy and like mental load that you take on,” he said. “I think cis people and non-queer people get really hung up on thinking that advocacy is a hard thing. And it can be, and it is sometimes. It’s important that we have people there, too, to stand up against hate. But in the interim, just be there for people on a personal level, and that’s when the change really begins.”
“That’s what I see in the lounge every day,” he added. “That’s where community is formed. Community is not formed at, you know, big political-scale events or bills in the legislature. It’s formed in the small little interactions.”
The Rainbow Lounge is open to all students with an open and inclusive view of sexuality and gender diversity. You can visit the Rainbow Lounge in the Bulman Student Centre, Concourse Level, Room 0R13 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Additional resources for UWinnipeg students and community members are available on the UW website or through the USWA.
