By Margaryta Ignatenko, Innovation Hub Team
At the core of the Innovation Hub is the desire to make the University of Toronto a place where all students experience a sense of community and connectedness. In our work, we use a design methodology that takes inclusivity into consideration. We are thrilled about events such as #DisplayYourPride which celebrate the diversity of our University of Toronto community!
These events are particularly important to us because of the work we’ve been doing and the stories that students have shared with us. Last fall, the Access for Every Student domain team interviewed students from all types of backgrounds to better understand how students’ identities shape their experiences in university. Many students felt like there was room for improvement when it comes to equity and diversity. We saw two overarching needs: the need for students to feel supported and to feel included. One student mentioned; “You can carve out a niche but it takes a lot of work […] U of T is not a nice place until you’ve kissed a lot of frogs”. As Tamsyn Riddle and Sania Hameed explained on the Presenation of Insights and Ideas on January 27th, 2017, this quote represents students’ need to feel included, and expresses how some students feel isolated and excluded because of some aspect of their identities. Sania and Tamsyn also talked about students who feel unsafe entering certain spaces, and who experienced tremendous difficulty finding community on campus.
To show our continued support and love to the LGBTT2IQQA community including our UofT colleagues and students, the Innovation Hub has created a Pride-inspired #DisplayYourPride installation from post-it notes!
Here’s a video of the team creating our installation:
Things to Check Out on Campus Related to Pride and the LGBTT2IQQA Community:
March with UTSU in the Pride Parade this Sunday, June 25th! Meet at the UTSU front lawn at 10am for a picnic and outfit and float decorating.
Take part in the Trans March on Friday, June 23rd. The Rally begins at 6:30pm at Church and Hayden St., March at 7pm.
Swing by the #RESIST Dyke March on Saturday, June 24th. Rally and Staging begins at 1pm at Church and Hayden St., at 2pm the March begins.
For information on upcoming events and resources related to gender and sexuality, see what amazing things the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office has to offer: http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/
The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office also has information about off-campus resources and events: http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/resources/community_resources/
If you are looking to join a student LGBT group, check out LGBTOUT: https://www.ulife.utoronto.ca/organizations/view/id/2102
We also encourage you to make a connection at the Centre For Women + Trans People: http://womenscentre.sa.utoronto.ca/
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