91福利

This year, Positive Space welcomed over 100 community members to their Day of Pink celebration in the Student Learning Centre on April 9. This year鈥檚 theme was 鈥淗onour Re-Emergence.鈥�

The crowd listened as the Positive Space team shared that Day of Pink is an international anti-bullying, anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia event held annually during the second week of April. The movement began in 2007 when a gay Canadian high school student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. In response, two fellow students mobilized their entire school to wear pink the following day as a gesture of solidarity and support. The day represents more than symbolic support鈥攊t's a call for concrete action to create safer spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals in schools and communities.

Cris Nippard, Journalism student, course union VP of equity, queer space lead for the 91福利 Student鈥檚 Union, and well-known activist in Toronto's Black and Queer communities since high school, was one of the speakers at this year鈥檚 event. Cris spoke of the fact that Day of Pink isn鈥檛 just about bullying, 鈥渋t鈥檚 about queerness and the experience of being other鈥� and challenged the audience to " be the person who wears pink not just today, but every day, in every way that matters. Because allyship isn't just about wearing a shirt. It's about showing up. It's about listening. It's about making sure that when we're fighting for our survival, we're not fighting alone." For their community work, Cris is the winner of the Bill 7 Scholarship, Viola Desmond Award, Merit Award, OMNI TV Scholarship, and Toronto One City Scholarship.

Chelazon LeRoux, who appeared on Canada鈥檚 Drag Race Season 3, was the keynote speaker of the event. Chelazon Leroux is a Two-Spirit Dene First Nations multidisciplinary artist.

She reminded the audience that, "in times of fear, I love to remind people that Two-Spirit people [and] Indigenous People have always existed on this land through everything. Our voices are resistance and our power is in our stories and our prayers. That kept us alive. In a time of fear, you have to have hope."

Ryan Kerr, manager, institutional events and Positive Space events lead, spoke about how supportive parents and educational environments have been repeatedly identified as the strongest indicator of positive mental health outcomes for trans and non-binary youth in Canada, and how the attendees represent all levels of the university - students, faculty and staff, so we can affect real change by doing things that are simple and kind. He said, 鈥淲e need to increase our concrete actions to confront this tide and to keep our community safe."