Pride celebrated at University of Lethbridge with raising of flag

She adds, “It’s also creating empathy and fostering understanding that we’re different and we have different ideologies, different mindsets, so how do we have a safe space to have conversations, even though it’s across differences, but in a way that’s still respectful and still inclusive of all ideas.”

The U of L also handed out, for the first time, the VandenHoek Schlachter Pride Award, which recognizes a person’s commitment to supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community both on and off campus.

The award went to Mars Jesson, a psychology major and co-chair of Q-Space at the university.

Jesson is an advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, promoting diversity and inclusion.

“Over the past few years, a lot of what we’ve done is like community events, building our group up, building up our community supports and connections to other groups and the university in Lethbridge,” says Jesson. “Now, we’ve started branching out on helping students navigate the institution and navigate university life as queer individuals, and especially, as trans individuals.”

Jesson says the U of L has gotten a lot better in recent years when it comes to promoting and protecting the pride community, particularly by providing safe spaces where students can comfortably be themselves in a judgement-free zone.

However, Jesson believes that things have gotten worse in some ways.

“Students here have certain accounts that are very prolific among students. A lot of students are able to post anonymously on these, and therefore, it is a very frequent spot of hate,” Jesson says.

“I have seen just vandalism. It’s been a lot of petty discriminatory actions, but nothing that has really resorted in violence.”

Jesson says there was also an incident where they were pushing for Q-Space to receive ongoing funding, but the group received pushback from people who felt the university and provincial government should not be promoting it.

At the end of the day, though, Jesson says things are gradually becoming better for queer individuals and they hope to see that progress continue.

More details on Pride Month activities at the university are on the U of L website.

The pride flag has been raised at the University of Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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by David Opinko

Pride celebrated at University of Lethbridge with raising of flag

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