On a warm sunny day in late August, the president of Carleton University, the Carleton University Students’ Association, and the mayor of Ottawa all gathered together in celebration. A new rainbow crosswalk was installed between Azrieli Theatre and the University Centre.
“Carleton University is a diverse and inclusive community and we are proud to fly the flag and install this crosswalk in support of all LGBTQ2+ persons in the university community, in our city and around the world,” wrote the Carleton University page on Facebook on Aug. 22.
CUSA and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC) worked with the university to install the new rainbow crosswalk in celebration of Capital Pride Week in Ottawa.
Carleton offers many supports for students part of the LGBTQ2+ community including the GSRC, the Equity Centre, Womxn’s Centre and transgender transitional services at the medical centre.
Jamie Headrick, a second-year student studying anthropology, has had a relatively positive experience at Carleton as a member of the LGBTQ2+ community.
But they said the rainbow crosswalk should represent something that already exists on campus.
“I’m pretty much never going to say that a rainbow crosswalk is enough,” they said. “Because what symbols like that do is that they represent the work that should already be being done.”
Supported despite challenges
For Noah Rodomar, a graduate student with Carleton’s Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, the crosswalk is “a promising gesture.”
He added in an email that he has had positive experiences as an LQBTQ2+ student at Carleton due to “peers and professors who are likeminded and considerate of queer experiences.”
Grace Gaudett, a first-year psychology student sees the crosswalk as something that does not generate a lot of conversation but is “just kind of there.”
She also described her experiences as an LGBTQ2+ student at Carleton as positive. “I don’t get any hate or anything,” she said.
All three students described their experiences at Carleton as LGBTQ2+ students as positive. However, they all acknowledge that there is always room for improvement.
Rodomar said the university could be more inclusive by “resolving the issues surrounding the university’s sexual assault policy, considering that LGBTQ+ individuals can often be targeted by sexual violence, particularly LGBTQ+ women.”
Headrick and Rodomar both point to the Banner ID system as something that could be improved. According to Headrick, some people have found their birth names on their residence room name tags even though their preferred name is in the system.
Rodomar said the problems he encountered with the system almost caused him to miss the application deadline for graduate studies at Carleton.
“The university’s documentation requirements for a name change in the Carleton system following a legal name change presents a barrier to students because not all forms of government-issued ID are accepted,” he said.
“The university would not accept an Ontario health card as a form of ID and would not amend my name on Carleton Central, so I could not access my transcripts with my proper legal name.”
Additionally, Headrick shared that one of their friends was deadnamed (referred to as their birth name rather than preferred name) in their class by their TA. In this instance, the TA made it blatant they had said the wrong name and did not attempt to save face, effectively outing the student to the class.
Headrick said that rather than LGBTQ2+ education being a side note, a more integrated approach to training which accounts for “a more organic understanding of the way gender relations happen” would be beneficial.
“People bring their preconceptions and their culture into their interactions and I think that we need to be addressing that instead of just giving people a script or protocol. ”
Gender-neutral bathrooms on campus is another service that Carleton offers to LGBTQ2+ students that could be improved, Headrick said. They said they are unaware of the gender-neutral bathrooms on campus and most of the bathrooms are far apart.
“Not only should gender-neutral bathrooms should be clearly marked, everyone should be told about it,” they said. “People who work at the res desks, RFs, professors, all of them should know where the nearest gender-neutral bathroom is from where they are.”
Rodomar agreed that a more widespread installation of gender-neutral bathrooms is needed.
The gender-neutral bathrooms on campus are located in the University Centre, Loeb Building, Patterson Hall, Life Sciences, Herzberg building, Mackenzie Building, and in some residence houses. Locations of gender-neutral washrooms on campus can be found here.
The locations of gender-neutral/accessible washrooms. [Infographic by Marieta-Rita Osezua]
What Carleton is doing
For the first time this year, Carleton offered first-year students the option on the residence preference form to select “gender-inclusive” housing. This means students were placed in rooms based on other factors and preferences except gender such as sleep preference, according to Laura Storey, director of housing at Carleton.
“Whatever gender they identify as wouldn’t be part of the selection criteria,” she said. “They could still [write] within the application post that they identify as a particular gender that they would like to share. But the way the selection is set up in our application is like an algorithm that looks for matching criteria.”
According to Storey, only about 50 students selected this option. She said this initiative was a year in the making and was pushed forward by residence staff and students.
Gaudett, said gender-inclusive housing is important for people who may not fit into binary categories.
“I think it’s good that there are places where you can just exist without having to think ‘do I fit in here? Or do I fit there?’” she said.
For Storey, gender-inclusive housing is a way for students to lead their own experiences at Carleton.
“My hope is that students who are looking for gender-inclusive housing, or someone who is transitioning or gender non-binary feels comfortable in clicking that box knowing that we’ll help them get into a place where they feel more safe but without having to disclose their history or what’s going on with them.”
Carleton offers other resources for members of the LGBTQ2+ community on campus. The main resource is the Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC), located at 427 University Centre. The GSRC is a space where LGBTQ2+ students and staff can go to feel safe, get resources, connect with like-minded people, and make new friends.
For Headrick, they feel that the GSRC does not advertise the social component of the centre which is essential to being part of the community. They said that in the first semester of their first year, they felt lonely due to being the only non-straight person in their friend group.
“One of the things I hear from so many first-years is that ‘I need more gay friends,’” they said. “Having friends like you means that they understand you that much more. By being able to take your laptop, take your books, go to the GSRC and sit down with people like you can be a very important experience.”
Lack of awareness of services is a problem Gaudett said she has experienced at Carleton. She said she wasn’t informed of specific resources for LGBTQ2+ people by her residence fellows or other members of the community.
“While I feel I’m accepted, it’s also at the same time like a quiet acceptance,” she said. “No one is going to say anything to me, but it also means that I don’t get to hear about any resources just because you don’t really hear about it at all.”
“It feels like while people are accepting, no one really talks about it. It kind of just exists,” she added.
Gaudett said that in the future, course material could be expanded to include LGBTQ2+ theorists to improve representation. Professors should be mindful of deadnaming, she added.
Headrick said educators should seek out resources such as the GSRC to talk to individuals about their feelings.
“Listen to LGBTQ+ voices. Hire LGBTQ+ consultants with experience in community organizing, survey students, involve LGBTQ+ faculty in these decisions, anything—just compensate folks for the information they share with you,” Rodomar said.
Feature Image by Spencer Colby. With files from Jillian Piper and Ley Pickard.
