Homophobic graffiti targeting a Carleton residence student sparked Carleton's participation in Day of Pink March 15, an event to fightbullying, discrimination and homophobia.
Some Carleton students wore pink T-shirts to show their support for the event.
The idea behind the Day of Pinkbegan in Cambridge, Nova Scotia, when a male high school student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. His classmates banded together to take a stand against discrimination, all wearing pink. The event became an international day of action.
The idea spread to Carleton when Lindsay Czitron, a first-year public affairs student,woke up one morning in early February to find "Lesbian" written on her door in permanent marker.
Czitron, who has been open about her bisexuality, said she doesn’t believe she was attacked because of personal hate, but because of a “subtle bias.”
“I was really taken aback,” she said. “It shows that people still have these attitudes that need to be changed.”
On an impulse,she began a Facebook event for a Day of Pink. She said to her delight, the group grew from 45 attendees to more than 1,000. Eventually the response caught the attention of Carleton’s GLBTQ Centre for Sexual Diversity programming co-ordinator, Sam Whittle, who heard Czitron’s story and quickly offered assistance.
“I thought it was a great idea, and we could offer resources that she didn’t necessarily have before,” Whittle said.
The GLBTQ centre helped with funding and promoting the event with the sale of pink T-shirts and general outreach. The eventexpandedto include a speak out at the GLBTQ office, as well as a Day of Pink all-ages party at Oliver’s, all of which addressed the prevalent homophobic issues.
“Homophobia is hard to talk about because many people believe it contributes to this sort of stigma,” Whittle said. “Wearing pink shows that there are people taking a stand.”
GLBTQ administrative co-ordinator Mike Wiseman echoed with similar sentiments, stressing the importance of the Day of Pink, if just to talk and learn about the issues.
“Bullying is still rampant,” he said. “With this day, we have the opportunity to focus on issues surrounding homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.”
Participants like Jonathan Shapransky, a second-year commerce student, said he appreciated the deeper meaning behind the event.
“Love isn’t about what gender the person is,” he said. “It’s about who they are, and what they bring into your life.”
The organizers of the Day of Pink said they hope to take the necessary steps for further action in promoting equality.
Czitron said she will be filing a report of her experience to Equity Services.
On a local level, GLBTQ will be visiting high schools to teach them about homosexual, bisexual or transgender issues before youth enter university.
At Carleton, Whittle said she hopes a greater number of staff, particularly with Residence Life, will be trained on a mandatory basis about these issues, and take all necessary steps to be inclusive.
“People don’t often recognize that this is a problem in the classroom, and we want to ensure [nobody] contributes to any of those problems,” Whittle said.