Pride Week has always been my favorite time of year on campus. There are always so many fun events, I get more of an opportunity to spend time with my friends, and I always end up meeting new people and making new friendships.
But most importantly, I get to be celebrated for my existence.
In today’s political climate, the open and proud celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+ people seems like it’s becoming more of a rarity; multiple Alberta towns banned rainbow flags, the UCP membership passed several anti-DEI policies at their 2024 annual general meeting, Edmonton Public Libraries may or may not have banned pride flags…the list goes on. So celebrating my identity openly and triumphantly at my school made me feel like NAIT was truly a place where I belonged and there was a community of people who cared about me.
However, in recent years, I’ve noticed less and less events during NAIT Pride. There has always been the Pride Drag Show, Pride Dirty Bingo, and my favorite, the Pride Week Safe Space, but those are all hosted by NAITSA. I’ve been a NAIT student for a long time, and I remember NAIT hosting events like the Pride Walk, flag raising, Pride prom, speaker sessions, painting activities, and so much more. I’ve also been an executive of the Pride @ NAIT club for over four years, so I’ve helped plan many Pride Weeks.
But this year was different.
This year, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) really only hosted two events—one that repeated over 3 days in their office and explored 2SLGBTQIA+ histories, and another in collaboration with Career Services where they served rainbow cake in North Lobby.
This year felt hidden.
In an interview with Daley Laing, the Manager of OEDI, they said there wasn’t an intention to scale back Pride, but the minimal events this year were partly due to staffing issues. But as Brayden Shopland, NAITSA VP Internal said in a statement to the Nugget, Pride should be all of NAIT’s responsibility. It “shouldn’t fall solely on the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) to carry the weight of this initiative; all NAIT departments have a role to play in ensuring their programming reflects a commitment to supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ students during this time.”
Laing also stated that OEDI wanted to focus more on executing events that were about connection, and that is shown by the events they put on this year.
They mentioned last year some events didn’t run because no one registered, so this year’s focus was on quality over quantity.
“We’ve been really trying to take a community-first model, so the idea that the best resource we can offer students and staff is relationship, is connection…those connections are really what foster a sense of belonging,” said Laing.
There is absolutely a time for smaller, connection-based gatherings. But to me, Pride Week is about showing the world that we as queer and trans people are here and that we deserve to be celebrated. Pride should be a loud show of who we are, and that we’re not scared to be unapologetically ourselves. It is a time to celebrate, inspire and uplift everyone in our community.
Laing said that while they do see value in public-facing Pride events, safety is a concern. “Having our NAIT events faced publicly can actually make them less accessible for the community we’re trying to serve, in the sense of like, who can go in a Pride parade, who can have their picture put on the news, not everyone,” they said.
“And that’s not because they’re not safe at NAIT, but more so because we’re being realistic about not everyone’s comfortable being out…I don’t think it’s as integral for our Pride events to be public facing just so we can really foster that safety piece for the members of the community who want to participate.”
I understand the fear. Last year, I met with OEDI where we discussed Pride @ NAIT, the safety of queer people and how it’s getting scary out there. This led me to not include the room number of our weekly meetings on our posters in case something happened. I’ve been told that the Pride Walk doesn’t happen anymore because of safety concerns. Pride @ NAIT club posters have also been ripped in the halls, torn off the walls and vandalized. Even during the Fall 2024 club showcase, a very public event, Pride @ NAIT was targeted when someone dropped fake dollar bills from the second floor with lines on the back like “Will you go to Heaven when you die?”
But fear shouldn’t rule us.
If a student doesn’t want to or can’t participate in public events because they’re scared of getting outed or worse, they don’t have to participate in a Pride Walk or other public events. We can do both: we can have smaller, more intentional events to create community, but we can also have loud and proud Pride events where the whole campus can see that NAIT does support Pride.
Public events are crucial so students can see that NAIT actually practices what they preach. Laing said that the message from leadership was very clear: “NAIT is for everyone. NAIT will always work to make learning spaces safe, inclusive.”
And yet, how supported do students feel when NAIT leadership was notably absent from this year’s Pride celebrations?
When asking students if NAIT is doing enough for pride, many of them didn’t think so.
Emily Kapty, an Accounting student, said, “I wish there was more, and I wish that it was readily accessible.” Charlie Evans, a Pride @ NAIT member said, “I think it would have been nice to see more visible stuff around NAIT during pride week.” Sam Holleman, a Chemical Technology alumnus added, “Pride Week has a good amount of stuff going on, but like year-round at NAIT? Yeah, they don’t do much of anything…I mean just seeing stuff like outside of pride week would be nice.”
Some students just simply said “No” or shook their heads at the question.
As Shopland pointed out in his statement, “Leadership plays a role in setting the tone for campus culture, and when we see strong engagement for initiatives like Pink Shirt Day and Black History Month—through multiple posts, branded apparel, and public participation—but comparatively minimal recognition of Pride Week, it raises questions about priorities.”
Of course, Pride isn’t just a once a year thing, and NAIT does have ongoing initiatives. Laing shared some examples like updating NAIT systems with correct pronouns and names, reviewing hiring processes to ensure inclusivity and more education for instructors about creating inclusive classrooms. And those are great, and a huge part of making a truly inclusive campus. But we also need front-facing actions, and Pride is the perfect opportunity for something tangible. Like Shopland said, “These initiatives are meant to create a campus where all students, regardless of identity, feel valued, supported, and empowered to be themselves.”
Seeing President Laura Jo Gunter carry a rainbow flag and march across campus won’t change the world, but in this political climate, it will make a difference. Students are scared. I’ve heard from my friends and other members of Pride @ NAIT that they do fear being out in public, even on campus. But that worry from the students should be what pushes NAIT and the OEDI to do more, to show themselves publicly to the world.
As Connie Carpenter, a member of Pride @ NAIT, said, “I like Pride Week because then I unite with queer people alike. And then I finally feel safe, I finally feel at home. I don’t feel weird.” The students deserve that inspiration, that comfort, that belonging that a loud and proud NAIT could create.
