Centennial College introduces a Positive Space for students
By: Natasha Alli
Courier Staff
An inverted triangle with rainbow colours may not mean much to most people but for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, that symbol offers more than just an open door. It represents an added avenue to their network of support.
The rainbow triangle, seen on stickers in some college offices, is a universal logo for the Positive Space campaign.
Positive Space is intended to create an environment free of discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, according to Laurie Sancie, manager of policy development and education at Progress campus.
“It’s essentially an educational initiative and sticker campaign. Employees of the college attend a Positive Space training (program) where they learn more about issues surrounding the LGBTQ community,” Sancie said. “They learn about sexual and gender diversity. When they complete the training, if they choose to become a participant, they receive a Positive Space sticker.”
Having the sticker means there is someone in that designated work space LGBTQ students can openly approach for whatever they need help with.
According to Centennial College’s Positive Space brochure, the rainbow triangle indicates that the sticker bearer “will treat LGBTQ people with respect and…be ready to challenge discriminatory words and actions.”
At the moment, the college only provides Positive Space training to faculty and staff.
“I think it’s a really important program because it offers students the opportunity to self-identify,” Centennial student Natalie Samson said.
“It builds awareness around the fact that the general social climate (at the college) isn’t always friendly to people who don’t fall into mainstream designations or lifestyles,” she added.
With her previous experience working at a university that also had Positive Space, Samson said that the campaign helped to improve relationships, notably between students and faculty.
“Anything that might get people to stop and think about their behaviour, their attitudes and their biases is good,” she said. “Becoming a person who is more respectful, more knowledgeable and more sensitive is a good thing, always.”
The LGBTQ student initiative, supervised by Leigh Simpson, fully supports Positive Space. Their goal is to keep the momentum going in creating awareness for LGBTQ students at Centennial.
“(It’s) about solidifying the community and just trying to give them that self-start initiative,” Simpson said.
Her student group is planning to launch a website that could become integrated into the Positive Space campaign.
“It’s going to be a fantastic way for our LGBTQ students to come together in a more private setting,” she said.
“I think that this (online presence plus the Positive Space sticker campaign) meets students’ needs in today’s society through ways we feel most comfortable. I’m really, really excited.”
