Story by Laura Rosen Cohen
Photography by Jackie Shapiro and Nadine McHorgh
One of the first official signs of spring is the changing of the clocks; ‘spring forward and fall back’ as the saying goes. But one of the first, definite unofficial signs of summer on campus and throughout the city of Toronto, is the beginning of Pride month.
Pride celebrations at the University of Toronto begin with the raising of the Pride Progress flag and there are many events held in and off campus throughout the month. These include the perennial favourite Pride Pub, and the pan-university #DisplayYourPride campaign.
Most activities are spearheaded by the tri-campus Sexual Diversity & Gender Office, but Spaces & Experiences plays an important role in promoting Pride, contributing to the festive spirit, and building a safe and inclusive space on campus.
Most activities are spearheaded by the tri-campus Sexual Diversity & Gender Office, but Spaces & Experiences plays an important role in promoting Pride, contributing to the festive spirit, and building a safe and inclusive space on campus.
“The Pride celebrations within S&E basically started with an expansion of what was happening at Chestnut Residence. Instead of just having an event and party for students, we expanded to include staff and added more activities,” says Kohen McBride, (Marketing Assistant at Chestnut Residence). A small committee was formed with that goal in mind and also included Kristina Kazandijan (the Trademark Licensing Manager at S&E).
“The intention was really to celebrate Pride in a division-wide way, and the first year we were able to do so was as we emerged out of the pandemic. People really seemed to enjoy it. It was great to have everyone together, in person, in the same space and the feeling was really festive and happy. We got great feedback and have been building on that. It’s also important to see this initiative within the context of EDI initiatives recently launched by S&E and the University’s EDI priorities,” says Kristina.
One of the most visible ways that S&E supports Pride is through the Pride capsule collection of merchandise, now in its third year. The Pride collections generally sell out, and this year’s collection is the largest ever. Pride merchandise is also carried year-round in the U of T Bookstore. A standard core collection is always available for sale, another testament to its popularity and inclusivity on campus.
“The purpose of the Pride merchandise is community building. Like other collections that we develop, Spaces & Experiences takes university priorities and showcases U of T brand priorities through merchandise. This collection is always particularly well-received, and we see people wearing their Pride shirts and other items to the flag raising ceremony and to the Pride pub around campus,” says Anne Macdonald, Assistant Vice-President, Spaces & Experiences.
Macdonald says that one of the added benefits of the Pride collection is that funds generated from sales are funnelled to the campus Equity Ideas Fund (EIF) at the department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. This fund supports student initiatives and activities on campus with an equity lens and focus.
In addition to Trademarks and Licensing’s role in Pride, Food Services also plays a big part in the success of the S&E #DisplayYourPride day.
“They make it really easy to come together and make sure we a great event. Chef Jaco, the Executive Director, Culinary Operations is a big supporter of Pride. All of our departments are happy to take part in the event,” says Macdonald.
“The merchandise collection and our own departmental #DisplayYourPride activities showcase something that the University really cares about. Through our programs and merchandising, we create community and enrich life on campus, and those are always S&E priorities,” she adds.
