On Tuesday, June 3, the university held its Pride flag re-raising ceremony at Lot H to mark both Pride Month and Indigenous History Month. The event, drew and enthusiastic crowd that cheered for the flag and applauded each speaker with warmth and appreciation.

UW President Vivek Goel commented on the ceremony: “It is important because we have to recognize the struggles that different communities have had, but also the successes that they can celebrate.”

“The pieces of fabric going up is one thing, but the message it sends is what’s significant. I’m really glad they asked students to speak this year,” said Riley Swistun, a coordinator from the Glow Centre, who gave a heartfelt speech. “You need to be mentally healthy, to be physically healthy, and you need a roof over your head, and we struggle with all three of those things, it’s part of the reason that I had such a hard time in my first year.”

The audience responded with excitement and anticipation as the Trans and Non-Binary Strategy was officially launched during the ceremony.

“We are moving in the right direction, because we are slowly starting to acknowledge the long term effect of the attack of 2023,” explained Alex Pershai, associate director of equity at UW, who has been working on the strategy. “It’s mostly undergraduate students who, despite of pain, discomfort, and any kind of feelings that may have prevented them for participating, they came and they shared their experience”

The strategy is the result of over a year of work, including surveys and consultations with hundreds of participants. The recommendations have been endorsed by university leadership and are expected to move forward as actionable projects.

In recognition of Indigenous History Month, the event also featured Two-Spirit speakers who shared powerful messages about Indigenous teachings and their lived experiences at the intersection of Indigenous and queer identities. As the flag was raised, Two-Spirit Indigenous musicians performed live, and the audience burst into joyful cheers.

More Pride events can be found on the Pride Month webpage. For example, “An Afternoon with Kai Potts” on June 18 celebrates both Pride Month and Indigenous History Month. Kai, a Two-Spirit youth advocate and digital media creator, will speak about his queer and Indigenous identity, fashion, and even video games.