WiCS hosted a Pride In Stem event in DC on June 12 featuring numerous panelists for Pride month.
The Dean of Math, Professor Mark Giesbrecht started the event by mentioning the difficulties the university as a whole has faced, including the Hagey Hall attack that occurred two years ago. His speech mentioned Alan Turing, and the government that persecuted him for being gay despite all of his phenomenal success and emphasized how the math community is continuously trying to build an equitable environment.
A quote from UW president Vivek Goel, read aloud at the event, stated, “As a community that strives to think differently, act with purpose and work together, we flourish when we bring together different ideas, perspectives and lived experiences. A diversity of perspectives helps us see the world in different ways and encourages innovation and discovery.”
Panelists at the event included Clare Reid, outreach coordinator of school of accounting and finance; Jeremy Steffler, equity officer of mathematics; Christian Euler, assistant professor of chemical engineering; Marlee Spafford, professor emerita of optometry; and Kevin Hare, professor of pure mathematics.
All panelists also recognized how innovation is impacted, “We were not achieving best possible results because we were closing ourselves off to different ways of thinking.”
Together, they spoke about their lived experiences in their personal, professional, and Waterloo lives. Steffler and Hare notably mentioned difficulty in travelling to the U.S., with Hare stating that there were difficult conversations back in 2020, when he was asked to be interim Dean and made the active choice to not travel to countries where queerness was punishable by death.
Spafford recognized how society has changed during her time, and how it’s nice to see spaces that make room for conversation that weren’t previously being had. Reid mentioned conversions with their own family, learning terminology, and going through their own self-discovery.
With the Q&A session from students and attendees, many important and applicable questions for the LGBTQIA+ community were asked, like how staff may plan to accommodate for non-binary students, or how to work with others that don’t accept your identity. More specifically, a student mentioned how science students often go on field courses and how non-binary students should approach overnight trips. Reid replied with tips, stating, “If you have a relationship with the TA or instructor, [I’d] recommend booking time you feel connected with and have conversation preemptively. The parties with the power will have more time to make changes.” They also emphasized the importance of bringing a trusted person into those conversations who is able to provide support.
At the end of the panel, Samantha Jewett, the host and WiCS outreach coordinator asked the panelists for one takeaway each.
Reid stated, “If you are an ally, a reminder that being an ally is not a title or a reward, it is an active responsibility to continue learning and do work,” and “[I’m] challenging everyone in the queer community to show allyship to other communities.”
Steffler said, “At the end of the day, everyone’s situation is unique. Make sure you know your supports and take the advice that is most supportive to you.”
Hare stated, “I’m very happy to see these panels happening. I’m happy to see we are continuing to grow as a university.”
Spafford encouragingly mentioned, “My hope for you is that you get to be you. Just be you… This university is better when you are fully you here… You deserve to be you.”
And finally, Euler simply stated, “I’m glad you’re here.”
For students, these types of events are a great opportunity to gain valuable information from people in power who have navigated experiences in and out of professional places.
Here are resources for science students part of the Pride community: Celebrating Pride in STEM: A roundup of resources for science students.
The Pride in Stem event continues on June 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the SLC Bomber for a networking social.
