Instructors Shane Bauman and Zack Cramer handed out donuts and stickers as part of the Pride month festivities.
Throughout June, the Faculty of Math celebrated Pride month with a series of community-building and educational events, as well as a “Pride in Math” campaign that highlighted 2SLGBTQIA+ people both in Math at Waterloo and in the larger math and computer science community.
The Pride events were organized by Zachary Cramer, a lecturer in the Mathematics Undergraduate Group who also attended Waterloo as a student. As a young gay student, he says, he didn’t have openly 2SLGBTQIA+ leaders to look up to, and he wanted to help change that for this generation.
“By acknowledging the 2SLGBTQIA+ community through queer-positive wording in our course outlines, pronouns in our email signatures, or a pride sticker on our office door, we can make individuals of all sexual or gender identities feel more welcome here at Waterloo,” Cramer says. “By living our lives as proud, visible 2SLGBTQIA+ leaders and allies, we send a signal that our students will be accepted by living proudly and visibly too.”
Pride in Math
Several faculty and staff members throughout Math participated in the “Pride in Math” campaign, which was featured on Twitter, Instagram, and building TV screens, and included information about individuals’ research interests and activist work.
One featured individual was Shane Bauman, a lecturer in the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing. “I was honored to participate,” he says. “Mathematics and being gay are two major parts of my life and I’ve never had the chance before to talk about their interaction.”
There were also three major Pride events: a giveaway of stickers and Pride donuts from Lady Glaze, a Pride-themed trivia night, and a lecture and movie night.
“Pride events hold a lot of significance to me personally,” said one student, “and I view them as a sign that helps people like me know that they aren’t alone and that there are people like them out there in the world. There’s a sense of security in that.” The most memorable event to her? A clerical error at trivial night.
After a communications mishap, instead of receiving pizza to feed seventy people, the group received seventy pizzas!
“I’m sure that many students felt comfortable at the Pride giveaway table or at other events held this term, or felt seen when they saw a member of the Faculty shared their identity,” says Grace Feng, MathSoc president. “We want all members of the Math community to belong at Waterloo.”
Building Solidarity
While Pride month is always a time for both celebration and more serious reflection, last week’s attack on a gender studies class left 2SLGBTQIA+ people on campus feeling especially vulnerable.
“With anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate incidents rising in Canada, it is important to remain vigilant and aware of the potential for these types of incidents to occur,” says Jeremy Steffler, equity officer for the Faculty. “The work in supporting and bringing visibility to members of our community who continue to be targeted based on their identities is ongoing, and must never be taken for granted.”
The evening after the attack, more than thirty students gathered for a talk by Cramer on the legacy of legendary codebreaker and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, followed by a screening of the 2014 film The Imitation Game. Mark Giesbrecht, dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, also attended.
“I appreciated the opportunity to spend some time learning more about the life and legacy of Alan Turing alongside our students prior to an enjoyable film,” Giesbrecht said. “In light of the recent hate-motivated attack, it is more important than ever that we stand in solidarity with our 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and continue to create spaces for education, support, healing, and community-building.”
Cramer and Steffler both emphasized that they see these Pride events only as a starting point for building more 2SLGBTQIA+ community and resources at Waterloo.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to reach out to equity officer Jeremy Steffler to learn about how they can get involved in education and community-building efforts.
The Math Pride events also included lists of resources for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at the University of Waterloo and in the Waterloo region, which we have reproduced below.
Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity: Waterloo’s 2SLGBTQIA+ student organization
Women’s Centre: supportive on-campus space for women and trans* individuals
UW Drag Club: Waterloo student club celebration queer culture and performance in drag
OK2BME: Waterloo region services for 2SLGBTQIA+ youths, adults, and families
Spectrum: Waterloo Region’s rainbow community space
WLU Rainbow Centre: Safe space for 2SLGBTQIA+ run by Wilfrid Laurier University
Queer Events: community event listing for 2SLGBTQIA+ in southwestern Ontario
Spectra: The association for 2SLGBTQIA+ mathematicians.