Being Who You Are, Inside and Out

This month, contributor Erin LeBlanc, Director, Strategic Program Development & Accreditation at the Smith School of Business and Queen’s alumnae, discusses themes of identity, authentic self, and belonging. Ms. Leblanc is an advocate for LGBTQ+ people with a focus on education, awareness, and building community for transgender people.

If I can’t be me, who am I supposed to be?

This is a question that I hear time and time again in conversations with transgender people. And with June just around the corner and communities preparing to host Pride celebrations, I am reminded of these conversations. Some people may be perplexed by this statement in that they don’t understand why there is such a great deal of stress for those who suffer from Gender Dysphoria.

They don’t understand why there is any issue with someone being transgender. Continue Reading »

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Knowing Who You Are

This month, contributor Ann Deer, Indigenous Recruitment and Support Coordinator in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University discusses her experiences of being Indigenous within western education systems; attributing her strength and resiliency to the Mohawk women in her family who came before her.

“Go learn what the White Man knows and learn it better,” – Jake Swamp, Mohawk Traditional Chief, Wolf Clan 1942-2010

This is probably the one statement from my undergrad years at Trent University that will always stay with me. For the first time, an Elder, someone from my community was teaching me in a western setting and his words hit home. I was asked to write about my experience on campus with respect to diversity. My experiences here in the western education system go back to when I was young. A person does not experience life in a moment it is all the events that lead you to a moment that defines how you experience a situation. Continue Reading »

Reflecting on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Today, March 21st, marks the 58th anniversary of the Sharpeville, South Africa massacre and is remembered internationally as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As this is a day of reflection, Dr. Sheila Cote-Meek’s piece, which focuses on memory, anniversaries, and reflection is perfect for this day.

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Queen’s University Equity Office. Anniversaries provide us with a good time to celebrate as well as engage in critical reflections on our mandate and progress.

Whenever I engage in critical reflection about diversity, equity and inclusion I immediately think about Indigenous peoples in Canada. I think about the gross inequities that persist that Indigenous peoples have been fighting for, for more than a century. A century, think about it!

Indigenous peoples are recognized as the original peoples of Canada and yet, on all socio-economic and health indicators we fall below national averages. Continue Reading »

The Appeals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In our first blog post of 2018, we hear from Dr. Gurjit Sandhu, a Queen’s alumna and faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan. In this piece, Dr. Sandhu reflects upon the meanings of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In keeping with the theme of the 2017-2018 Together We Are blog, I am in the midst of looking ahead, only to find myself looking back to my time at Queen’s University. The knowledge and understanding I developed about diversity, equity and inclusion continues to provide me with a multifaceted lens of inquiry for my current position in medical education. Although the context and content of the work may have changed, the foundational principles of equity remain the same.

While at Queen’s University, I transitioned through the roles of student, staff and faculty member; contributed to programs and policies; collaborated on training; and contemplated theory. Continue Reading »

Welcoming and Belonging: A Kanien’kehá:ka Model of Inclusion

In our last blog post for 2017, we hear from Kanonhsyonne (Janice Hill), Director of Indigenous Initiatives at Queen’s University. In this piece, the themes of connection, community and welcome are explored.

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Equity Office, and in recognition of the need for all members of the Queen’s community to engage in the work of building a more inclusive campus environment, I have chosen to explore the idea of welcoming and inclusion from an Indigenous perspective.

In my work, everything I do is informed by my culture. It is an essential part of me, my life, and the way I see and live in the world. In Kanien’kehá:ka teachings around the Great Law of Peace, we are told that at the beginning of the formation of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations/Iroquois Confederacy), the Peacemaker took as a symbol the great white pine that has four white roots extending to the four cardinal directions, Continue Reading »

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Seasons

In our November blog post we hear from PhD student, Kuukuwa Andam. In her piece, Kuukuwa uses the beautiful imagery of changing seasons to reflect on the changing perspectives and ideas in relation to equity, diversity and inclusion at Queen’s University.

When I moved from Africa to North America, I was fascinated by the different seasons of the year. Of course, back home in Ghana, I was well acquainted with the two seasons of the year- Harmattan and the Rainy Season. I had learnt to expect strong, dusty winds to blow South from the Sahara Desert bringing along with it chapped lips, an unbearable afternoon sun, and the chilly mornings that made every child unsuccessfully try to convince their mother to skip bath time before school. I knew, also, to expect the rainy season with its heavy tropical rains, abundance of fruits, greenery, and snails excitedly going somewhere very, Continue Reading »

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