Pride Week brings together Warwick’s clubs and societies

Warwick Students’ Union’s (SU) Pride Society have been running their annual Pride Week between 14-20 November, dedicated to raising awareness of issues related to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Undefined and Asexual (LGBTUA+) community.

There have been a range of events hosted by Pride and in collaboration with other societies at the university.

The week began with a ‘Coming out of the Closet’ event on Monday in the SU atrium. Members of the LGBTUA+ community together with allies and were invited to literally ‘come out’ of a rainbow closet, to declare their identification with and support for Pride.

The ‘Coming out of the Closet’ event. Images: Warwick Pride

On Wednesday a ‘Bi+ visibility stall’ was set up outside the arts centre, to distribute information leaflets aiming to increase understanding of Bisexual+ identities.

Sara Boiten, Co-President of Warwick Pride, felt that the most successful event of the week was the ‘POP!’ social held on Wednesday evening with Warwick Anti-Sexism Society (WASS). She said: “It was great to see everyone covered in rainbow face-paint and the no-pressure circle went great.”

However the focus was not only on events to raise awareness of and celebrate LGBTUA+ identity, but on enhancing unity throughout the university as a whole.

Sports clubs, such as the Warwick Devils, have supported the ‘Kick Homophobia Out’ campaign.
Image: Sophie Mount

As Madi-Simcock Brown, LGBTUA+ Officer at the SU, explained: “I wanted people to acknowledge the LGBTUA+ people in their societies, sports clubs, seminars etc and encourage focus on a group of their membership they may not have known they had and support them.”

Therefore, Pride collaborated with other societies for events such as a ‘vegan rainbow potluck’ hosted on Wednesday by Warwick Vegan and Vegetarian Society, and a Pride themed week at WASS’s popular Reading Club. The week will finish with a film screening of the 2014 British film Pride in collaboration with Warwick Student Cinema, this Sunday 20 November at 7.30pm.

Many sports clubs have also been involved with Pride Week, through the ‘Kick Homophobia Out of Sport’ campaign. Students have been encouraged to purchase rainbow laces to wear at practices and games this week, the proceeds of which will go to Stonewall – a charity supporting LGBTUA+ people.

The focus was not only on events to raise awareness of and celebrate LGBTUA+ identity, but on enhancing unity throughout the University as a whole.

Many sports clubs have also made posts on social media with the hashtags #oneteamwarwick and #warwickhaspride in order to show support.

The week also had an emphasis on welfare and Madi explained that she wanted to put on a wellbeing event specifically for LGBTUA+ people. This took place on Friday with a workshop called, “I’m Proud”, in collaboration with the university’s mental health support services. It was stated there would be various, ‘crafts and activities’, such as a ‘wellbeing mood-board’ at the event.

Commenting on the success of Pride Week this year, Sara said: “Pride Week this year has been about showing how essential the LGBTUA+ community is to campus life, and it’s been a great start to lots of new people feeling more comfortable in their community, to adding to Ted’s (Warwick SU Sports Officer) great work on kicking homophobia out of sport and to so many more intersociety collaborations.”