Resources for equity-deserving students will become more accessible this school year.
As a part of the Campus Wellness Project, the Queen’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity (EDII) Student Events Calendar is an online tool for equity-deserving students and invited allies across campus to access programmes and events geared towards their communities.
The Student Experience Office (SEO) spearheaded the initiative. It’s overseen by Taryn McKenna, SEO student inclusion & engagement coordinator. The SEO created the calendar in response to the 2021 Shift Survey—formerly the Student Experience Survey.
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The Shift Survey identified the need for accessible resources for equity-deserving students so they could find relevant activities, spaces, and events on campus.
After ironing out details about how the calendar would look to the student body and how to promote events, the calendar now exists as an online resource.
“There are so many amazing initiatives going on across campus,” Aubrey Rose Apps, Queen’s Shift Project student ambassador, said in an email to The Journal. “A resource like the EDII Events Calendar will make it much easier for students to access events and training.”
The Queen’s Shift Project is aimed at centering equity-deserving students and their experiences in events and initiatives. It includes the 2021 Shift Survey, which found 67 percent of survey respondents felt there were adequate opportunities to gain knowledge pertaining to their community.
Of the 5469 survey respondents, 118 identified as Indigenous, 1429 identified as racialized, 72 identified as having a trans experience, and 641 identified as having a disability.
“The EDII Events Calendar promotes all equity-focused events happening on campus [and] will connect students to units across Student Affairs and the University, as well as to student clubs, ultimately making students feel more connected on campus,” Apps said.
The EDII Student Events Calendar is a part of the Shift Project and includes the Shift Podcast; the Sunday Supper Series programme; and the Action, Commitment, Transformation (ACT) certificate through the Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO).
Student Affairs hopes these EDII initiatives across campus will promote a sense of belonging for equity-deserving students.
“The calendar will be a valuable tool [for] individuals and groups who are delivering events and initiatives for equity-deserving students to promote their activities,” Taryn McKenna, SEO student inclusion and engagement advisor, said in an email to The Journal.
“There are so many fantastic student and university-run events for equity-deserving students across campus, many of which you can learn more about on the [calendar].”
Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to share equity-focused events to the Calendar to promote a safer, more accessible environment on campus.
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