Red Deer Polytechnic Students' Association President Savannah Snow raises Pride Flag at front entrance of main campus on Monday for Central Alberta Pride Week. (rdnewsNOW/ Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Beside permanent flag

RDP starts Central Alberta Pride Week with flag raising

Aug 8, 2022 | 12:56 PM

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) celebrated the start of Central Alberta Pride Week on Monday with a Pride Flag raising on its main campus in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Taking place from August 7-13, this is the sixth year the institution has raised the flag in recognition of the week.

“Students deserve to feel included; they deserve to feel welcome and safe. Symbols and visual symbols are only the start; they’re only the beginning. I think there’s a lot more work to do in terms of inclusivity within the institution but this is up front and centre,” said Savannah Snow, President of RDP’s Students’ Association in front of the flagpole that stands by the front entrance of the school.

Pride Flag raised at Red Deer Polytechnic campus. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

She said this year’s initiative at the institution is to uncover what students want to see regarding inclusivity efforts.

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Entering into his role this week was new RDP President Stuart Cullum.

“I think that there is already an organic movement within Red Deer Polytechnic to be supportive of diversity and inclusion and I completely support that. I want to champion that and enable that. I think that’s where a president can have a role to play by signaling to the community that it matters,” he said.

His first event at the institution, Cullum says without a safe space for students and teachers to “be who they are”, it can impact their performance skills and mental health.

Corey King from the Central Alberta Pride Society says the flag raising is an annual reminder of support for representation at educational institutions, a contrast from his experience growing up near Fredericton, New Brunswick.

“When I was growing up, none of the colleges were that supportive. It was the early 90’s and people were still in that scared state,” he said. “The biggest misconception of the early years is people believed that everything to do with the LGBTQS+ community was a choice. It’s not. Why would we choose to be ostracized? Why would we choose to be bullied? We choose to be who we are.”

The temporary Pride Flag is in addition to the permanent Pride Flag hung above the entrance doors of the main campus. It was established in June 2022 during Pride Month and hangs next to the Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Métis flags.