Raising the Pride virtually

Pride Week, an annual celebration filled with events, kicked off on Sept. 28 with its first event: raising the pride flag in front of the main entrance of the college.

Due to the pandemic and to ensure the safety of the students, the Students’ Association needed to shift everything online, by streaming the event on their Instagram page.

The SA thought it would have been more effective than any other social media, due to the bigger follower count on their Instagram platform.

Being able to do it virtually meant that the flag-raising event could be broadcasted to all three Algonquin campuses.

“It took months of planning,” said Quinn Blue, one of the events coordinators at the wellness and equity centre. “We started to plan way back in April to get approval with the College, but there have never been any complications. We also had to change a couple of things due to COVID.”

For over four years, the SA has been raising the well-known six-coloured rainbow flag, however, they decided to switch it up.

“It’s called the ‘Progression Flag’. It’s a redesign by Daniel Quasar, a graphic designer,” said Blue. “It has the usual six colours, but on the left side, it has a chevron that has black, brown, light blue, pink and white. It’s to signify the acceptance of people of colour and trans individuals into the community.”

The flag-raising event on campus was a way for the SA to show its support for the LGBTQ+ community online.

To find more about upcoming online pride events, visit the Students’ Association’s website.