NWU Mahikeng SCC unveils pride wall
A campus pride wall was unveiled on 13 May at the Mahikeng Campus by the North-West University’s (NWU) Mahikeng Student Campus Council (SCC) and the Student Counselling and Development Centre (SCD Centre).
The Mahikeng Campus has now joined the Potchefstroom Campus in embracing diversity in all its forms by installing a pride wall to represent the LGBTIQA+ community. According to the NWU SCD Centre, the “installation of this wall is aimed at recognising the lived experiences of the LGBTIQA+ community on campus, and further amplifies the experiences, voices and the stories of many queer people that have walked the grounds of our campus”.
Preston Junior Segalwe from NWU FM hosted the pride wall unveiling live on the SCD Mahikeng Facebook page and was joined by guest speakers Lerato Wana, Sam Junior Mbatha, and Siyathokoza Khumalo. They shared common interests of the importance of embracing gender diversity and sexual identity on campus.
The wall does more than just represent the LGBTIQA+ community. Siyathokoza Khumalo, author of the book You have to be gay to know God and a socio-political commentator, said: “this is an opportunity to acknowledge that the LGBTIQA+ community exists, and they share the desire to be integrated into the society that they contribute to”. This is all the more more reason for embracing gender diversity, said Khumalo.
Queer people still find it hard to express themselves, Lerato Wana, counselling psychologist and manager of the SCD at the NWU Mahikeng campus, said. “As a heterosexual it is easy to go about our day normally because we are not scared to be who we are, but this is different for gay people”. It is time for society to educate themselves about the community, to be able to welcome and be open enough to make it easier for these individuals to express themselves and be themselves, said Wana.
Sam Junior Mbatha, Digital Media Marketer at the department of Marketing and Brand Communication at the NWU, said the university is a home away from home for students. Therefore, he feels it is the duty of the university to make this home as welcoming, amazing, and affirming for students as possible. “From a marketing and brand perspective, it is very important for brands like NWU to be inclusive because when we talk of cross-cultural marketing, we see how people are reflected in the brands which they consume.”
The NWU pride wall, according to the NWU SCD Centre, “is a symbol of affirmation and care, and to show the institution’s support towards the members of the LGBTIQA+ community. Through this wall, the university stands against oppression, harassment, language discrimination, homophobia, and any injustice that threatens the existence and livelihood of members of the LGBTIQA+ community.”
There are different pride flags, all of which have a symbolic meaning and represent different people within the LGBTIQA+ Community.
