News Brief: Research findings on disparities 2SLGBTQ+ students face at KPU presented at KSA council meeting
The next KSA council meeting will be on July 28 at 11:00 am in a hybrid format. (File photo)
The Kwantlen Student Association held a council meeting on July 7 at 11:00 am in a hybrid format.
Council members Asad Husain, Jashanpreet Singh Maan, Jashandeep Singh, Abdullah Randhawa, Gurtejpreet Kaur Kaliyan, Upeksha Gunatilake, Destiny Lang, Jaspreet Shokar Gurnoor Kaur, Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, Yugveer Gill, Nitin Aggarwal, Amandeep Brar, Amitoj Singh, Manraj Grewal, Taranpreet Singh, and Akashdeep Sidhu were in attendance. Jashanpreet Sekhon, Mehakdeep Singh, Jobanpreet Singh, and Akashdeep Singh were unable to attend.
After a land acknowledgement, Kwantlen Polytechnic University criminology instructor and chair of the KPU Research Ethics Board Tara Lyons, along with Camille Bédard, president of the KPU Pride Society, presented research findings around the disparities 2SLGBTQ+ students face at KPU.
Lyons says the study emerged from the results of KPU’s student satisfaction survey, in which 2SLGBTQ+ students reported feeling less included in classrooms and the KPU community, likely to record mental health issues, along with housing and food insecurity, among other disparities.
“We were really interested in why and wanted to get some of the nuances of what exactly was happening with students at KPU who are trans and why they were having such difficulties compared to other students,” Lyons said.
The results of their qualitative exploratory study found that many students are not “out” at KPU due to fear of standing out and being treated differently, felt discomfort with course material, have had negative experiences with uninformed instructors, and faced discrimination and bullying amongst their peers, among other findings.
Lyons recommended more safe and inclusive spaces be created for 2SLGBTQ+ students and faculty on all KPU campuses, ideally run by a set of student staff, as a step towards combating these disparities. The Pride Society is currently the only space at KPU for 2SLGBTQ+ students, which is located on the Surrey campus and completely run by volunteers.
She also recommended instructors undergo more training like relearning gender workshops to make classrooms a safer place, and improve access to KPU services so they are more inclusive and reflect gender-affirming care.
In response to the recommendations, Randhawa said the KSA will work towards finding more safe spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ students within KPU’s campuses and will look into creating paid staff positions to keep these spaces open and running.
During the student life committee’s report, Brar announced the KPU Music Club and KPU Bhangra Club both won first place at the Inter-College Youth Festival on July 4, organized by the International Student Union.
“We congratulate the president and vice president of the Bhangra Club and the Music Club. We are looking forward to having more opportunities for students in the field of music and dance to create a better campus life and give them more recreation,” Brar said.
The KSA is also working towards creating an app and redesigning their website, passing a motion to hire P1 Softwares and Mobile Technologies as the developer. They are also planning to run a service review for students, hiring TMG Langley Business Consulting Group to conduct it.
The next council meeting is scheduled for July 28 at 11:00 am. Students can email info@kusa.ca to join the meeting.
