Curtin Student Guild’s Queer Department led an On-Campus Pride Parade of more than 150 people last Wednesday to celebrate National Coming Out Day.

In the most recent collaboration between the university and the Guild, students were encouraged to participate in a variety of activities set up by the Guild’s Queer Department outside Atkinson forum from 11am-3pm.

A procession of over a 150 people, helmed by members of the Guild and the Queer Department, marched in the wake of a roaming band of Samba musicians around campus.

The Guild’s Queer Officer Imari Morris says it seemed like the perfect day to have some fun before the end of semester.

“October 11 is National Coming Out Day, so we thought it would be a good chance to celebrate that day but also celebrate the community as a whole.”

Queer Officer Imari Morris (centre). Photo: Curtin Student Guild.

“We had over 150 people in the march alone, so having all those people there and all that energy there going around campus and very loudly announcing that we are here as part of the community, but we also had so many allies there showing support, it really was incredible,” he says.

The interactive activities on offer featured a make-your-own pronoun badge stall, sign making stations, and an archival project from the libraries archive team showcasing the history of the LGBTQIA + community at Curtin, including past editions of Grok and student made pride content from decades ago.

The interactive activities were held in Atkinson Forum. Photo: Curtin Student Guild.

Imari says one of the archivists at Curtin, Nicolee Young, has been working on what they (Imari) keep calling a queer history of Curtin.

“Earlier this year we did a pop-up stall for IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia), and we had a poster she had given us from I think 1979 from the guild. So, we reached out to her again for Pride to see if she wanted to do a bigger stall and she thankfully said yes and brought some amazing pieces of Curtin’s history.”

“One of the items she had was the name the Queer Department had across the years, so how we evolved from Sexualities Department to the Lesbian and Gay Officer all the way until now. So, it was a nice little look at the past and how long we’ve been around,” he says.

Over 150 people marched in the Pride Parade. Photo: Curtin Student Guild.

Imari is coming to the end of their term as Queer Officer and was elected next year Humanities representative at the recent Guild Election. He says working as Queer Officer with the Queer community here at Curtin has been a great opportunity.

“Being able to know the work we are doing is having an impact on students, the wins we’ve had are helping students and making things easier for them. It’s just been indescribable honestly,” he says.