College unveiling rainbow crosswalk early next week
By Mo Cranker on September 17, 2018.
NEWS FILE PHOTO The main entrance to Medicine Hat College is seen in this undated file photo. The college's board of governors has passed a balanced $58-million budget.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker
One of Medicine Hat College’s crosswalks is going to be a lot more colourful next week.
MHC Student Association external vice president Shelby Meyer confirmed to the News that the college would be unveiling the rainbow crosswalk Monday outside of the college.
“We brought the idea forward at the end of May,” Meyer said. “Having the crosswalk at the college just made a lot of sense to us.
“This is a place that’s about inclusion and acceptance — on top of that, it’s a place for forward and progressive thinkers.”
The crosswalk is set to be unveiled at noon on Monday but the college is not announcing which crosswalk will be painted or when the painting will take place.
“We’re asking people to gather outside of the school at 11:45 a.m. and then we’ll head to the crosswalk for noon,” Meyer said. “We know what has happened to other crosswalks so we’re not going to be telling people where it is until Monday.
“We have a lot of security on campus and a lot of cameras so if people were going to try and vandalize the crosswalk, it would be caught on camera.”
Meyer says the crosswalk will be paid for by a provincial mental health grant but it is not the only thing the school will be spending the grant on.
“We want students to know that they’re welcome at school,” she said. “Mental health is a big thing for students — no matter what they’re dealing with, we want them to feel like they’re safe here and belong here.
“We’ve also used the grant money to hire a third counsellor for the students. It’s another person that is there for our students to talk to if they’re going through a tough time.”
“It’s just about creating an even more inclusive and supportive environment for students here at the college.”
<5
