MHC unveils rainbow of inclusion

By Mo Cranker on September 25, 2018.

College and government officials stand on the rainbow crosswalk at Medicine Hat College Monday after unveiling the city's first rainbow crosswalk.--NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

Like many communities across the country — Medicine Hat is now home to a rainbow crosswalk.

A large crowd gathered outside the front of Medicine Hat College around noon Monday for the grand unveiling.

“We did this to celebrate our commitment to inclusion and acceptance of all students,” said MHC Student Association external vice president Shelby Meyer. “The crosswalk is a part of our celebration and a sign of what we stand for.

“Our goal is to make everyone feel safe and included — we hope it helps us achieve that.”

The crosswalk was funded by a mental health initiative grant from the provincial government — which also allowed the college to hire a third counsellor for students to access when they need someone to talk to.

“This is long overdue,” said MLA Bob Wanner. “We as a community, as a province and for me as a father and a grandfather, we all know a young person or child that has felt some kind of embarrassment or isolation.

“Things like this remind us of our responsibility.”

A year ago the local Pride Association said it was interested in going to council to set up a rainbow crosswalk around the city. Since then the group has undergone a top-down rebuild. Pride chair Becki Korhonen says it is nice to see an organization bring the crosswalk to life.

“This is just awesome,” said local Pride Association chair Becki Korhonen. “This is showing that the community has recognized us — we’re no longer in secret.

“We’re proud of who we are and proud of how far we’ve come.”

The college used Monday’s crosswalk unveiling to kick off Pride Week at the school — which will feature a number of events throughout the week.

“Its’ going to be a fun week here — and it’s important to recognize all of our students,” said Meyer. “We’ve got a number of fun and informative events over the next few days for people to come and take part in.”

With one crosswalk up, Korhonen says the group is not planning for others around the city.

“We’re not trying to paint the city in rainbow colours,” she said. “The college is an excellent place for this.

“People are coming from all over to go to school here — they’ll see this beautiful crosswalk and know that they’re accepted — no matter what.”