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Opinions

 

Spread love, not hate

Gay and lesbian
challenges

By Dominic Dutt & Lex
Woochuk, Contributors

he Pride Community

here at Douglas College
attempts to build a society
that is willing to accept
gays and lesbians as human
beings who are capable of
love and are no different
from their peers.

Society imposes certain
expectations on people,
including the expectation
to be straight instead of
queer. It becomes quite
complicated when someone
realizes they are gay or
lesbian. This makes it
harder for someone who is a
queer, because it’s not what
their peers expect them to
be.

“T like to embrace the
term Spread Love, Not
Hate, as it encompasses
this positive attitude to
encourage acceptance,”
says Lex Woochuk, the

Douglas Students’ Union
Pride Liaison for the

Pride Community. The
members of the Douglas
Pride Community may not
always have opportunities
to express themselves in a
safe environment. Because
of this, it is one of the top
priorities when planning
Pride events to allow

for plenty of inclusive

fun and expression. Last
summer, several Douglas
College students, including
Woochuck, walked in the
Pride Parade to represent
the New Westminster
Douglas Students’ Union
Pride Community. “It was a
wonderful experience,” says
Woochuk.

A hard part of being
queer is dealing with
potential familial upset.
One always wants to be
loved and accepted, but
support may not always be
possible with some families’
values. Having to choose
between the love of one’s
family and one’s partner is
a prevalent problem. The
Pride Community is aware

of this common lack of
understanding. They are
available to support gays
and lesbians, including their
families, who may be going
through this phase.

As society progresses
towards a more inclusive
mentality, it is important
to continue infusing the
evolution with positivity,
rather than abrasive
pessimism. A large
challenge for those who
aren’t heterosexual is facing
unfair treatment because of
their group membership.
The possibility of being
discriminated against
or even facing an act of
violence just because of
their sexual preferences is
common.

“A person who may not
be straight often is subjected
to a persona which may
not exceed, say, ‘gay,’ and
the schematic associations
therein. I am a lesbian, yes,
but I have other oddities.
Iam a left-handed person
with an allergy to peanuts.
It is seldom in a person’s
interest to be reduced to

The good side of the changes

 

Risks are possible
when we have a good
plan

By Glauce Fleury,
Contributor

| ave you ever thought

about how an
experience can change
you? I’ve done that often,
and being an international
student at Douglas College
is part of it. In the fall of

2005, I came to Vancouver
to attend an ESL program
and ideas started to pop
up. In two months, I

made friends all over the
world—some of them, I
now consider to be my best.
Moreover, I learned a lot
about other cultures and
practiced tolerance every
day in this multicultural
society. How could [still be
the same person?

Back in Brazil, my
homeland, I tried to adjust
to my old life, but I missed
a more open-minded
environment. I wanted to
be among foreign people
with different backgrounds,
and to share experiences.

I needed something more.
Thad changed, but my
environment was still the
same and I didn’t know
what to do. I didn’t have a
backup plan.

Five years went by
and Canada was still on

my mind, so I started
thinking of coming back to
pursue higher education.
As [had majored in
journalism, one possibility
was to study writing

so I would have more
knowledge and experience
writing in English. I was
researching programs
when, in the beginning

of 2011, I was promoted

to Communications
Coordinator. I accepted.
My days were now full of
meetings and events, and

I didn’t have time to write
a single paragraph. I was
unhappy.

On my vacation, I
visited a few colleges in
Ontario and BC and here,
at Douglas, I found the
perfect program for me.

I was faced with one of

my biggest challenges: I
had been working for 11
years at the same company,
where I improved a

 

 

 

one phrase. We are complex
creatures with many facets,”
says Lex Woochuk.

You can contact
Woochuk for more
information by email at

lot my communication
skills, but where I was
unhappy. I felt lost. I could
have seen that moment
negatively, complaining and
whining, but I wouldn’t
have benefitted from this
behavior.

Then, I remembered an
old book called Who Moved
My Cheese?, a tale about
adjusting our behaviour
towards change. When we
see changes coming, we
have to move with them
instead of waiting for
some miracle to give us
back everything we had.
Change happens all the
time, whether we are ready
or not. With this in mind, I
resigned from my job, took
the TOEFL test, and applied
for a seat in the Print
Futures program.

I decided to think
positively. Although some
people were shocked by my
decision—I left the boss’

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of www.memphisflyer.com

lexwoochuk@gmail.com.
The Pride Room is located
in the Douglas Students’
Union Building (DSU) in
room 328, located on the
second floor.

position, status, and money
to be a mere student—I was
surprisingly happy. When
I got the acceptance letter,
I sold almost all my stuff,
found a new family for my
ten-year old boxer, Gordon,
and came to Canada.

My decision was made
from a very honest need
to pursue something new.
Life is about taking risks,
and it is totally possible
to do this safely. We just
need a good plan, a bit of
courage, and an open heart.
Changes don’t affect just the
environment. They make us
different too. It’s our job to
use these changes to become
someone better, taking
opportunities in pursuit
of success. My definition
of success is “being happy
with our choices,” because
they define the existence or
absence of happiness. Every
day, I choose to be happy.

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