Rainbows 1n the Vancouver sky > Pride intensifies throughout Metro Vancouver Mercedes Deutscher News Editor Co marks a time of celebration for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies throughout the Lower Mainland. Here is a list of events and organizations flying their flags proudly this summer. DSU Pride Community The DSU Pride Community can be found on the second floor of the DSU building on the New Westminster Campus. The community meets every second Tuesday, from 2:30-3:30 p-m. They can also be found tabling in the concourse every second Thursday, alternating from meeting weeks. There have been some special events planned by the community to take place preparing to kick off the city’s Pride Season on July 21 with Pride Premiere at Celebrities Nightclub. This will be the first of several official Pride parties hosted at Celebrities throughout the following week. throughout the summer. There The kickoff will be is an upcoming Whitecaps FC followed by the Davie event on July 13, where a limited Street Party on July 29. number of tickets are available for the cost of $20 each, and each ticket comes with a set of pride laces. Other events include movie nights and ice cream outings. July 30 will mark the Terry Wallace Memorial Breakfast. Wallace used his position as manager at the Old Castle Pub to fundraise enough to keep the Vancouver Pride Society alive through its toughest years, through the ‘80s and ‘gos. Vancouver Pride Society The Vancouver Pride Society is The DSU: What's new 1n June? > An interview with Aran Armutlu Jamal Al-Bayaa Staff Writer he Other Press sat down with Aran Armutlu, treasurer for the Douglas Students’ Union, to go over the minutes of this month and what they mean for Douglas Students. Topics discussed included old business as well as bigger changes coming to the school in years to come. OP: “So first on your agenda for June was increasing representation on Coquitlam Campus, can you tell us a bit about that?” AA: “Absolutely. Obviously, a big part of our platform when we were running in elections was to do way more at David Lam, as around 4o per cent of our student body studies there. We figured one of the best ways to do that was to have a full time staff member there. Another thing we’re really hoping for is a students’ union building at Coquitlam, so we're currently set to change any time soon?” AA: “It is. We're currently working on hiring for speaking with that position, the college and we'll be about being calling it the involved in David Lam the master Organizer. planning Having sessions, someone [because] full time we over there understand that'll be the able to importance engage with of having students, our own space interact with over there. staff members, OP: “So what’s collaborate, become an expert at that campus and spearhead the campus life situated there will be really beneficial.” (Since the interview, it was revealed that Deepa new with our College Coordinator positions? From what I hear, there’s a New West Coordinator, a Campus Life [both campuses] Coordinator, but no Coquitlam Coordinator. Is that He has been memorialized with the annual breakfast since his death in 2004. July 31 hosts the Vancouver Pride Parade, starting at 12 p.m. and ending at 3 p.m. The parade attracts around 500,000 spectators annually. Returning to this year’s Pride is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who previously attended the parade in 2014 and 2015. Bigger and brighter rainbows While already passed, Metro Vancouver has hosted several other events over the past month. A parade in Surrey took place Singh will be filling in the vacancy on that position.) OP: “On the DSU’s minutes it also says there’s going to bea new smoothie bar on campus. What’s that going to look like?” AA: “It’s still early, so we're not rock-solid on anything right now, but we're looking into a lot of different options and we figure that the best option is going to be something that is self-sufficient, probably staff free. Students can just go in any time, grab one of the pre-made smoothie packages, blend it up, and go. They'll also have the option to bring in their own stuff and use the blenders that are going to be available to them... Smoothie bars will be the first step in a longer [possible] plan to create a self-serve kitchen on campus, which is something we know would provide students with two benefits: more options, and ways to save money on food. Almost like a hostel kitchen, Image via thinkstock on June 26. Surrey’s parade was the first of its kind, and followed shortly after a decision was made by the municipality of Surrey to fly a pride flag at City Hall earlier in the month. The parade was met with mixed reviews, with some more conservative residents complaining about the event being taken outside of Vancouver. Queer Prom also had its annual appearance in June, hosting dozens of LGBTQ+ youth and their allies. The event provides a safe space for students to celebrate the end of another school year. we're imagining there to be a self- serve area where students can cook basic meals, and it might include things like blenders, microwaves, and stovetops. We'll see how that goes.” OP: “One last thing before we go, and this isn’t officially on the minutes but I want to know, are you guys considering having a nap room on campus as well?” AA: “That is something that we will look into. We're going to do a space audit to see which rooms are and aren't being used and why, and then from there decide how to best utilize that space for students. Nap rooms are a topic that come up quite a bit, but in all seriousness it is something that would be pretty useful. So when midterm season comes around [in the fall], we'll try it and see how it goes. In this, we'll be looking at other campuses who have also trialed it to see what would work for us.”