A home for equity and diversity clubs on campus

A home for equity and diversity clubs on campus

New space for student groups working to advance social justice to open this spring.

By Dave Rideout

January 30, 2019

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The 成人大片 "Yellow Cottage" at 140 Stuart Street
New Queen's student club space to open at 140 Stuart St.
Yellow Cottage was once the home of the longest-serving registrar at Queen's, Jean Royce, who occupied the role from 1933 to 1969. After she resided there, the building housed the Queen鈥檚 Office of Advancement for the Faculty of Arts and Science. Most recently, the building was home to the Queen鈥檚 Student Wellness Services office, which has since relocated to the newly-opened Mitchell Hall.

(Updated: Feb. 8, 2019) As announced at a recent meeting of the University Council on Anti-Racism and Equity (UCARE), Queen鈥檚 is creating a dedicated space on campus for Queen鈥檚 student groups working to advance social justice and inclusion. Located at 140 Stuart St., the property 鈥 known by the campus community as 鈥淭he Cottage鈥 or the 鈥淵ellow House鈥 鈥 will open for use this spring.

鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased to make the Yellow House available for undergraduate and graduate clubs whose mandates promote equity and inclusion on campus,鈥 says Teri Shearer, Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Inclusion.) 鈥淢any students have expressed a need for additional club space that is reliable, safe, and comfortable, so this is another great step in our ongoing efforts to support a more welcoming and diverse campus.鈥

The space will include a kitchen, social and work areas, as well as rooms for equity-promoting clubs ratified by either the or the . To determine how the space is allocated, Dr. Shearer鈥檚 office will soon invite Expressions of Interest, which will be reviewed by a UCARE subcommittee to prioritize the requests. The committee will include representatives from the AMS, SGPS, and the Division of Student Affairs, as well as Associate Vice-Principal (Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion) Stephanie Simpson, and Dr. Shearer.

鈥淭he new club facility will provide a centralized hub for social justice activities open to all students,鈥 Dr. Shearer says. 鈥淭his shared space will help nurture conversation and collaboration between students and student groups, serve as a centre for peer mentoring, education, and workshops, and promote equity and diversity within our campus community. Every effort will be made to accommodate as many interested clubs as possible.鈥

Further information and application materials can be found on the Inclusive Queen's website.

Established in late 2017, UCARE coordinates, monitors, and reports on the progress of university-wide initiatives to address racism and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion, as outlined in a report by the Principal鈥檚 Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI) issued the year prior. These initiatives are both part of the greater Inclusive Queen鈥檚 effort, alongside programs championing greater accessibility, wellness, Indigenous supports, gender and sexuality supports, and more.