BIPOC and trans students are bracing for the biggest racist and transphobic event of the year at Queen’s – Hallowe’en. And if rumours are correct this year’s event is expected to be bigger than ever before.
Every year white privileged Queen’s students dress in racist, colonial and cross-dressing costumes and consider this fun. Costumes are not opportunities to turn a person’s identity into a stereotyped image. They dehumanize marginalized peoples. It makes Queen’s BIPOC and trans students afraid to walk the streets, to learn side by side in our classrooms.
We call on Queen’s students to remember: my identity, my heritage, my culture is not your costume.