Queer Collective Newsletter - November 2023

Autonomous Election completed

The Queer Collective's autonomous election was completed in Week 5, with both Pepsi and Rebecca remaining as the Queer Officers in 2024 (pending confirmation from Arc).

Engagement with School of Social Sciences

We completed an initial meeting with the School of Social Sciences regarding transphobic content in courses. The School will be holding a meeting with staff to discuss how to address these issues in the future (both through proactive and reactive means), and this will be opened to students in 2024. An extended copy of the meeting notes will be distributed on request.

Mardi Gras Panel with UNSW

The Collective is planning to host a Q&A panel of UNSW governance staff during the 2024 Mardi Gras festival, with the aim of increasing transparency on what the University is doing for the LGBTQIA+ community outside of the festival. We aim to provide an opportunity for students to discuss concerns around "pinkwashing" and virtue-signalling through the annual Parade, as well as allowing students to engage directly with the decision-makers of the university. UNSW EDI has expressed support for this project.

Ace Visibility Week Picnic

To celebrate Ace Visibility Week we hosted a picnic on the village green on Wednesday the 25th of Oct. As a social event it gave us an opportunity to connect further with the Ace students in the collective and inform new students who stopped by about the Queer collective. We had a turn out of 20 people and overall felt that we were able to successfully appreciate and bring attention to students in the Ace community. 

Halloween movie night

We plan to host a movie night in the Queer Space on Friday the 3rd of Nov. We will play queer horror movies, and use it to help decrease stress among the Queer collective with the upcoming exam season. As of right now we need to secure numbers, promote on our socials and check our polls for the decided movie. 

2024 Planning Session

Queer Collective will hold a 2024 strategy/planning session during either the Week 9 or Week 10 meeting (TBC). This is to discuss the direction and approach that the Collective will take to issues in 2024.