June is here again and so is Pride-month: a celebration of community diversity and a demonstration for people’s rights. The rainbow flag was raised at the University on Monday, there have been various Pride-themed events in Tampere throughout the week, and Manse Pride will culminate in a parade this Saturday with us students marching in the parade as well. This year Pride and its theme ‘’One big family’’ invites us to meet each other with kindness and understanding, and to build a community where everyone can be themselves. I would like to pause to reflect on the importance of the university community for gender and sexual minorities.
Just as there are different kinds of flowers in nature and different shapes of snowflakes, so there are different kinds of people in our university community. It is therefore important to maintain an open and accepting atmosphere at university: for many people, the university community is a place where they can be themselves for the first time. The opportunity to meet like-minded people, to find peer support and to be met and accepted as oneself is extremely important for one’s well-being, and all this also fosters a sense of belonging to the community. A culture of not having to hide or explain oneself must be maintained throughout the university.
One of the missions of the university is to educate students to serve their country and humankind, and I think this is well reflected in the dreams for a better tomorrow. If we want to build an equal and just society, it starts with how we treat each other in our everyday lives: in lecture halls, in student associations, in student restaurants and on campuses in general. Even small acts, such as putting a rainbow flag on the bulletin board or creating a safe space in associations spaces, can be turning points for the entire university community.
The university community is not an abstract concept; it is a community of me and you! So, it is up to all of us to build a community where people are treated without assumptions, openly and equally.