Emmanuel flies flag for Transgender Awareness Week

The JCR’s LGBT+ officer negotiated for the flag to be flown for the week

The blue, pink and white-striped flag first appeared at a Pride parade in Arizona in 2000Katie Nelson

by Elizabeth Howcroft

This article is 8 years old

Thursday November 16 2017, 10:23pm

Emmanuel College has become the first college to fly the transgender pride flag, in recognition of Transgender Awareness Week.

The flag, which will remain up all week, was hoisted on Monday, marking the beginning of a week which aims to raise the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people. The college also projected the LGBT+ flag onto the chapel building.

The flag was clearly visible from St Andrew's streetKatie Nelson

Transgender Awareness Week is a week-long celebration of the transgender community, culminating in the Transgender Day of Remembrance. First observed in 1999, the day commemorates victims of transphobic violence.

JCR LGBT+ Officer Katie Nelson said: “Because of the memorial aspect of Trans Awareness week, flying the flag can be seen as Emmanuel, and the university as a whole, participating in the grief experienced by the community. But it is also an important statement of solidarity with transgender people who face such adversity in this political climate.

“The reception from students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive – I’ve seen people taking pictures of the lights.

“I hope that other colleges will do the same so that Trans Awareness Week receives parity in its visibility in Cambridge as LGBT history month in February.”

Although more colleges have flown LGBT+ flags in recent years, some colleges’ strict constitutions restrict this.

The Divinity Faculty are celebrating Transgender Awareness Week with a series of lunchtime talks open to all students, with speakers including Christina Beardsley, former England Trustee for Transgender people

Support Varsity

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding and we expect to have a tough few months and years ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content and of course in print too!

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as £1, to help with our running costs. Many thanks, we hope you can help!