Extremely important since issues relating to queer matters within Icelandic universities need to be improved, says head of Queer Student Association.
Q – Queer Student Association together with Samtökin ’78, the National Queer Organization, have started inviting students at the University of Iceland to go on educational field trips to the headquarters of Samtökin ’78 on Suðurgata 3 in Reykjavík. There they get a chance to learn from their fellow students about queer matters in a safe and relaxed environment.
Heiðrún Fivelstad, activist and head of education at Q, wants students to be aware of queer matters, not just so queer people can feel safe and accepted within university spaces, but also acknowledged on every level within the different fields of the universities.
„We think of the field trips as a chance to educate students about what it means to be queer, all the diverse groups that belong under the queer umbrella, what the difference between gender identity, sexual orientation, sex characteristics and gender expression are (to really mess with their heads), and how they can offer a helping hand within the universities themselves,“ says Heiðrún when asked about their main focus.
„ We try to tailor every field trip to the academic field of the students so they get a chance to connect to it both on a personal and on an academic level. Within this space, where the students are surrounded by their peers and friends, they get a chance to learn, ask questions and discuss in a relaxed atmosphere,“ she adds.
„Queer people and matters are hardly ever mentioned in classrooms, in textbooks, in research or in projects and there is still a lot of discourse that excludes us. Most of the time, it’s like we don’t exist “
Asked how it came about that Q started organizing these field trips, Heiðrún says that Samtökin ’78 have offered field trips for university students before, but this semester Q decided to put more focus on education within the universities and take over the field trips for the most part. „We want to be an active voice within the universities and press for matters that we feel are important, and field trips are a great way to do so,“ she says. „When I took over as head of education at Q, I wanted to focus my attention fully on the field trips, as I am extremely passionate about increasing the dialogue on queer matters within the universities.“
Have you been surprised while working on this project?
„I am not sure what ideas I had in mind before starting, but I must say the field trips have been a great pleasure. I think the thing I least expected is the enthusiasm of university students to learn more about these matters, especially within a space that’s relaxed and understanding,“ she explains. „I have been a volunteer for ‘Jafningjafræðarar’, an educational program offered for elementary schools at Samtökin ’78, and I didn’t realise that my peers did not get the same education that Samtökin ’78 offers now. I of course knew that was the case, but I never actually thought of it,“ Heiðrún acknowledges. „I think oftentimes university students are getting this education for the first time, and to be able to offer that is really rewarding.”
How have the students reacted? Are they generally aware of queer matters?
„The reaction has been really wonderful, and I hope equally as nice for them. The discussions that follow the lectures have been really interesting and I feel that students come with a very open mind. Sometimes people open up about situations or matters that they have been wondering about, but not gotten the chance to discuss in a similar space, which is always nice,“ says Heiðrún. „I think people’s awareness varies from person to person, but the general atmosphere is that they’re willing to listen and learn. I learn equally as much from the field trips, as every discipline has a different approach to the matters we discuss, and I didn’t realize queer issues could be applied to literally every discipline before I started the field trips; there are a thousand different ways to view and discuss the subject.“
Why is it important in your opinion that the students at the university are aware of queer matters?
„It is extremely important because there is still so much that needs to be improved within the universities regarding queer matters. Queer people and matters still go unnoticed within most fields at the universities, both on a social and systematic level,“ Heiðrún explains. „Queer people and matters are hardly ever mentioned in classrooms, in textbooks, in research or in projects and there is still a lot of discourse that excludes us. Most of the time, it’s like we don’t exist,“ she proclaims.
„I want students to be aware of queer matters, not just so queer people can feel safe and accepted within university spaces, but also acknowledged on every level. We need all hands on deck in order for this to be improved.“
„I want students to be aware of queer matters, not just so queer people can feel safe and accepted within university spaces, but also acknowledged on every level. We need all hands on deck in order for this to be improved.“
Does the university help you out with this project? Are you getting any grants or is it all voluntary work?
„Up until now it’s been all voluntary work for myself and the secretary of Q, Embla Orradóttir Dofradóttir, but we are hoping to get grants for the next semester. Samtökin ’78 have been wonderful with helping us out as well,“ Heiðrún says with a lot of gratitude.
The Queer Student Association has been very active in the past year with a lot of exciting new projects. Are you changing direction? Where does this new drive come from?
„We decided to focus our attention more locally and put more emphasis on hosting fewer and better events,“ Heiðrún explains. „We want university students to know about us and queer students to join us at events, as well as educate as many people as we can. We want to become a stronger voice within university spaces to raise awareness of queer matters,“ she says. „And we’re just getting started,“ she adds.
Apart from the educating, do you have any other events coming up?
„We schedule events twice every month for queer university students to get to know each other. The events vary from time to time and anyone is more than welcome to join. Events are advertised on our Facebook page. Everybody is welcome, no matter where under the rainbow!“
How can interested university students join the association?
„Like us on Facebook, Q – Félag hinsegin stúdenta // Q – Queer Student Association and meet us at our next event! You can also shoot us a message if you have any questions,“ says Heiðrún and adds that there are events organized by Q coming up, including an event dedicated to sex education on March 16th.
