Rainbow Flag To Be Flown At Glyndwr University

The rainbow flag is to be flown at Glyndwr University for the first time in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month.

The university will be flying the gay pride symbol in its quadrangle and hosting a programme of events for students throughout February to mark the annual celebration.

The university appointed Marc Caldecott as its first LGBT sabbatical officer this year and he said the celebration will mark the latest step forward for the university in representing the LGBT community.

Planned events include an LGBT version of blind date on Tuesday 4 February and a screening of Milk, a 2008 film which documents the story of gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The Students’ Guild is also funding a trip to London for Glyndŵr University students to join in National Student Pride from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 February.

Marc said: “I don’t think the university has ever organised so many formal events to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual month so it’s fantastic news. The university has been really supportive in allowing us to fly the flag for the entire month.”

Marc is currently writing a dissertation on students’ perceptions of same sex parenting for his degree in Family and Childhood Studies.

He added: “LGBT students are really active at Glyndŵr and we are always getting positive feedback from them. Glyndŵr University is very supportive of any events which we put on and we have never faced any negative issues here in any form.”

LGBT History Month has been observed every February since 2005 to mark the abolition of section 28, which paved the way for LGBT issues to be discussed openly in schools.

The abolition is seen as one of the most significant milestones in the history of the gay rights movement.

(Pic: Mark with Penny Anderson, Students’ Guild Vice President.)