At SHOUT you can pick up home packages with posters and stickers. Photo: Monique van Schie The first edition of Purple Friday at universities should have turned Wageningen Campus purple. But, due to corona, the students of the SHOUT association have designed at-home-packages and online tools that you can use to show there is room for everyone, regardless of gender identity, expression or sexuality.
Elske Kloen of student association SHOUT: ‘Freedom seems a given in the Netherlands, but is barely discussed. This can still make coming out an issue, even if you have never had a negative experience. On Purple Friday we want to encourage as many people as possible to speak out and show support, so that everyone may feel safe.’
Purple Friday has become a household term over the past years. First in high schools, but as of this year, also at universities and university colleges. Its goal is to create a safe environment for everyone, regardless of gender identity, expression or sexuality. You can support this initiative by wearing purple on the second Friday in December. Purple Friday in Wageningen is organised by the LHBTQ+ association SHOUT, with support from Wageningen University and Aeres University of Applied Sciences.
In Wageningen too, Purple Friday is still needed to bring this issue under the attention of the broader public.
Elske Kloen, student association Shout
Elske: ‘This year is quite challenging for us. Not just because it is the first edition at the university, but also due to the corona measures. Luckily, we still receive a lot of positive feedback, and we have already distributed several packages containing posters and stickers that student houses can use to decorate. Posters are also available to be picked up on the fifth floor of Forum.’ The online exposure has also been covered: there are purple profile picture overlays, a Snapchat filter and the hashtags #purplefriday and #SHOUTwageningen. You can even join online classes with a purple background in Zoom or Teams.
The Purple Manifesto has been drawn up in an effort to bring about policy changes. The manifesto describes how universities and university colleges can become a place where diversity is the standard and no-one is excluded. By signing the manifesto, you can help achieve this every day, and not just Friday. Elske: ‘In Wageningen too, Purple Friday is still needed, in addition to Coming Out Day, which is more focused on the LHBTQ+ers themselves, to bring this issue under the attention of the broader public. We have enough plans fort he future, and today will be a great day!’
