The Martlet

The fifth-annual Canadian Universities Queer Services Conference (CUQSC) is coming to B.C. for the first time from Feb. 4–7, with a mission to bring together queer students from all across Canada.

UVic Pride, along with the Positive Spaces Network and Camosun Pride are hosting the conference, with the intention of celebrating and exploring community. And, for the first time, CUQSC will be open to members of the public.

“It’s usually open to just student unions who offer queer services, but we’ve also opened it up to affiliates who offer queer services,” said Julianne Cullen from the CUQSC planning committee.

“A lot of it is to get a large amount of people who have similar interests together so they can talk, network and make connections across the country,” said Cullen. “I find I’ve seriously increased my contact pool.”

The conference will involve workshops, keynote speakers, panel discussions and roundtables, as well as social events.

“In a lot of the [workshops] we’re trying to demystify lesser known queer identities,” said Cullen.

Attendees can expect workshops on topics such as asexuality, polyamoury and even kink.

The asexuality workshop will touch on what it means to identify as asexual and the history of the asexual community. Participants will consider the relationship of the asexual community to the queer community, and questions of inclusion and exclusion.

The polyamoury workshop will examine the challenges polyamoury (loving more than one person) creates for individuals, but also for traditional ideas of relationship structures, and how this may open the door for a sex-positive culture and social change.

Keynote speakers for the conference will include Pamela Brown, UVic’s Equity Advisor, and Ivan E. Coyote, an award-winning author.

A panel discussion on Friday, Feb. 5, will feature the stories of people of varying religious faiths, and how their faith affected their coming out and their queer identities.

Social events include “Creating Connections” on Feb. 5, which is a monthly event in Victoria’s queer community. It will run from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Michel Pujol Room and will include networking, speed-friending and speakers sharing their coming out stories. Then, on Feb. 6, “Shake That Acronym” will offer a 19+ dance party, taking place in the Student Union Building’s (SUB) Vertigo at 8 p.m. A coffee house will be held at Serious Coffee at 7:30 p.m. for delegates who don’t wish (or aren’t old enough) to attend the Vertigo event.

Registration for the whole conference is available for $100. Each event also has individual pricing, and there will be multiple workshops running at once so participants can select the ones that interest them.

“Everybody has the opportunity to choose which [events] are the most accommodating for them,” said Cullen.

Workshops and keynote address are $10 for students or $15 for community members. Full day passes are $25 for students and $35 for community members. “Shake That Acronym” is $5. Participants can register for events at any point during the conference in the Michele Pujol room.

The Positive Space Network’s workshops and events will be free to the public. For the complete schedule of events, visit the conference website at cuqsc.org.