On Tuesday, March 26, the Red Deer College hosted an event that advocated the importance of allies in the LGBTQ+ community.

Local allies conducted a public hearing where they could share their experiences, stories, and how to support the LGBTQ+ community and online audiences could ask questions through an online forum.

Darnel Forro, an instructor at RDC and organizer of the event believes that speaking to an ally increases the odds of broadening the perspective of people who are resistant to the LGBTQ+ community.

“A certain sceptre of our society does not want to hear the message from me or someone in the community. But if they can hear the message coming from a person that they can relate further with, someone who shares certain elements of their social location. Sometimes it makes people become more reflective and more open in their thinking,” explained Forro.

The purpose behind the event was to get allies to become more open about their support of the LGBTQ+ community and to show their support more publicly to inspire other people to reconsider their perspectives. 

“I think we have lots and lots of allies but most of our allies are quiet, our allies are not angry, our allies don’t often speak up. The goal of this event is to empower and encourage our allies, that it is safe for them to speak, it is safe for them to use their influence to raise awareness that we still have a message for inclusion that needs to continue. We have not reached a point where LGTBQ+ individuals feel safe and included on their day to day activities," said Forro. 

The event had a large turnout even from people outside of the student community. In the end, information was spread in a positive way and the LGBTQ+ community was celebrated.