McMaster's Queer Students Community Centre will host the McMaster Pride March next week on Tuesday, November 5 at 2:00-2:30pm, meeting outside Commons and concluding in the MUSC/Mills Plaza. The annual march is one of many events held during McMaster Pride Week, scheduled for November 4-8 this year.

"Over the past few years the number of Athletics & Recreation staff and varsity athletes participating in the march has grown substantially which has helped  to increase both the visibility and impact of the event," said Jeff Giles, Director of Athletics & Recreation.

The call is out to Marauder Nation to make the march even bigger in 2013. While the event begins at 2:00pm in front of the Commons, Marauder athletes, coaches, staff and supporters will congregate outside the Maroon Shop in the David Braley Athletic Centre at 1:45pm before joining the march. You can read about Marauder Nation's participation in the 2012 march here.

McMaster's work as a leader in a CIS-CAAWS Pilot Project to Address Homophobia in Sport has identified the silence of otherwise accepting, welcoming community members and teammates as one of the biggest on-going challenges to building a more inclusive (sport) community.

"When supporters remain silent in the face of casual and overt homophobia, it lets the often vocal and discriminatory minority set the tone. It's a very small act, joining in the Pride March, but the visibility of our support speaks loudly, signals our commitment and opens dialogue," said Andrew Pettit, Sport Leagues & Camps Coordinator and McMaster's CIS-CAAWS project coordinator.

'Casual homophobia' refers to the common use of discriminatory language and assumptions based on limiting stereotypes and generalizations. More and more campaigns are being launched to challenge these hurtful practices. Watch Wanda Sykes spell it out and challenge us to be more thoughtful with our words in this video.

"There's been a significant change in our department since we began joining the march in 2010. Staff, coaches and athletes have attended training sessions and are growing more and more thoughtful about using inclusive language and building stronger teams and communities," notes Pettit.

The next wave of the CIS-CAAWS project will unfold over the next several months, as the department works to assess our current climate and progress towards building a more inclusive McMaster community.