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U. Manitoba: Don’t Mention Safe Space at Event or People Will Think it’s Unsafe

U. Manitoba: Don’t Mention Safe Space at Event or People Will Think it’s Unsafe

That seems logical.

At the University of Manitoba, the first rule of the safe space is not to mention that they have a safe space.

CBC News reports:

Organizer asked to be discreet about safe space at university frosh festival

Volunteers who organized the first designated safe space at a University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) event were initially told not to promote their efforts “too much,” because the concept made the event seem unsafe, according to one U of M student.

“Originally, we were asked not to promote the event too heavily to make frosh seem unsafe,” safe space organizer Aly Raposo said. “However, it started a bit of an uproar.”

Raposo goes to the University of Manitoba and is a mental health advocate. She said she was approached by UMSU a few weeks ago. They wanted her to put together a safe space for mental health purposes during the UMSU Frosh Music Festival, an annual back-to-school party attended by thousands that took place Sunday.

As she started organizing, Raposo said she realized the space needed to be a welcoming place for people who had been sexually assaulted, felt uncomfortable or who were dealing with mental health issues.

Asked to keep discreet

The day before the festival, Raposo said she was approached by a different UMSU member, who asked her not to promote the space too much because it would create the idea that frosh was an unsafe event to begin with.

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