2013 ~ P R E S E N T |
S T I L L E V O LV I N G
Encouraging Inclusivity through
InclusiviTEE
Kan Wai Min
156
I deserve
an education
in a place that
is inclusive
of people
of diverse
sexualities,
gender
expressions
and identities.
Chilling in Den Haag after a hard day
of lectures (2018). ▶
It goes without saying, I learnt a lot throughout my time
as a student at Monash. However, perhaps the most
important and life-changing “realization” was that of my
sexuality. I put realization in quotation marks because
I guess I always knew, but only properly “realized” it
while I was at Monash. One of the first few people (if
not, the first other person) I came out to was a friend at
Monash. It was very weird, awkward, uncomfortable,
and intimidating – but I am glad I did it. It’s hard or,
rather, impossible to say whether this “realization” and
coming out would have happened if I did not study at
Monash. But what’s for sure is that, if it weren’t for my
supportive and accepting friends at Monash, my life
today would be quite different, and not in a good way.
And so I’m very thankful for this.
official Facebook page. We wrote and promoted it
in such a way that it would not come as being “too
LGBTQ+-y”, but hopefully, “LGBTQ+-y enough”.
“Monash University Malaysia takes tremendous pride
in offering a quality international education for students
from diverse backgrounds who share the core Monash
values of inclusiveness, respect and openness. So,
the MUSA Wom*n’s Officers are proud to announce
our InclusiviTEE event happening next Wednesday to
recognize and celebrate these values! This event will
be a really chill, fun-filled evening of tie-dying as well as
music and spoken-word performances.”
After “realizing” my sexuality, I wanted to be more
actively involved in making Monash University Malaysia
a more accepting place for people who do not identify
as cisgender and/or heterosexual. Besides that,
being in a private university, I have always wondered
if students at Monash would be subject to the same
kind of suppression and denial of freedom of speech,
assembly, and association, as experienced by some
students in public universities. As it turns out, I learnt
that it is not too different.
In my final semester of university, encouraged by
my best friend, Hannah, I decided to join the MUSA
Wom*n’s Officers Sub-Committee Team. The
Wom*n’s Officers were to focus primarily on issues
related to women, but we also aimed to include other
marginalized groups such as LGBTQ+ people. In
relation to that, in recognition and “celebration” of the
International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and
Transphobia (IDAHOT), we organized an event called
‘InclusiviTEE’. The below is how we promoted the event
on the Monash University Student Association (MUSA)
As soon as we submitted the proposal for this event –
it is important to admit that we did submit it slightly
later than required – we were called for a meeting with
a few representatives from the Monash administration.
Not quite sure what to expect, Hannah, Jasmine (the
two Wom*n’s Officers at that time), and I went for the
meeting, where we were greeted by another figure
within Monash who entered the meeting room carrying
a few thick books. These books were later used by the