UBC's decision to host an externally-booked event by Jenn Smith, who has
 toured the province campaigning against gender-inclusive education 
resources, makes it ineligible to participate in this year's Pride 
Parade, says executive director Andrea Arnot.			 6park.com
The Vancouver Pride society is barring the University of British 
Columbia from participating in the 2019 Pride Parade for providing “a 
platform for transphobic hate speech” last month.”
The decision to
 host an externally-booked event by Jenn Smith, who has toured the 
province campaigning against gender-inclusive education resources, makes
 UBC ineligible to participate in the August 4 march, says executive 
director Andrea Arnot.
“UBC is an organization that has done many 
things to show they’re inclusive to the queer community,” she said. “But
 this is something they need to work on.”
The society is still 
providing space for 100 UBC students, faculty and other community 
members to march in the parade — but not under UBC’s banner.
“It’s
 always a difficult decision to say no to an organization knowing there 
are members of the LGBTQI2S+ community who are excited and who need to 
participate in Pride,” said Arnot.
Smith, who is transgender but 
uses masculine pronouns, has compared gender-inclusive educational 
resources in B.C. schools to “brainwashing.” He denies he promotes hate 
speech. 6park.com

He spoke at UBC on June 23 after similar talks co-organized by the 
Canadian Christian Lobby were cancelled at Douglas College and Trinity 
Western University.
UBC defended the talk, with Provost Andrew 
Szeri stating “support for members of our own community, and work in 
education and research, can be regarded in balance with the 
institution’s commitment to freedom of expression.”
That decision 
was met with widespread condemnation from students, teachers and 
activists, who said it loaned legitimacy to Smith’s views.
Jonathan
 Turcotte-Summers, a member of UBC Students against bigotry, said 
students felt “betrayed” by UBC’s “complacent attitude toward hate on 
campus.”
Chris Hakim, president of UBC’s Alma Mater Society — its 
student union — says he’s disappointed but supports the society’s 
decision and their steps to include queer and trans UBC students in the 
March. 6park.com

“At the end of the day, the AMS is here to represent our students, 
especially those who are part of under-represented and marginalized 
communities.”
The society says it met Szeri and staff on July 3 to
 urge the university to consider revising its booking policy, which 
currently prohibits events contrary to the B.C. Human Rights Code.
In a statement, Szeri said the school is responding by reconvening a working group on improving its policies.
“UBC remains committed to finding more ways to maintain a respectful environment for everyone in our community,” wrote Szeri.
Arnot says if UBC amends its booking policy, it will be welcome back to the parade in 2020 — but not this year.
Turcotte-Summers
 says more has to be done, citing a recent series of allegedly “bigoted”
 speakers booked on campus in recent months.
“That hate and discrimination has just been allowed to fester on campus,” he says.