UniQ: Participation Trophy Progress? The State of Queer Rights on Campus

Words by Khai (They/Them)

Ah, student life. Lectures, two-minute noodles, that existential dread that lingers like a flatmate who won't wash the dishes. But for queer students in New Zealand, there's another layer to the chaos: the fight for basic rights that should've been granted, like, yesterday.

Look, New Zealand gets a gold star for stunning scenery and flightless birds. But when it comes to queer student rights, well, let's just say the progress report reads like a participation trophy application. Sure, there are policies in place, but the implementation? Patchy at best.

So, what's a woke, broke, and fabulous student to do? We march, we rally, we write strongly worded emails that probably get filed under "Too Spicy—Do Not Open." We also use our student loans for good outfits (because self-expression is political, darling) and maybe a megaphone or two. Because let's face it, if the world is on fire, at least we'll look snatched doing it.

Change is slow, bureaucracy is a monster, and those single-stall bathrooms just won't budge. But we're queer students. We were practically born with glitter cannons and a microphone in one hand. The fight for our rights might be frustrating, but hey, at least it's never boring.

Plus, you don't have to fight alone! Reach out to UniQ for awesome friends, cool events, and a chance to forget the world's burning... for a little while at least.