Acadia Students Support Launch of Women, Trans, and Non-Binary Gym Time Program

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At the start of the new fall semester, Acadia University’s Athletics Department
announced the launch of the Women, Trans, and Non-Binary Gym Time Program for students and Wolfville community members accessing the Acadia Fitness Centre this fall. This launch follows months of collaboration between Acadia Athletics, the Acadia Students’ Union (ASU) and other members of the campus community and is being heralded as an important measure in ensuring a welcoming, inclusive environment for all Acadia students. Mirroring initiatives implemented at various institutions across the country including the University of Toronto and University of British Columbia, this measure introduces six designated time slots per week for women, non-binary, transgender, and gender diverse students to access the Acadia Fitness Centre.

“We are excited to see this initiative made available to students, staff and community members this fall,” said Georgia Saleski, VP Student Life for the ASU. “Many students have already voiced their support for the program, indicating that they will be more likely to access the Athletics Complex now that this option is in place.” Indeed, the proposal for a Women, Trans, and Non-Binary Gym Time Program was initially presented to the ASU Women’s Centre by several students who felt that it would remove some of the barriers, such as
harassment while working out, that may discourage students from accessing the Fitness Centre and other recreational opportunities on campus.

“Being one of the first universities on the East Coast to implement this is a huge step forward for Acadia. Inclusivity and accessibility are an integral part of our mission to ensure that students, staff, and faculty from across the Acadia campus and larger Wolfville community can be better supported,” said Chantal
Peng, Women’s Centre Coordinator for the ASU. “We are thankful for the continued support and are looking forward to collecting additional feedback from students on its impacts in the coming months.”

The time slots for the fall semester will be 7:30am-8:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as two hours on Saturday from 11:30am-1:30pm, and 3pm-5pm on Sundays. To learn more, visit Acadia Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Acadia Sexual Violence Response and Education on Instagram
@acadiauniversityequity and @acadiasvre, or by email at equity@acadiau.ca.

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