A university of sanctuary

UCC has announced its first ever workshop for new LGBT students. The workshop will be part of Freshers Fest which takes place on campus on 7 September, offering new students an extensive range of workshops ranging from academic to life skills.

UCCs President, Professor Patrick O'Shea, will introduce the new workshop titled Coming out in College: A Guide for Lesbian, Gay, Bi+ students.

Former Chairperson of the UCC LGBT Society and current Coordinator of the Gay Project, Pádraig Rice, will also be there to discuss coming out in a university environment.

Also attending the event will be author of ‘Wrong Body Wrong Life’ and ‘Becoming Myself’, Sara-Jane Cromwell, who will deliver a talk titled The DOs and DON’Ts of defining yourself.

UCC has stated that equality, diversity and inclusion have been a core focus of teaching, research and policy at the university with 26 per cent of its students coming from access admissions routes.

Meanwhile, this year’s Freshers Fest will give students the chance to participate in an international climate negotiations role-play simulation game. Through the game students will experience what it’s like to sit at the highest decision-making levels globally and learn how complicated political discussions around climate targets really are.