It only seemed natural for us to revisit our friends at the Rainbow Club for this year’s Sex Edition. Since we last touched base, a lot has happened. For instance, they dominated at the recent UniSA Club Awards. They were presented with the prestigious USASA Club of the Year, while their President, Natrydð Sigurthur, took home Club Executive of the Year. Rainbow Club has certainly come a long way since
Could you start off by telling us some of your goals for the future of Rainbow Club? What do you hope to achieve over the coming years?
Recently, we’ve been doing significant work with staff members to improve what
Rainbow Club was recently named USASA’s Club of the Year. Why do you believe it’s so important to have an inclusive club like yours at university?
A sense of belonging can make a big difference
What do you offer students?
We offer possibilities for students to meet each other through events, while also advocating for better services. We collaborate closely with our equivalent clubs at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University to hold large, high-quality events like Pride Fest and Queer Ball. We also organise smaller events, such as picnics, bake sales and sexual health stalls on campus. Many of our members are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, so we’ve translated our brochure into Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish to provide useful information to students who may otherwise miss out.
What has been the most exciting thing Rainbow Club has been a part of so far?
That would definitely have to be Pride March 2018. We banded together with Adelaide’s queer community to express our strengths in diversity. It was also a great opportunity for us to increase our visibility. Behind the scenes, getting UniSA to support the establishment of an Ally Network has also been a huge feeling of accomplishment, and shows that our hard work in advocating for students is effective.
What is your take on the current social climate around the queer community?
Our community continues to develop and we’re making great strides towards equality. Apart from getting society to fully embrace and accept us, we also need to look internally within the broader queer community—especially with how we accept people of diverse cultures, ethnicities, and those who don’t adhere to the typical queer boundaries. Recently, religious discrimination has become a public issue and, unfortunately, queer people of faith lack visibility and obvious support structures due to the assumption that religion and queerness are inherently incompatible.
How can we all help to make a difference?
Tell your mates our club exists and get them to join for free through USASA. Volunteer at our events—we want to do regular on-campus events, but that’s difficult to achieve with six campuses. We’re also looking for students who speak languages in addition to English to help translate our posters, social media posts, and brochures. Anyone who helps us out also gets a treat, like free lunch, or bubble tea.
If you’re interested in joining the Rainbow Club, or want to find out more information, be sure to send them an email at
Interview conducted by Geena Ho
Images provided by Rainbow Club
This piece was originally published in Edition 30.
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