Universities launch spaces, lounges for BIPOC students

Canadian universities across the country have launched new spaces for students from marginalized backgrounds in order to respond to decades of racism on campus, writes Fakiha Baig of the Canadian Press. Baig highlights the launch of lounges for Black students at Toronto Metropolitan University, York University, and the University of British Columbia, as well as a BIPOC lounge at the University of Winnipeg. “It’s a beautiful community to watch unfold,” said TMU lounge spokesperson Eboni Morgan. “It’s been loud, exciting and students are constantly in the space.” The author also highlights some of the criticism that the rooms have received, including concerns that the spaces are being used as “performative justice” at institutions where Black student groups are underfunded.