Bobby MacPherson is an active guy on campus. The native of Newmarket, Ont. has been involved with Residence Life as an RA and senior RA, the East Coast Student Leadership Conference, Movember, and DalConnects, but these days he鈥檚 known for his pink hats. He gets asked about them all the time.
鈥淭hey stand out in a crowd and they鈥檙e a great marketing tool,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey symbolize uniting young people in a friendly, positive, and exciting movement towards changing perceptions, changing harmful language, and promoting inclusivity in a fresh and youthful way.鈥�
The 4th-year history student is the director of , part of a national movement by university students who work to stand up and speak out against homophobia. The organization was started at the University of Western Ontario in 2011 and Bobby put together the Dal team in June of 2014. It鈥檚 now in 16 schools across the country.
is built on a platform of proactivity. Its aim is to eliminate LGBTQ discrimination by sharing personal stories that demonstrate the harm that comes from using homophobic and transphobic language. Through community outreach and presentations at middle schools and high schools, Get REAL aims to demonstrate to young people why it鈥檚 unacceptable to address their peers with slurs and other derogatory names. It was this angle that really drew Bobby to the initiative.
鈥淭hat proactive measure of going into schools when kids don鈥檛 yet understand the language they鈥檙e using鈥擨 thought that was amazing,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have a lot of different groups who provide support for people who experience discrimination, but we don鈥檛 have a lot of groups who go in proactively and try to stop this discrimination before it happens.鈥�
Get REAL presentations are all structured around true stories told by Get REAL members. The initiative is open to anyone and everyone who has experienced discrimination and wants to speak out about it. Nation-wide, Get REAL does a school presentation each week, on average. Since Dal Gets REAL is still in its infancy, it鈥檚 currently in the process of setting up its first presentation.
鈥淕et REAL convinces people to come forward and tell their own stories,鈥� says Bobby. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 do a lot of retelling. It鈥檚 very inspiring to hear other members of Get REAL telling their stories and getting reactions from students. After presentations, a lot of students will identify themselves as members of the LGBTQ community. It鈥檚 really motivating to see those students come forward.鈥�
Finding a support network
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Bobby was motivated to start up the Dal chapter of Get REAL because of his own negative experiences with the power of language. Realizing it鈥檚 something that a lot of people deal with on a regular basis, he saw his opportunity to help make a change.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of discrimination in this area鈥攑ersonal and friends,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until I came to AV俱乐部 that I was fully accepting of who I was. I like the idea of not even having a classification or labelling yourself. But being comfortable with myself was something that I really struggled with in high school. When who you are has such a negative image, that鈥檚 something that you want to repress. It wasn鈥檛 until I was here at AV俱乐部 that I realized it doesn鈥檛 matter what other people think of you, it鈥檚 what you think of yourself. I want to encourage others to stop using those words.鈥�
He says there鈥檚 an open culture at Dal that encouraged him to start Dal Gets REAL and have it be embraced by the community. It鈥檚 the same mindset that helped him overcome his shy, reserved nature in high school and allowed him to discover his true self.
"I didn鈥檛 get involved in high school,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut in first year I realized everything鈥檚 different here. Everyone鈥檚 encouraging you to do what you want. Everything I鈥檝e done has always been met with open arms. I鈥檝e never been told that something鈥檚 too big or that I couldn鈥檛 do it. And that鈥檚 something I love about AV俱乐部: that I鈥檓 always growing. And if something fails I can learn from it.鈥�