{"id":138413,"date":"2022-03-31T13:49:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T11:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=138413"},"modified":"2026-01-19T14:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:43:19","slug":"a-rainbow-path-in-your-face-so-that-students-know-that-they-can-freely-express-their-sexual-orientation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/03\/31\/a-rainbow-path-in-your-face-so-that-students-know-that-they-can-freely-express-their-sexual-orientation\/","title":{"rendered":"A rainbow path ‘in your face’ so that students know that they can freely express their sexual orientation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Erasmus University is getting a rainbow zebra crossing. “I also wondered: \u2018Why isn’t there one here already?\u2019\u201d, says initiator Marit de Ridder. She submitted the first proposal a year ago. After an initial ‘no’ from the university and some other practical hurdles, it now really seems to be on its way. When exactly? That is still open to question.<\/p>\n

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Marit de Ridder on a rainbow zebra crossing in the centre of Rotterdam. She hopes that there will also be such a path on the campus.<\/span>

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The paving stones between the Sanders building and Mandeville are not all the same width. It\u2019s one problem that the recently graduated Marit de Ridder never had to think about before. Until it became clear that the rainbow zebra crossing would be located on that spot. \u201cYou can\u2019t make one colour wider than the other\u201d, Marit notes. \u201cAfter all, you don\u2019t want to give the impression that one colour is more important\u201d, she explains. The solution came from the architects\u2019 firm that also helped with coming up with ideas: the colours will have the same surface area over the entire length of the crossing. Exactly what this will look like is not yet clear. The definitive design of the zebra crossing is still some time away.<\/p>\n

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A rainbow zebra crossing will be placed across the entire square, up to the door of Mandeville<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Symbolic politics or does it really help?<\/h2>

De Ridder is not part of the LGBTIQ+ community, she notes. Earlier, during her bachelor in Groningen, she did campaign for a rainbow zebra crossing. Last year, she saw that you could pitch ideas to the Hummingbird Fund (part of the funding available from the Rotterdam School of Management). \u201cI started talking to Diversity and Inclusion, to COC Netherlands, to Erasmus Pride,\u201d Marit goes on to say. \u201cI also wondered: \u2018Why isn\u2019t there one here already?\u2019 But this rainbow path is not so much for me, that\u2019s why I really wanted these organisations to support the idea. And they were totally on board with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rainbow crossing ought to be, as Marit puts it, \u2018in your face\u2019<\/em>. \u201cYou sometimes hear people say that they think homosexuality is \u2018fine\u2019 but that they just don\u2019t want to see it. What a load of rubbish. It is absurd that not just anyone can walk hand-in-hand with their partner! A friend of mine doesn\u2019t dare to do that, because it feels unsafe. A rainbow crossing sends out a clear signal, according to De Ridder: You can be who you are here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Marit also hopes that the rainbow colours will spur students on to start talking to each other about this. \u201cWhen you start studying, you discover who you are and who you want to be. I hope that this will get conversations going more readily. Maybe even students will have the courage to tell their friends that they are not straight, but bi, to give just one example. And to be honest\u201d, says Marit, \u201cbetween all these grey buildings we could do with a bit of colour, couldn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

All colours of the rainbow and more<\/h2>

The colours red, orange, yellow, green, violet, light pink, light blue, white, brown, black and yellow with a purple circle will span the entire Tinbergen Plaza. \u201cThe colours of the rainbow flag are constantly evolving,\u201d says De Ridder. \u201d We have looked at that in this design. So, the colours for transgender people, light pink, blue and white, and the purple circles of intersexuality are also reflected in this path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometime in the next few months, the paving stones will be painted in the correct colour codes. The square will be redesigned in a few years\u2019 time. Coloured paving stones will then be laid, as this is more sustainable than having to repeatedly paint them. When this will exactly happen is still not known. Sometime in the spring of 2022, the university says.<\/p>\n

The sustainable idea comes from the university, the location was also a choice made by the EUR. De Ridder is very happy with both ideas. Initially, the university said \u2018no\u2019 to the idea, but after a few months they came back to it again. \u201cI don\u2019t know why, but I am very happy about it. I can\u2019t wait to see the end result.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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It is not clear why the university first said ‘no’ to Marit’s proposal. This question has been put to the university, but no answer could be given yet.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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