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The Yellow House team is committed to creating comfortable and accountable spaces for students who identify as Queer, and/or Trans, and/or Black, and/or Indigenous, and/or People of Colour (QTBIPoC) to feel safe, to create community, to feel empowered, to celebrate their identity and to flourish. We seek to engage QTBIPoC students in initiatives that actively dismantle oppressive, racist and colonial ideologies and practices.

Throwback

Black Swims: Fall was the very first term with Black Swims! This brand new program is designed to bridge historical access gaps and foster an inclusive environment that prioritizes Black students' community building by creating a shared space where students can connect, support one another, and engage in healthy and enjoyable activities. Folks can sign up for specific Adult Swim lessons, or they can join to hang out or swim lanes. Black swim instructors who are passionate about water safety, active living, a positive sense of community and working with people with all abilities will be taught the swim lessons. And the ARC pool was also open for Black community, student, staff and faculty to join for a casual swims. Learn more here.

We loved the opportunities to build community and connection at the ARC. By the end of the fall term, Adult Swim 1 folks were getting comfortable in the deep end and Adult Swim 2 were in the deep end without life jackets! This term, swims will not be weekly so every lesson counts! We will have 8 swims to make sure folks can get their lessons in so it's important to attend every lesson. Black students, staff, faculty and community members are welcome to join us on January 10, 17 - February 14,28 - March 7, 14, 21 and April 4.

Year-End Student Staff Appreciation: We had a great time celebrating the end of term with the awesome student staff team! We played switch, ate pizza and treats, decorated gingerbread houses and coloured ornaments. We rarely get an opportunity to hang out as one big team so this afternoon was special!

Next Up! What to expect this winter

Solidarity Swims

Solidarity Swims are a space for gender diverse (trans, non-binary, genderfluid, etc) students and wider community members and their invited +1s to enjoy swimming in a safer private space. Swims are designed and facilitated by gender diverse staff and students, have gender inclusive changerooms, are privately booked, feature fun floaties, door prizes, and snacks. Dates for this term: Jan 12, 19, Feb 2 (4:30-6:30), Feb 16, March 2, March 9, March 16, March 23, April 6, April 13. Learn more and register.

BIPoC Art Activism Event with Queer Collage Collectives

Join Alyssa Vernon of Queer Collage Collectives and student activists to discuss your challenges, build solidarity, and use the medium of art to represent your visions for a brighter future. The overall theme for this event is about imagining better futures while making space for self care.

January 24 @ 6pm. 140 Stuart Street.

Applications for Gender Diverse Wellness Retreat are Open

Calling all trans, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, and other gender diverse Queen's students (undergraduate and graduate)! You are invited to apply to our annual Gender Diverse Wellness Retreat to connect, reflect, and celebrate gender diversity with your peers and gender diverse facilitators at Elbow Lake, April 25th - 27th. Application closes Jan 17th. Please click here to learn more and apply.

Emebet Crochet Circle: Building Bridges Event Ethiopian artist and researcher, Emebet Belete, has been working on an incredible project that brings community together over crocheting. Her goal is to cover the Upper Front Street Bridge in Belleville in crochet. Emebet remembers learning to crochet from her mother and sister and appreciates the strong sense of community crochet circles create. Be part of this community and learn how to crochet with the guidance of Emebet on January 16 at 4:30pm.

Black History and Futures Month Event

We are kicking off Black History and Futures month with the second annual Hyve Takeover for Black students on Feb 7, 12-4! Come by and check out Black student businesses, do an oil making workshop with Afiya Beauty and grab a yourself a patty and Ting!

Roots and Recipes

The first Roots and Recipes meal kit for the year is Jollof Rice! Pick up on Jan 22 and Jan 23 from 10:00am and 3:00pm at 207 Stuart Street, third floor.  

On February 5, join us in the QUIC Kitchen on for our Roots and Recipe cooking class! We will be learning how to make Jerk Tofu. Keep an eye on our Instagram for registration. 

Program spotlight: Roots and Recipes

Happening in the Kingston

Community: Reelout

Creativity Corner:

A note from King David on his archival project, Negro Swan

My name is King-David, and I’m a nursing student with a deep passion for photography. For me, photography isn’t just about capturing moments; it’s about creating a sense of belonging, building community, and amplifying voices that often go unheard. During my time at Queen’s, I’ve noticed a gap in how Black students and our experiences are represented, and I’ve worked to fill that void. Through my lens, I’ve sought to make Black students feel seen, affirmed, and validated in a space where that hasn’t always been the norm.

This drive led me to create Negro Swan, a documentary project that captures the lives and experiences of Black students at Queen’s University over the past four years. Through a curated series of photographs, Negro Swan, showcases the growth, unity, and resilience within Queen’s Black community. The project aims to foster solidarity, representation, and a sense of belonging, while aligning strongly with I-EDIAA principles of anti-racism, inclusion, and diversity.

In addition to documenting and celebrating the Black community, Negro Swan embraces inclusivity by featuring individuals from diverse backgrounds who participate in events hosted by Black-led clubs. This ensures that the broader Queen’s community is reflected in these images, fostering understanding and empathy across campus. The project’s beneficiaries include current Black students, who gain a tangible record of their Queen’s journey; incoming students, who can see a thriving Black community at Queen’s; and the university itself, which gains an invaluable archive of the Black experience on campus.

The Negro Swan has been an idea that I have played with from time to time but was strengthened after a conversation with an individual who searched the Queen’s archives for Black history but found very little. Also, last year’s yearbook omitted significant Black-led events, like the QBFA Fashion Show and Black Joy Conference, while other clubs received extensive coverage. This lack of documentation fosters a sense of erasure—a reality that Negro Swan seeks to address by providing a permanent, physical archive of Black life at Queen’s.

With three years of photography already captured, Negro Swan continues to grow. Moving forward, the project will involve two to four hours per week for curation, editing, outreach, and book production. Pre-orders for the project will begin in January 2026, with the final book ready by April 2026. Through Negro Swan, I hope to not only celebrate the Black community but also inspire meaningful conversations about representation and inclusion on campus.

Yellow House Resource:

Gender Diverse Retreat

In collaboration with Student Wellness Services, we are excited for the incredible resources that will be shared at the second annual Gender Diverse Wellness Retreat in April at Elbow Lake. The opportunities for connection, reflection and learning will live on well past the time spent at the retreat: 

• Gender diverse students will have opportunities to connect with role models in the community and participate in affirming and empowering activities.
• There will be workshops and spaces dedicated to wellbeing and intention setting.
• There will be opportunities to celebrate with community by sharing stories through voice and art.
• Enjoy activities such as guided nature hikes to learn about the land, gender diverse song circle, meditation and mindfulness spaces, poetry/lit conversations, show and tell, art-making, canoeing, and more. 
• Join your peers and facilitators in preparing meals together and learn some food making skills. 
• Connect with wellness professional (2SLGBTQ+ psychotherapist) Shannon (they/them) who will share wellness resources and guide wellness activities. Carry helpful resources with you beyond the retreat such as grounding techniques and intention setting.

The spaces, activities, and facilitators engaged for this retreat have been thoughtfully planned by gender diverse staff, students, and wellbeing practitioners for gender diverse students. Meals, snacks, transportation via bus, and cabin accommodations will be provided. Learn more.

Student Spotlight

Rideau Building: 207 Stuart Street, third floor

Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm.

Instagram:@queensuyellowhouse

Tel: 613-533-6000 x75740