Promoting awareness

Last week, the Queer Resource Center hosted an open house and ally training session to welcome continuing and incoming students. The open house introduced students to QRC services and offered information on how to get involved in upcoming events.

Roughly 35 people showed up to fill out volunteer applications, play board games, eat, socialize and meet staff. The role of the QRC is to provide a safe space where LGBTQ students can meet, socialize and study.
Their overarching goal is to promote awareness and eliminate ignorance by incorporating alternative social events that encompass issues and topics to educate the community at large.

“The QRC is going to be requesting a full-time faculty member during this year’s deliberations,” said Student Life Coordinator Nathan Keep. “Our long-term hope of becoming a department has always been something that our staff has worked toward … and we are finally at a point where that is going to be realized.”

Thus the QRC will no longer be dependent on students to run the organization.

The ally training session focused on specific ways to combat homophobic behavior on campus and how to be supportive of the queer community. The turnout was impressive, and the QRC conference room was at capacity.
“The training focused mostly on deconstructing the gender binary in terms of assigned sex at birth, gender identity, gender presentation and perceptions,” said Keep.