Many different institutions have a Safe Zone training program. The basic purpose of Safe Zone programs, is to create a better campus climate for LGBTQ individuals. After having a few conversations with a bunch of higher ed folks this weekend, I've realized that this is not accomplished uniformly. Some folks have LGBTQ professionals that hold annual or bi-annual trainings for faculty, staff, peer educators, resident assistants, and student leaders. Some schools give out stickers to identify a Safe Zone office, i.e. folks that have gone through the training.
But what about students with multiple identities. Some Safe Zones adequately prepare people to help with LGBTQ issues, but I wonder how often issues of class, ethnicity, ability, age, etc...are discussed. If folks are coming in with all of these components, an office can only be a Safe Zone if all of these issues and experiences are dissected in the trainings.
Because different campuses have different cultures, histories, and protocols, it would be nearly impossible to have identical Safe Zone programs at every institution that participates. However, I wonder if they could be a little more consistent. Would a national Safe Zone Script work? What are your thoughts...?
I think that if there is a national script there needs to be multiple versions that would meet different needs of different campuses. One uniform Safe Zone would not necessarily function well everywhere.
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