A few weeks ago, I took time out of my schedule to participate in a Safe Zone training. According to the Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s (CDI) website, Wooster’s Safe Zone Program is intended “To provide a welcoming environment for all gender identities, gender expressions and sexual orientations. Safe Zone establishes an identifiable network of individuals who agree to challenge oppression, promote an atmosphere of respect, and serve as a safe space in our community.”
As a senior Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies major, I was familiar with most of the material taught in the training. However, I did learn several new things and was grateful for the chance to observe how CDI contributes to creating an inclusive and informed environment on our campus. Part of the reason I chose to attend Wooster is because the community is made up of people of countless different identities. Such a diverse community creates more opportunities for growth than a homogenous one.
The training went mostly as I expected: we covered terms and identities, intersectionality, pronouns and on- and off-campus policies and resources. I was also the only student in the room besides a student facilitator. I was happy that so many staff members were in attendance, especially several members of the security staff. As Safe Zone is a learning environment, it is understandable that challenging situations arose. As a cisgender, straight and white female student, I was discomforted but not threatened by some comments that were transphobic. I could not help but think of my LGBTQ+ friends: what if one of them had been in the room? What if the student facilitator had been a queer student? How can students feel safe when their identities are discounted even within an environment designated as “inclusive?”
Staff are an essential component in creating a safe environment for queer students on campus. Nationwide, LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to be bullied in school and to be victims of hate crimes. Police brutality against LGBTQ+ people — reminiscent of the raids of Compton’s Cafeteria and Stonewall in the 1950s and ’60s — continues to be a problem today; queer people of color are especially at risk of facing discrimination.
LGBTQ+ individuals are also almost three times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition, and they often confront both prejudice based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and stigma about mental health conditions. At Wooster, because of the limited number of counselors available at the Wellness Center and the unique opportunity Wooster gives students to foster close relationships with professors, other staff often encounter mental-health related situations or situations in which a student asks for help.
If staff members — even those who have undergone Safe Zone — are not receptive to the issues queer students face everyday, they dehumanize those students and reinforce a culture of mistrust towards law enforcement held among members of many minority groups today. We cannot expect students to feel safe or protected by those who deny their identities. Not only Safe Zone trainings, but other resources as well, are necessary in order to achieve the inclusive campus environment that Wooster purports to cultivate.
It is paramount that the College continues to provide visible resources for LGBTQ+ students — such as the Office of Sexuality and Gender Inclusion, the new trans and non-binary support group and student clubs such as Queer People of Color and Queer Student Union — and implements diversity and cultural competency trainings for staff. Most important, however, is that we listen to queer students and accept them for who they are. They are here to get an education and deserve to do so in a safe environment.
Kiley Kinnard, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at KKinnard18@wooster.edu.