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How to Initiate a Safe Z one P rogram on Your C ampus

How to Initiate a Safe Z one P rogram on Your C ampus. Joanne Rusnak Tori Torres Misty Moler. Questions for you all. What is your position on campus? What is your idea of a “Safe Zone”? How do you think this could be helpful on your campus? What do you hope to get from this training?.

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How to Initiate a Safe Z one P rogram on Your C ampus

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  1. How to Initiate a Safe Zone Program on Your Campus Joanne Rusnak Tori Torres Misty Moler

  2. Questions for you all • What is your position on campus? • What is your idea of a “Safe Zone”? • How do you think this could be helpful on your campus? • What do you hope to get from this training?

  3. Goals for Today • To explain what a Safe Zone program is • Give you ideas of how to initiate your own • Demonstrate activity that we use during our training (which you are welcome to use!)

  4. What is a Safe Zone Program? • A way to VISIBLY identify members of the campus community who are supportive of LGBTQ students • A way for campus members to let LGBTQ students know that they are safe and supportive • A way to support and retain LGBTQ students at your institutions

  5. What is a Safe Zone Program cont. • Safe Zone programs can be found all over the U.S. at various institutions • It is a “borrowed program” and the key is to make it work for your institution • We modeled ours after UNCC’s

  6. Why have a Safe Zone Program? • Unlike other marginalized populations, it is harder to identify individuals who are supportive • Discrimination exists on our campuses • Approximately 25 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual students and university employees have been harassed due to their sexual orientation

  7. http://www.nohomophobes.com

  8. Getting Buy-In • Find someone who is supportive and somewhere to ‘house’ the program. • Know your facts- send out a survey to assess climate on campus if numbers are needed • Bottom-up approach was our strategy • VERY low-cost program- besides cost of decals the only other thing necessary is time • Ours is through Student Services, but could also be done through counseling, student life, diversity centers etc.

  9. Obstacles • Discrimination • Tends to be ‘covert’ vs. ‘overt’ • With a bottom up approach- program less likely to be questioned or stalled • Important to have someone with clout to defend the program if necessary

  10. Our Timeline • June 2012- Letter from a student • August 2012- Training with Campus Pride • Sept 2012-December 2012- Wrote manual, developed training and designed/ordered decal • January 2013- 1st Training • Now have 50 Ally’s on our campuses!

  11. What does a Safe Zone Program Need? • Goals • Purpose • Symbol • Manual • Training All of these can be as in depth as needed dependent upon what the goals are at your institution

  12. Goals/Purpose • Levels of Safe Zone’s: • Do you want no training/orientation and just make brochures and stickers available to all who wish to participate? • Do you want one training/orientation session that educates Ally’s? • Do you want on-going training for your Ally’s?

  13. Our Goals • To create, develop, and train faculty, staff and students who can serve as Safe Zone Allies. • To support LGBTQ students, faculty, staff and visitors at Rowan Cabarrus Community College. • To educate the campus community on LGBTQ issues and concerns

  14. Our Purpose • Create a safe environment for LGBTQ students at RCCC • Educate faculty, students, and staff of LGBTQ issues and concerns • To retain LGBTQ students at RCCC • To refer students to appropriate resources • To offer visible support to LGBTQ students

  15. Our Symbol • Want to make sure it’s connected to the LGBTQ community • Make it your own • One of the most important parts of having a Safe Zone!

  16. Developing a Manual and Training • Lots of info out there • Want to consider what the needs are of your institution • Things to consider: • How in-depth do you want the training to be? • What do you want your program to look like? • Where will you ‘house’ this initiative?

  17. Goals of RCCC Training • Raise awareness of LGBTQ issues and concerns • Become familiar with terms • To help Allies understand how homophobia and heterosexism impacts everyone • To help identify resources in the community • To define role as an Ally • Training runs about 3 hours, once a semester

  18. Our Manual • Terminology • Information about homophobia and heterosexism • Statistics and current events • Role of Safe Zone members • Guide of how to be an Ally • Referral Resources • Ally Agreement Form

  19. Ally Agreement Form • Publicly support all students/faculty/staff regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. • Display my Safe Zone symbol in a visible location to let campus members know that I am an Ally. • Refer students to appropriate resources if the issues presented are outside of my scope of practice. • Speak out against homophobia when I encounter it on campus. • Explore my own prejudices and not impose them on any member of the campus community. • Not try to change or convert anyone because of their sexual orientation/gender identity.

  20. Star Exercise

  21. Questions

  22. Contact Info Joanne Rusnak Joanne.rusnak@rccc.edu 704-216-3613

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