LGBT College Students and Services on Campus

LGBT College Students and Services on Campus

Safe Zone Training

Interview With CAM

- How not only student volunteers working with LGBT Services can reach out to other students but how anyone can make them feel like they can be comfortable with who they are.

-We talked about being aware of the things you say and who you are saying them around.

-The roles within in this group are illustrating the feeling of an extended family, and showing increased feelings of safety.

-We also discussed the different kinds of discrimination these students faced and how we can make sure to be there for them and support them.

-The rules in coffee hour and other LGBT gatherings are that it is not a place to seek out sex partners and not a place to just gossip about irrelevant issues

UHM LGBT Services

-One major norm of this group is that it is a drop in service; so, sometimes a lot of people attend events or hardly any at all.

Past Research

UHM LGBT Services

-UHM LGBT Services is located in the Women's Center in QLCC.

-One area that has been especially hard on LGBT Youth is the college environment.

-LGBT services started up in 2002 and in the beginning it was more of a private service for students if they were having trouble with their sexual orientation they would have someone to talk to.

-70% of LGB graduate and undergraduate students rated their campus as homophobic and 60% of LGB students reported conceiling their sexual orientation or gender identity to avoid discrimination.

Continued...

-"LGB students often remain closeted because of the hostile environment they experience on college campuses

-"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Student Services strives to maintain a safe and inclusive campus environment for all students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. To that end, LGBTI Student Services facilitates student learning and development through a range of educational, information and advocacy programs", (LGBT Student Service, UHM).

-Some of the events that they have for LGBT Students:

-Tuesday: meeting in campus center and trying to reach out to other students who might not know about LGBT services

-Wednesday: Coffee Hour in the Women's Center

-Annual Events: National Coming Out Day and Rainbow Graduation

Alan's Personal Expereince

-He said it helped him come to terms with his sexual orientation and connected with people that were going through the same thing. Through these connections he has learned the true meaning of love and having respect for other people.

-"Due to this program, I strongly believe that we have made other people more aware of what the LGBT community is all about. We have helped spread acceptance and tolerance. Through programs such as ours we can eliminate discrimination slowly but surely" ( Alan, 2013).

Interview With Alan

-LGBT services interacts with the community and other organizations with respect and acceptance and treats others how they want to be treated.

-They do off campus events and it helps them to reach out to the community in helping them understand LGBT issues and awareness.

-He believes the strengths of this organization are student outreach, making it a safe zone, counseling, and creating a healthy learning environment.

Traditional Paradigms

-It used to be that many college campuses did not have a safe space for them to connect with others like them

-There have been many cases of bullying on college campuses and these students often feel that they are invisible.

-Fortunately for these students their has been a new and healthy environment that has been forming around them and has changed everything.

History

Alternative Paradigms

-The LGBT community has long faced discrimination and hardships in this country.

-Now there are many more campuses across the country that offer LGBT Services and a safe zone for these students.

-Along with this came the struggle to provide support services for this community. They have faced years of hate crimes, bullying, homelessness, and the they still deal with marriage rights in many states.

-Students are not only utilizing these services but are becoming actively involved in leadership roles.

-LGBT youth is an especially sensitive population, and recently a lot of attention has been focused on them in research and news.

-They are having a much more active and positive college experience which is setting them up for a better future.