Safety of LGBTQ+ students depends on collaborative efforts between university admin, faculty and students

Racine

LGBTQ+ students have responded to the current political climate by asking for their safety to be prioritized. To ensure the well-being of the community within our institution, community members say it is crucial for students and faculty to collaborate and support one another.

“As cliche as it sounds, we are all in this together,” Nick Niemerg, president of the Queer Faculty and Staff Association said. “The more collaborative efforts that faculty and students utilize it and do, the better it is for everyone.”

According to Niemerg, this is especially important given SIUE’s close proximity to Missouri, where several anti-LGBTQ+ bills prohibiting things like gender-affirming health care have been introduced and passed into law.

“Faculty can help with the university’s greater retention efforts by being more inclusive,” Niemerg said. “Being able to show that all students are welcome on this campus and creating a safe home in a safe space [is crucial].”

Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, Kevin Leonard, said that the environment of a university can be very alienating for LGBTQ+ member, and because of that it, is incredibly important for people to be available to students and willing to challenge heterosexism and sexism in our institutions.

“I found myself in many experiences being — if not the only LGBTQ person in the room — one of a very small number,” Leonard said. “Sometimes that felt really disempowering.”

Leonard said that having LGBTQ+ faculty be present and visible in the university holds great significance for him. He said that students require role models and examples to understand that success in this environment is achievable for them.

Leonard said that faculty are here to do more than teach basic life lessons such as showing up on time, completing tasks and coming to class.

“I think there’s something of value in being able to share experiences with students,” Leonard said. “Especially at this time.”

According to Leonard, maintaining open communication among faculty and students is important. He said this communication serves to challenge barriers that have made us overly complacent, assuming that we can’t learn anything from those who haven’t read the same books as us.

“I’ve met a lot of faculty who really do care about their students,” Leonard said. “We just need to create spaces where that caring is able to be expressed.”

Jessica Harris, Vice Chancellor for Anti Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, said that these spaces are actively being built and should be implemented in the upcoming semester.

“I think it’s important for our community to know that what was brought forth in [last year’s climate survey] has been listened to and analyzed,” Harris

Wednesday, June 28, 2023 Vol. 76 No. 32 said. “There are actions being put in place to respond to it.”

Harris said that fostering inclusion and a sense of belonging in the university community can be achieved by establishing meaningful connections and learning about one another.

“There are things that make us all unique, but there may be things that bring us together,” Harris said. “All of us have something valuable that we can offer and bring to the table, whether it be students or faculty or staff. To leverage the benefits of diversity, I think that interaction is important.”

Stella Smith, Gender-Sexuality Alliance president, said that the support from faculty is incredibly valuable to them as a queer student.

“It’s important for students to see that they are willing to help band us together because they are the ones with the power behind their voices,” Smith said. “We can complain all that we want, but until faculty and staff are behind us, it is not really going to hit as hard.”

According to Smith, faculty need to be involved, because showing up is only half of the battle.

Smith said that this can be done by participating in handson learning such as Safe Zone training, a program that teaches professional allyship.

“Even if you don’t agree with someone’s existence, being able to sustain a healthy relationship with them and understand that they’re a person outside of their identities [is vital],” Smith said.