Safe Zone 101: Training for Students

FILIPPOS MOURIKIS
STAFF WRITER

9/30/2024

The College Safe Zone training that provides awareness on the topic of LGBTQ+ Students has been expended on campus this year. The purpose of the event is to educate everyone interested in the essential information about the LGBTQ+ society and ways to interact with its members to avoid misunderstandings and contradictions. The sessions this year will take place in October, November, February, and March. 

We asked for help from Jonathan Glenn, DEI Office Head Coordinator. The idea behind the program is that all people on campus should feel equally respected and accepted which can be difficult in some cases. 

Glenn believes it’s especially fair for people on campus who have any kind of power or position, for example, professors, administration staff, sports teams, fraternities and sororities leaders since they will be able to mentor and support all students better, “We never know the identity of the students we will be serving. When Alma college has almost twelve hundred students, a lot of them will identify in different ways and we have to make sure that they feel like they belong here.”

The way that the Safe Zone Training is being organized has changed in comparison with the previous years, starting from the doubling the number of sessions per the academic year. The training itself is created as a three-step course, Safe Zone 101, 201, and 301. It follows a simple logic, everyone willing to learn will start with the basics and then will be able to keep moving forward. 

For example, the Safe Zone 201 will help to better understand that people from the queer community relate to different cultures and are very diverse when it comes to place of origin. The emphasis is on the fact that it is opened to people of every type of race and ethnicity.  All in all, the session will introduce the history behind the formation of the LGBTQ+ community. As a continuation, Safe Zone 301 will make sure to explain how to make queer community members feel more welcomed within our community, since sometimes understanding somebody and showing it in practice can be very different. 

One more important innovation that should be mentioned is the “Special Safe Zone” that became available this year. In short, it is an opportunity for student bodies on campus to go through a training as a whole organization. For that the representatives should reach out to one of the program team participants: Jonathan Glenn, Dr. Blazek and Samantha Torres. Depending on the availability, the Special Safe Zone will be organized. 

In general, the training is providing students on campus with an opportunity to learn more about how to assist people within the queer community and fight for the rights that it deserves. It can help Alma society to become more inclusive and welcoming as well as create a friendly, trustful atmosphere for everybody attending the college.