College of Communication and Information is first academic unit to offer safe space training for its faculty and staff

Safe Space: Ally Training 101 facilitator Amanda Leu
leads faculty, staff and graduate students from Kent State
University's College of Communication and Information in
discussion.

Kent State University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Student Center offers Safe Space: Ally Training for Kent State offices, including academic areas on campus, to equip students, faculty and staff with the tools for creating safe spaces and welcoming environments for LGBTQ students on campus.

The center recently held its first academic-area training session for faculty, staff and graduate students in the College of Communication and Information. More than 30 members of the College of Communication and Information attended the session.

Amanda Leu, Safe Space facilitator and academic advisor for the School of Communication Studies in the College of Communication and Information, and Ken Ditlevson, director of the LGBTQ Student Center, presented the training session as part of an ongoing series to make Kent State and its communities a safer place for all people regardless of sex or gender. Training participants learned about bias, stereotypes, current vocabulary and best practices to assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students seeking support and reaffirmation of their role and place at Kent State. The center is a part of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“Whether we are faculty, staff or advisors, we want to see our students succeed,” Leu says. “This training is designed to increase everyone’s comfort level in how we can all communicate with each other, and in turn develop an increased awareness of the services on campus and in the greater Kent-Akron community that support LGBTQ people.”

The four-hour session included discussion and activities that covered personal biases and stereotypes, dispelled myths about the LGBTQ community, terminology that establishes a level of respect, tips for being a Safe Space Ally and the number of services and agencies on campus and in the surrounding area that are available to support and assist LGBTQ individuals.

“This training is important because we want Kent State to be an inclusive and welcoming campus for all people,” Ditlevson says. “When lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people encounter environments that are not inclusive, students are less likely to graduate, more likely to drop out or to transfer to another university.”

Safe Space Ally participants can display a Safe Space Ally sign designating their work area as a safe space and identifying themselves as a contact for LGBTQ students who need resources, support, connections and counseling.

“These services and agencies provide a support system for students, especially for those who have been subjected to rejection, scorn or assault when coming out or being recognized as part of the LGBTQ community,” Leu says.

For more information about Kent State’s LGBTQ Student Center and Safe Space training, visit www.kent.edu/lgbtq, call 330-672-8580 or email LGBTQSC@kent.edu. An open registration training will be held Dec. 3 from 1-5 p.m. in the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, rooms 141 and 143. Interested individuals will be able to register on the Human Resources website in the Beyond Compliance training section.