People who are LGBTQ and Higher Education Environment

People who are LGBTQ and Higher Education Environment
There are a myriad of ways people differ from each other. Some of them are celebrated by society. Campus constituents with marginalized gender or sexual identity are generally not in this category. For the purpose of this paper queer will be used to describe people (faculty, staff, and students) who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ). Campus constituents who are queer face potential bullying and hostility (Bettinger, 2008; Messinger, 2009; Toynton, 2006). Campus environments are changing (Bettinger, 2008; Messinger, 2009; Toynton, 2006; Zastrow, n.d.), but not all are safe for people who are queer.
While limited literature is available for this issue, the ethnographic material available provides a more detailed snapshot of campus environments (Bettinger, 2008; Toynton, 2006; Zastrow, n.d.). The mix of personal stories and the stories of individuals on campus supplies multiple perspectives for understanding the complexity of campus life. The perspectives shared are those of faculty and students. Staff perspectives were inferred without personal stories.
Faculty
Faculty follow a sequence of understanding the needs and experiences of campus community members who are queer. This is true for faculty with mainstream sexuality and marginalized sexuality. The first stage is examining and understanding their own discomfort and prejudice regarding people who are queer. Toynton (2006) shared his own self image as being other since his first years of school. Brainard (2008) describes her challenges with her own homophobia.
After reflection, faculty begin to build relationships with people who are queer and come out as appropriate. This stage includes asking specific individuals who are queer how they would like to be supported. Brainard (2008) describes several failed attempts to support a fellow faculty before she was successful. Brainard’s (2008) first success was with students as she used an educational approach versus a confrontational approach. She realized she was patient and forgiving of students and she needed to use the same approach with her peers.
The final stage faculty described is being a resource to the larger campus community. The sequence is a good example of development in any realm. First comes personal experience, then specific application, then general application.
Students
Student stories were similar with the writers speaking more about transformative learning. The faculty above described transformative experiences yet did not label them as such. Students are still forming their beliefs and ways of being in the world when the enter college. They experience transformative experiences regularly and seem to seek them out consciously or un consciously. Student development theory explains this more fully. Students seem to experience an individual who is queer and does not match their internal picture. This dissonance sparks the transformative learning that either allows the student to come out or become an ally.
Campus Environments
The range of safe to hostile environment for people who are queer varies across the continent (Messinger, 2009). Individuals must choose to be out, be an ally, or be an advocate depending upon the safety they perceive. It is the responsibility of educators to develop and maintain safety (Misawa, 2008). Scholarship is based on honesty and integrity. Campuses that do not build a safe environment for all constituents are preventing scholarship, a major purpose for the institution.
Recommendations
Zastrow (n.d.) describes her process for forming the Lambda Coalition. The coalition was formed to provide a unified voice for students who are queer to interact with campus entities. Before the coalition there were nine smaller organizations for students who are queer and the diffusion of voice did not focus power for effective change. My first recommendation is for campuses with queer student organizations to form a coalition as described by Zastrow (n.d.). If there is not a queer association on campus, the president or provost should sponsor the group themselves. Having a high level administrator, not an appointee, give face time to the organization may change student perspectives on the safety to identify on campus and provide direct feedback to the administrators.
Safe Zone training is an excellent format for accomplishing the first two stages in the faculty sequence. Providing Safe Zone training with compensation to all faculty, staff and students who are interested would begin the process of really making campus safe for people of marginalized sexuality. Safe Zone would include the speakers bureau with constituents from all three populations.
Simultaneously campuses need to create and support policies and procedures that provide dignity, respect, and recognition for all constituents. Contacting the Human Rights Commission for advice on steps is essential.


References
Brainard, P. J. (2008). Educational considerations for the workplace family regarding transgender persons. In Bettinger, T. V. (Ed.). Proceedings from Transcending the rhetoric of “family values”: Celebrating families of choice and families of value. The 2008 Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Allies (LGBTQ&A) Pre-Conference (53-58). St. Louis, MS: University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Eichler, M. A. (2008). Joining the family: Experiences of be(com)ing ally activists. In Bettinger, T. V. (Ed.). Proceedings from Transcending the rhetoric of “family values”: Celebrating families of choice and families of value. The 2008 Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Allies (LGBTQ&A) Pre-Conference (75-80). St. Louis, MS: University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Messinger, L. (2009). Creating LGBTQ-friendly campuses: How activists on a number of campuses eliminated discriminatory policies. Academe Online, 95 (5). Retrieved from http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2009/SO/Feat/Mess.htm
Misawa, M. (2008). Racist and homophobic bullying in adulthood: Narratives from gay men of color in higher education. In Bettinger, T. V. (Ed.). Proceedings from Transcending the rhetoric of “family values”: Celebrating families of choice and families of value. The 2008 Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Allies (LGBTQ&A) Pre-Conference (68-74). St. Louis, MS: University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Toynton, R. (2006). 'Invisible other': Understanding safe spaces for queer learners and teachers in adult education. Studies in the Education of Adults, 38(2), 178-194.
Zastrow, D. (n.d.). Building coalitions on campus. Retrieved from http://www.hrc.org/issues/youth_and_campus_activism/15208.htm