Safe Zones

The purpose of the SAFE ZONE program is to create a campus environment that is a safe, inclusive and respectful place for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students (GLBTQ). The SAFE ZONE program challenges stereotypes, biases, and labels and attempts to educate the campus community. 

The program invites all professionals, faculty, administrators, senior students and staff to volunteer to become allies to support and advocate the cause of equity and fairness in creating a non-discriminatory campus environment. Allies can post a SAFE ZONE sticker outside their offices. This would mean that they are supportive of GLBTQ students in a general way. However, you can have conversation or offer advice to GLBTQ students and if they need additional assistance, guide them to appropriate offices.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues

The Center for Diversity Initiatives is committed to the principle of maintaining an open, safe, and nonprejudicial learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff who are homosexual, bisexual, or transgender persons.

The Gay/Lesbian movement is a social and political movement. This movement seeks social and political rights and privileges that are accorded to heterosexual couples. In modern secular societies, in which individual rights are granted based on social contracts with the state, it is assumed that equal political and social rights are given to all. Many states have difficulty in ridding themselves of their traditional religious based morality, and therefore refuse to honor the rights of gay couples to marry and have all the same rights as hetreosexual couples.

Homophobia
Homophobia is the irrational fear of homosexuals. It is a behavior, belief, or attitude that rejects sexual behaviors and sex-roles that do not conform to traditional sex-roles or stereotypes.

Homophobia is a form of prejudice and fear-based actions perpetrated against homosexuals. Presence and acceptance of homosexuals in society challenges traditionally and religiously held stereotypes. Hence, traditional patriarchy sees a challenge to its notion of masculinity and power structure. Homosexuality challenges sex roles that are based on the patriarchal social system and gender based power distribution in society.

Homosexual: A homosexual is a person who is attracted to the same sexual gender.

Gay: Gay is a term used for homosexual males. It applies to a person who is attracted sexually and emotionally to another of the same gender. Sometimes used as an inclusive term for those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgendered (GLBT).

Lesbian: A lesbian is a female who is both attracted sexually and emotionally to other females.

Bisexual: Bisexual is a person who is attracted to persons of both sexes, male and female alike.

Webpages on GLBT issues:

http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html
http://www.healthyminds.org/glbissues.cfm
http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/features/lgbt/homohet.aspx
http://www.queerut.org/glbta/
http://www.tamu.edu/gies/
http://allies.tamu.edu/