Increasing Queer Spaces

This story is part of the Queer Current segment, covering the most pivotal issues in the LGBTQ+ community

According to the Association of American Universities, nearly 17% of undergraduate and graduate students identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, queer, or questioning in 2018. Additionally, new studies show that Gen Z is more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than previous generations, and is more than likely to include more queer students than ever before.

Of course, given the current political climate, it is evident that the LGBTQ+ population is not favored across society. Given the negative legislation, there has been less DEI funding, meaning that there has been minimal support for queer individuals. In fact, according to The Trevor Project, 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted due to recent politics. However, the most impactful trait of the lack of support is the threats of violence, harassment and mistreatment that they have faced.

With that, data also from The Trevor Project shows that upward of 70% experience anxiety, with high prevalence rates for depression and suicidality. LGBTQ+ students are also at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Some studies indicate that nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth have considered suicide, which highlights a critical mental health crisis.

This is where queer spaces, events, and support come into play, as they can help alleviate mental health and give a helping hand to those who may not have it from other channels. In many cases, queer individuals feel most comfortable to come out when they leave their hometowns and away from their families. College creates a new place to discover and explore, meet new people, and learn more diverse backgrounds, sexualities, cultures, and more. In all, it allows for room to breathe to explore identity and sexuality freely with no negativity. Therefore, college campuses are the perfect environment for spaces and events to grow.

In specifics, queer environments create a sense of community, and allow for support in the discovery and coming out process. Studies show that it has not only a positive impact on mental health, as we mentioned, but it also contributes to emotional well-being and quality of life. These spaces don’t even necessarily need a specific place or location, it can be a LGBTQ+ student organization, program, event, festival, etc. 

One of the best parts of these environments is that there are many varieties to suit an individual’s specific needs, wants, and hobbies. For example, there are queer organizations for STEM students, women queer organizations, greek life organizations, volunteer and community service-based organizations, and more. Furthermore, one of the main points of them is that they are a group of just open arms: bring a friend to help ease the pressure of going into something new and unknown, even if they are not queer! LGBTQ+ spaces accept allies who accept and support them. With this, you do not need to know who you are in order to go. It can feel scary entering a space not knowing who you are, but it is okay to not know. It is another benefit of a queer space; it gives you a place to discover and gain support.

In all, the most important part of a space such as these is how it makes you feel. Asking important questions can be helpful to set positive boundaries and intentions when entering a space. You can ask things such as do you feel supported, represented and comfortable in the space, did you leave the space feeling overall positive and negative, and is it a space that you will go back to for support, community, and advice? All of these open the door for queer individuals to be able to explore spaces that will give the best support, even if it is not on the first try.

Locally, colleges all over Rhode Island are adapting the concept of incorporating more safe, inclusive spaces on their campuses, including Roger Williams. Across our campus, we have gender neutral bathrooms, and the Queer & Trans Resource Advocacy Center, which is an LGBTQ+ safe space with trained faculty providing support and services for LGBTQ+ students. It also is an on-campus location for a safe, opening space for queer students. Additionally, they have a Sexuality and Gender Alliance, which hosts events and safe spaces for queer students.

With that, this past week on April 8th, the QTRAC and SAGA hosted Queer Fest, which is a part of Pride Week, which is a week of celebration programming full of educational resources and events. Queer Fest had multiple events such as a mechanical unicorn, tarot card readings, henna, and ring engraving.

It is adamant that having these spaces and environments across college campuses and beyond is beneficial, especially to those who may not always have access to support and guidance. The event had multiple people in attendance, and positive impacts. When talking to one of the volunteers working one of the event tables, Sophie Devershian, she explained that the event extends beyond just the events themselves, “I think all of that aside, the main importance about this is just community.”

It is not just Roger Williams incorporating queer settings on their campuses. Rhode Island College has also applied these positive concepts to their campus. They have gender neutral bathrooms, an application to register a preferred name or a name change, and have incorporated it into their education by creating a gender studies minor. Additionally, they have a Unity Center, which is “a warm and welcoming space that affirms and promotes equity for all students,” according to their website. They provide peer support and services for all students, with intentional care for students of color, LGBTQ+ students, women, and those with diverse immigration or citizenship statuses.

Lastly, Salve Regina University has multiple queer-inclusive environments across its campus. They have a student and ally group, which is an all-inclusive alliance that helps LGBTQ+ students and allies at Salve. They also have the LGBTQ+ center, which provides training and workshops. One training is LGBTQ+ 101, which is an abbreviated version of Safe Zone Training. This is aimed to educate, support, and celebrate each other and every facet of everyone’s identities, and provide an empowering space where queer students and their allies can be themselves and explore their identities.

With all of this in mind, there are also some limitations that align with this. Even though these spaces exist and are available across multiple settings, there are still individuals who do not have direct access to these resources. Additionally, some organizations, even with support, have trouble gaining resources. “Even if it’s not a lot of people showing up, having queer spaces open and accessible to those who need it is really important and I think what I would like to see in the future though is more resources here,” Devershian said.

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