Friday, October 30, 2020

Selecting Trans-Affirming Camp Sites for Retreats

Why T-Camp -- An InterCampus Retreat for Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Questioning College Students -- Will Return to Pilgrim Pines Camp

 

Or... please enjoy my yelp review!

 

On the last day of the 9th annual T-Camp - an intercampus retreat for transgender, nonbinary, and gender questioning college students - I asked Pilgrim Pines Camp Director Connie if I could write a guest blog post for the camp’s web site. I wanted to share with future T-Campers why we return every year to this particular camp facility in the San Bernardino mountains in Southern California, as well as give organizers of similar retreats some tips for what to look for when researching locations. And I wanted to do a happy shout out to our excellent camp hosts.

 

That moment was in early 2020, and the rest of 2020 has been… interesting. Due to COVID-19, we are delaying our next T-Camp by a year. And Pilgrim Pines Camp has barely survived the El Dorado wildfire. But T-Campers will be back, and here are my thoughts on why we will return to Pilgrim Pines Camp.

 

At T-Camp, we create an intentional community over three days in which T-Campers can be our authentic selves with minimal need to defend against strangers’ hurtful comments. Thus we look for camp locations where we can use the entire facility without running into other camp guests. We also need a camp that can accommodate around 60 people in one big circle. And Pilgrim Pines Camp can accommodate us in the Main lodge. We need multiple indoor breakout spaces, and Pilgrim Pines Camp offers several smaller lodges.

 

Learn more about Pilgrim Pines Camp.

 

At Pilgrim Pines Camp, we are able to reserve Upper Camp for ourselves due to our numbers of 50+ people. While there is a possibility that another group could reserve Lower Camp and we would see the other group during meals in the Dining Hall, we usually avoid this by choosing our early in the year camp date. My university has also used Pilgrim Pines Camp for a separate social justice college retreat in October in which we did share the Dining Hall, with no incidents. But there is something magical about getting away from everyone except the folks who are part of our T-Camp community.

 

Speaking of which… most mobile phones will not get a signal at the camp. People have feelings about this, believe me. But it does cut down on distractions and we can access a wireless network in the Dining Hall or use land lines in an emergency. We always share the land line phone number in case family members are concerned about reaching a student. 

 

Of course we are not alone at the camp, as we interact with Pilgrim Pines Camp staff. And like every other human, including T-campers ourselves, there are times when camp staff stumble over misgendering people by assuming pronouns or using “ma’am” or “sir” based on appearance. Or, using “you guys,” an expression that is not gender inclusive.

 

But here’s the thing: Camp staff not only take gender inclusivity seriously, they acknowledge their mistakes and try harder when they do stumble. Connie spent some time on the microphone her first year with us apologizing with deep sincerity for unconsciously misgendering people. The next year, she shared she had been practicing dropping the “you guys” from her language entirely. I grew up in Texas and I sometimes imagine trying to drop “y’all” from my conversations. So, I appreciate the effort but mainly I appreciate the true follow through by camp staff to be respectful and gender inclusive.

 

When selecting a campsite, we look at other practical considerations. Since we usually hold our retreat in January, we don’t want to be too high in elevation in the mountains to avoid heavy snowfall. (Our first T-Camp was at a different but equally lovely camp facility, but the snow levels were so high that walking between cabins became treacherous to T-Campers used to warm SoCal weather.) Pilgrim Pines Camp has iced up a few times in early January with some mild snowflakes, but we’ve never been snowed in. We do repeatedly reassure T-Campers that the cabins are heated.

 

We feel very strongly about gender inclusive facilities at T-Camp. Other camp facilities I’ve approached over the years have very firmly told me “we have boys cabins and we have girls cabins.” This camp policy probably stems from traditional arrangements for youth camps and also because most camps are owned by churches avoiding “shenanigans.” Except our LGBTQ+  community does not live in a binary of “boys and girls.” We ask T-Campers to choose whatever cabin they wish during check-in and no cabin is labeled by gender.

 

We also require gender inclusive restrooms and showers. The two restrooms closest to the Main Lodge are in the Dining Hall right next door, and they are already single occupancy gender inclusive. The sleeping cabins include single-occupancy restrooms. The main “shower house” has two sides, one labeled “Men” and one labeled “Women,” but Pilgrim Pines Camp lets us cover the signage and T-Campers can choose to use either side. Inside are individual toilet stalls and curtained shower stalls. Mostly we hear from T-Campers that it's a cold walk to the Shower House, and that it is not heated inside except for hot water. No comment on whether or not college students take showers at camp.

 

We also want a separate space for T-Camp staff facilitators to sleep and meet. The Leadership Lodge includes multiple bedrooms and restrooms with showers, plus a small kitchen and living room. It accommodates 10 people. T-Campers know where to find staff if they need us after organized activities are complete for the day.

 

We’ve also needed to use the accessible apartments for T-Campers unable to walk up paths to sleeping cabins. They’ve also helped house staff who snore very loudly! (Ahem.) Apartments A and B are below the Dining Hall (same building) and around the corner from the Main Lodge. Cars can park right outside the doors, with no steps required.

 

However, be advised that none of the showers, including the ones in Apartments A and B, allow wheelchairs to be rolled in. This has prevented some staff using wheelchairs from staying overnight. Buildings such as the Main Lodge, Dining Hall, and Leadership Lodge are wheelchair accessible.

 

We need to accommodate many dietary needs and, quite frankly, we seem to statistically be over-represented by vegans. Pilgrim Pines Camp prepares separate meals as needed for vegetarians and vegans and for those with various food allergies. The entire camp is a nut-free facility and no one can bring food with nuts to camp. However, the camp has not been able to provide halal or kosher meal options. Recently staff learned better options for diabetics requiring low carb meals. I’ve appreciated their care. Also, it’s tasty food in my opinion.

 

One thing I’ve learned about camp facilities is that we need to provide our own first aid. We make sure a facilitator is CPR-certified and we bring up our own first aid supplies. Thankfully, Pilgrim Pines Camp is located closer to hospitals and clinics than other camp facilities at higher elevation in the mountains, in case of an emergency.

 

Finally, I want to return to an earlier comment that most camp facilities are owned by churches. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community have experienced religious trauma at some point in our lives. We also know that some religious organizations actively seek to support discriminatory laws and policies against LGBTQ+ people. So T-Campers want to know both about the religious iconography at camp and the actions of the church that owns it. 

 

Pilgrim Pines Camp has minimal iconography. A podium with a cross on stage in the Main Lodge can be simply moved to the side, for example. One T-Camper shared with me that the “Jesus fish and posters” in the Dining Hall took them aback at first. However, that’s the extent of it.

 

And the United Church of Christ, which created Pilgrim Pines Camp, is one of the most LGBTQ+ affirming religious denominations in the U.S. You can check out their history of Social Policy Statements on LGBT Concerns here.

 

When I think of T-Camp, I think of T-Campers and of message bags taped to the wall full of affirmations and of Home Groups and of sticky notes and of endless coffee and hot cocoa and of Talent(less) Shows and of fireplaces and of pine cones dropping on our heads and of that one woodpecker and of the ziplock bag of krispy marshmallow treats camp staff set aside for me. The T-Camp community is transformative and Pilgrim Pines Camp helps create that community every year. We’ll be back.

 

Written by Nancy Jean Tubbs, director of the LGBT Resource Center at the University of California, Riverside

Monday, September 9, 2019

Snapshot of California Campus LGBTQ+ Centers

California leads the nation with the number of professional staff directing LGBTQ+ resources and services on college campuses: 15% of the 272 campuses in the U.S. and Canada  with LGBTQ+ centers are located in California. According to the Directory of Campus LGBTQ+ Centers37 centers serve 43 institutions in California.

Campuses hiring professional staff to direct LGBTQ+ services is still rare, found at only 8.2% of the 3,313 nonprofit higher education institutions in the U.S. California continues to lead the way, with 6 California Community Colleges since 2016 hiring for the first time professional staff. This accounts for all but two community colleges in the nation providing LGBTQ+ services. The newest LGBTQ+ center to open on a California campus with professional staff is at the University of San Diego.

Snapshot of California Campus LGBTQ+ Centers
September 1, 2019

15% of the 272 campuses nationally with LGBTQ+ centers are located in California.

37 centers serve 43 institutions:
  • The Queer Resource Center serves 7 institutions of the Claremont Colleges (CA).

Campus System
·      6 CCC– 5% of 114 campus system
·      13 CSU– 57% of 23 campus system
·      10 UC– 100% of 10 campus system

Center Type
·      30 (serving 36 campuses) Stand-alone LGBTQ center:A space you can walk into whose sole-purpose is providing LGBTQ services or resources, directed by professional staff or a GA.
·      2 Within Women’s or Gender Equity Office:Office includes staff whose job description specifically focuses on LGBTQ concerns.
·      3 Within Cross-Cultural or Diversity Office:Office includes staff whose job description specifically focuses on LGBTQ concerns.
·      2 Other:Staff position is housed within Student Life, a Wellness Center, or some other office.

Institution Type
·      Community College
·      Bachelor’s Conferring / General
·      Bachelor’s Conferring / Liberal Arts
·      14 Master’s Conferring
·      18 PhD Conferring / Research

Institution Affiliation
·      14 Private
·      29 Public

Institution Enrollment
·      Under 5,000
·      5,000 to 10,000
·      10 10,000 to 20,000
·      10 20,000 to 30,000
·      30,000 to 40,000
·      More than 40,000

Institution Attributes
·      3 Religiously-Affiliated Institution:campus administration answers to a religious institution.
·      0 Historically Black College / University:institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community.
·      9 Women’s College: U.S. institutions of higher education that historically only admit female students.
·      3 Resources Directed by a Graduate Assistant:a GA works 20 hours a week as the primary director of LGBT resources and services for the campus.
·      3 Student Government-Affiliated Center:office space and budget part of Student Government.



Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Campus Recreation Trans Inclusive Policies Round Up


When UC Berkeley unveiled its large-scale universal locker room in Fall 2018, they immediately set a national standard for inclusive facilities. The student-funded project with a price tag of $2.7 million is a dream for Rec Centers wishing to upgrade their facilities. Many Rec Centers are addressing the need for trans-inclusive policies and resources to encourage all students to access recreation programs and facilities.

While many California college campuses do not offer Universal Locker Rooms or only offer a single occupancy locker room, the CA Fair Employment & Housing Act includes gender identity as a protected class. The ACLU's interpretation of the Act is that:


In California, business establishments, non-profits, and government agencies that serve the public cannot discriminate based on someone’s gender identity or gender expression. [Cal. Civ. Code § 51(b)]
This includes:
  • Stopping you from using a restroom or other sex-segregated facility that matches your gender identity.
  • Asking you to provide ID to prove your gender in order to use a restroom or other sex-segregated facility, such as a dressing room or gym locker room.
Macalester College's Transgender Inclusion Policies for Intercollegiate Athletics, Club Sports and Intramural Sports Activities is available online as a PDF and provides a national model for trans-inclusive policies. Policies are reviewed annually by the Athletics Director and the Macalester Transgender Participation Advisory Committee (MTPAC). Topics range from guiding principles, NCAA policies on Intercollegiate Athletics participation, appeals process, confidentiality, club sports policies, intramural sports and PE classes policies, and inclusive expectations for participation in athletic activities (facilities, pronoun usage, travel accommodations, dress codes and uniforms, and education on gender identity and trans inclusion).

The University of Colorado at Boulder's Inclusive Facilities outreach includes videos for ADA equipment, Adaptive Climbing, All Gender Locker Rooms, and Ice Sleds & Walkers. Their goal is "to create a safe, accommodating, welcoming and open environment while providing equal, accessible and respectful opportunities for all."

Colorado State University's Campus Rec Inclusive Policies address asserted gender and non-gendered attire.
Asserted Gender Policy 
Individuals shall be permitted to participate in Campus Recreation programs, facilities, activities, and events in accordance with that person’s asserted gender identity.
 What does this mean in practice? 
  • Showing up for an event, program, facility, or activity is all you have to do to establish your gender identity and participate.  
  • No questions will be asked, no proof is required, come join us and play!  
Asserted Gender Intramural Policy 
Individuals shall be permitted to participate in Intramural Sports events in accordance with that person’s asserted gender identity.
 What does this mean in practice?
  • Showing up to play for a men's, women's, or coed IM team is all you have to do to establish your gender identity and play in that division. 
  • No questions will be asked, no proof is required, come join us and play! 
Non-Gendered Attire Policy 
In an effort to be inclusive of all personal workout attire preferences, Campus Recreation has an open attire policy. 
What does this mean in practice? 
  • Beyond our facility policies (i.e. no jeans, tennis shoes required, etc.), we do not require gender-specific attire within the Rec Center. Participants are encouraged to wear whatever attire honors their workout experience most, including sports bras, muscle tees, loose or tight-fitting clothing, etc. 
  • Within the aquatic facility, patrons are asked to wear attire designed specifically for swimming (no workout clothes). We also allow modesty shirts.
Iowa State University's Inclusive Rec outreach also states a trans inclusive policy regarding eligibility and participation in intramural sports:
All individuals shall be permitted to participate in the Iowa State University (ISU) Recreation Services Intramural (IM) Sports Program (i.e. Leagues, tournaments, etc.), and Sport Clubs program in a manner consistent with their gender identity. While sport programs are typically offered in gender-based divisions, ISU Recreation Services seek to provide opportunities for all students to participate in its programs inclusive of gender identity. If an individual or team is unsure of which division would be most appropriate in which to participate, please contact the Assistant Director of Intramural Sports or the Coordinator of Sport Clubs to help determine which division would most appropriately fit the participation needs of the individual or team.
Members of NIRSA may access discussion boards for helpful conversations amongst Recreation professionals.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

On LGBT Center Awareness Day, Two California Community Colleges Lead the Way In the CCC System

The Mt. San Antonio College Pride Center opened in 2016.

Every October 19, we celebrate LGBT Center Awareness Day, and in 2017 Sierra College (Rocklin, CA) and Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, CA) also celebrate supporting LGBTQ community college students with professionally-staffed Pride Centers on their campuses. When the Pride Centers opened in 2016, they effectively doubled the number of campus LGBTQ centers serving 2-year institutions in the U.S. Visit the Directory to learn more.

The campuses developed different models of support. Sierra College hired a full-time Student Engagement Specialist, Mo Merritt, to supervise student scholars staff in three engagement centers, including a Pride Center, Cross-Cultural Center, and Women & Gender Resource Center. Peer leaders rotate through the centers, creating intersectional equity-driven programming. For example, in their first year, students organized events such as “That’s the way the gender crumbles” – a conversation on gender identity and expression with ginger bread people. Peer leaders also staff the center’s front desk during open hours, with pro staff stationed within the space.

Mt. SAC’s model was to give 40% release time to their founding Faculty Coordinator in 2016, History Professor Kim Earhart. Kim coordinated special events with students, such as Harvey Milk Day and a Lavender Graduation. The Pride Center provides a space for students to find community and resources. In addition to the Coordinator’s hours in the Pride Center, other faculty volunteer their time to keep the center open more often. Mt. SAC’s new coordinator for 2017-18 is Professor Melinda Bowen. 

The two campuses also took different paths to opening their Pride Centers. At Sierra College, faculty drove the formation of an Equity Plan and Equity Center, to improve the success of impacted student populations. The Pride Center already existed as a volunteer-run space, and the campus added the Cross-Cultural Center and Women & Gender Resource Center to create the three new engagement centers overseen by the Student Engagement Specialist.

Mt. SAC’s plan for a Pride Center rose out of the World Café Dialogue on LGBTQ Climate in August 2015. Over 30 campus stakeholders came together in dialogue to answer the questions:


  1. What are significant experiences or observations you can offer to help us understand the LGBTQ climate on campus?
  2. What in your wildest dreams can be done to improve the LGBTQ climate on campus?
  3. What steps should be taken immediately to make some of these dreams come true?  


The World Café Dialogue on LGBTQ Climate Summary Report of responses led to the development of the Pride Center a year later. Read the full report by clicking here.

Other California Community Colleges continue to address the needs of LGBTQ students through staffing and student spaces. MiraCosta College (Oceanside, CA) for example is hiring a new part-time LGBTQIA Equity Specialist. Los Angeles Valley College is developing a business plan for a staffed Pride Center. They recently launched a campus LGBTQ+ Resource Page.

CCC faculty staff, administrators, and students will be attending the CCC + LGBTQ Summit on November 11, 2017 at UC Riverside, with the opportunity to share models, equity plans, and best practices for supporting LGBTQ people at community colleges. Online registration is free until October 27.


Update: The LGBTQ+ @ California Community Colleges web site also recognizes 4 CCC campuses for offering LGBT centers that are volunteer-run: City College of SF, Los Medanos College, Palomar College, and San Joaquin Delta College.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

CSU Organizes for LGBTQ Resources & Support



Professional staff attending the CSU LGBTQ Resources Meeting
CSU Northridge hosted the first CSU LGBTQ Resources Meeting on January 15, 2016. Thirty professionals staff and eighteen students attended from 17 of the 23-University system.

Topics included consistent LGBTQ policies across the CSU system,a CSU Mentor optional LGBTQ question, and trans student-inclusion on every campus. The meeting addressed the need for preferred name options, gender-inclusive facilities, gender-inclusive housing options, and access to hormones.

Participants are developing a list of recommendations to present to the CSU Chancellor's Office to support LGBTQ students across the system.

The next CSU LGBTQ Resource Meeting will be in Summer 2016. For more information, contact Sarina Loeb, Coordinator of CSUN's Pride Center & LGBTQ Initiatives.

Currently, 11 CSU campuses offer a staffed LGBTQ center.

Campuses in attendance:

  • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  • California State University, Bakersfield
  • California State University, Chico
  • California State University, Dominguez Hills
  • California State University, East Bay
  • California State University, Fresno
  • California State University, Fullerton
  • California State University, Los Angeles
  • California State University, Monterey Bay
  • California State University, Northridge
  • California State University, Sacramento
  • California State University, San Bernardino
  • Humboldt State University
  • San Diego State University
  • San Francisco State University
  • San Jose State University
  • Sonoma State University


Wednesday, October 7, 2015

T*Camp expands to NorCal and New England in 5th year


T*Camp launched in 2012 as an intercampus retreat in Southern California.
After four years as the only intercampus retreat in the nation for trans/genderqueer and gender-questioning college students, three T*Camps will be offered in 2016.

SoCal T*Camp, set for January 8-10, 2016, is now accepting applications online from California college students. In addition, students from 5 Northern California campuses may apply in January 2016 to attend the new NorCal T-Camp, to be piloted later this academic year. New England T*Camp will open applications this Spring for college students in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. NE T*Camp is scheduled for October 2016.

Campus LGBT center staff at San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz are collaborating to pilot the inaugural NorCal T-Camp. Not only will NorCal T*Camp be more geographically accessible to students in the region, offering two California retreats will also expand the number of students benefitting from the experience.


“Each of the past few years, over 100 California students have applied to attend T*Camp,” says Nancy Jean Tubbs of UC Riverside’s LGBT Resource Center. “Due to space limitations, only about half of interested students could join us on the mountain.”

New England campus staff, including former T*Camp facilitators, began working on their own regional T*Camp retreat earlier this year.

“NE T*Camp will create a safe and affirming space in which students can together, and individually, explore their gender and gender identity without fear,” says Keith Waak of University of Massachusetts, Boston. “We want to utilize this program to educate and encourage dialogue and growth within, and around, trans* community members and their allies.”

T*Camp has its origins in a 2011 UC Irvine retreat for trans/genderqueer and gender-questioning students. In 2012, the intercampus retreat was launched as a way to build community for often isolated college students. Today, SoCal T*Camp is co-facilitated by campus LGBT center staff, returning student T*Campers, and trans/genderqueer community mentors.

NE T*Camp organizers point to the scholarship of Sylvia Hurtado and Deborah Carter, who wrote that involvement, engagement, and affiliation are central to students' development and progress in college. And Peregrine Silverschanz theorized that students' educational success is strongly influenced by the "context of the attitude toward their education...including their sense of school and social 'inclusion' and 'exclusion.'"

“We want to create a social network and sense of belonging among students to emphasize support, care, and personal development long after the retreat has ended,” says Van Bailey, director of Harvard’s Office of BGLTQ Student Life.

The T*Camp program model is available on the LGBTQArchitect website by entering “T-Camp” into the search bar.

For more information, please email:
nancy.tubbs@ucr.edu - SoCal T*Camp
norcaltcamp@gmail.com - NorCal T-Camp
tcamp.ne@gmail.com - New England T*Camp

Sunday, September 20, 2015

State of Community Colleges LGBTQ Resources & Services

"The Queer and Now Conference was held at De Anza College on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. This annual conference featured student performances and workshops led by speakers from the larger Queer community."

With 114 campuses, the California Community College (CCC) system is the largest in the nation. In a few key areas, CCC is advancing support for LGBTQ students' success, partly influenced by AB 620 (2011). This assembly bill amended the Education Code to encourage (but not require) CCC campuses to collect aggregate data on sexual orientation and gender identity of students and staff; and to designate a staff point person "to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender faculty, staff, and students." The only existing system-wide entity for LGBT issues is the LGBT Caucus of the CCC Academic Senate. [Note: An October 2015 email communication stated the Caucus is "defunct and inactive."]

Since September 2013 (before the UC and CSU systems), the online CCC admissions application has asked voluntary sexual orientation and gender identity demographic questions. Currently, no mechanism is in place to access this data to track student success and possibly make the case that CCC Student Success & Support Program funding should be used to help at-risk LGBTQ students. SSSP funds support students experiencing "disproportionate impact," which on most CCC campuses means assisting groups based on disability, financial aid status, former foster youth status, race/ethnicity, and veterans status. AB 860 (2014) requires CCC districts to maintain a student equity plan for the above target groups, but not for LGBTQ students.

Sierra College, however, is setting a precedent by hiring a full-time Director / Program Manager for three student engagement centers: a  Cultural Center, Pride Center, and Gender Equity Center. According to the Campus LGBTQ Centers Directory, Sierra College will join Century College (MN) and Community College of Denver (CO) as the only community colleges in the nation with professionally-staffed LGBTQ centers.

Other CCC campuses are also setting standards for LGBTQ student support:

The Los Medanos College Q*Spot, the Palomar College Pride Center, and the City College of San Francisco Queer Resource Center are CCC spaces for LGBTQ students, although none are professionally staffed. The Fullerton College Cadena Cultural Center includes LGBTQ resources. Although not offering a physical space for LGBTQ students, Sacramento City College offers an excellent one-stop web page for LGBTQ resources.

San Joaquin Delta College in 2011 heard a proposal for a Delta Pride Space at the Facilities Planning Meeting. Campus officials stated that physical space for instructional purposes take priority and that the State does not fund student centers. Campus officials promised to search for a shared space for a Diversity Center, although no such space appears to exist four years later.

Imperial Valley College (LGBT Designee), Irvine Valley College (Campus Liaison for LGBTQIA Issues), and MiraCosta College (Campus Liaison for LGBTQIA Issues) created an LGBT Designee position following the authorization under the California Education Code (Section 66271.2). However, Imperial Valley College does not name the person or contact acting as the Campus Liaison. 

Santa Rosa Junior College established a President’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Campus Climate; and De Anza College founded an Equity Action Council that includes a Gender & Sexualities Advisory Group. Other campus committees are also addressing LGBTQ issues: The Glendale Community College Student Affairs Committee minutes from March 18, 2015 includes the establishment of a Task Force to address transgender student services. The Sacramento City College LGBT Subcommittee of the Student Equity Committee is a task force focused on LGBTQ issues on campus.

Sierra College's Spectrum Committee of their Academic Senate is "a formal body whose mission include[s] improving the success and retention of Sierra College’s LGBTIQ students as well as ensuring them a safe campus climate."

Also on the academic side, City College of San Francisco offers an LGBT Studies Major; Napa Valley College's Child and Family Studies offers an LGBT Studies Certificate Program; and Sierra College offers an AA degree in LGBT Studies. Other campuses offer at least one LGBT Studies course: College of Alameda - Humanities 60: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies; Butte College - English 26: Queer Film and Literature; De Anza College - Intercultural Studies 26: Introduction to LGBT Studies; Foothill CollegeEnglish 5: Gay & Lesbian Literature; and Pasadena City College - English 058: Queer Studies in Literature (beginning 2016).

Allies, Safe Space, and Safe Zone projects are found on many CCC campuses, offering training to staff, faculty, and students on LGBTQ issues and resources and raising visibility of campus LGBTQ support. Some campuses mention staff/faculty training on Flex Days, or train-the-trainer opportunities. Others provide a permanent web presence:

Other noteworthy LGBTQ initiatives by CCC campuses include:
  • De Anza College hosted the Queer & Now Student Conference in June 2015. The events were sponsored by the Office of Equity, EAC Gender & Sexualities Advisory Committee, the Black Leadership Collective, and African American Studies Department. About 300 people attended the conference.
  • The MiraCosta College Gay Straight Alliance endowed an annual $1,000 GSA Student Scholarship in 2014, by raising more that $25,000. In 2015, the MiraCosta College Inter-Club Council purchased rainbow tassels and stoles for graduating students. The request for funding highlighted NEA statistics on homophobic campus climates and the need to create an inclusive and welcoming campus that values diversity.
  • The Gay & Lesbian Association of District Employees (GLADE) serving Cypress College and Fullerton College (North Orange County Community College District) established a scholarship for students active in the LGBT community
  • The Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees supported a faculty member's professional development leave in which she learned about issues of sexual orientation as they relate to career decision making and development. She reported back at the March 12, 2013 Board of Trustees meeting.
  • The Student Senate for CCC hosted the first conference of the Spectrum Caucus in 2012, according to the May 14, 2012 Weekly Mission STEM newsletter of Los Angeles Mission College. However, the current SSCCC web site makes no mention of the Spectrum Caucus or any other LGBT entity.

Finally, a grant through the California Mental Health Services Authority provides free online training to support at-risk students via Kognito for all CCC campuses. Modules include LGBTQ on Campus for Faculty & Staff; and LGBTQ on Campus for Students. However, a survey of all 113 CCC campuses show that many do not offer any of the Kognito trainings or do not mention the LGBTQ modules (even though other modules such as Veterans on Campus are highlighted). The free LGBTQ modules are available through 2017.

A note on this blog post: Nancy Jean Tubbs, Director of UC Riverside's LGBT Resource Center, took this inventory of LGBT services and resources on CCC campuses by accessing web sites between July 3 and September 18, 2015. No effort was made to contact individuals as a follow-up to accessing web information, so this inventory is limited to what CCC campuses choose to include on the internet. Please contact Nancy Jean Tubbs to correct errors.