Safe Zone

As well as recent national and state Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning (LGBTQ) equality movements, Concord’s Safe Zone program is also taking measures to create an LGBTQ-friendly collegiate atmosphere.  

The Concord University Safe Zone program was established in 2009 to eliminate homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism on campus. “Safe Zone” seeks to identify LGBTQ allies on campus and make it easier for people in need to find them.

Recently further strides were made to continue the momentum by encouraging safe and secure places for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. Concord has taken the motion further by creating a Safe Zone website: www.concord.edu/safe-zone.

To join the Safe Zone program, faculty, administrators, and staff can complete a short online training covering LGBTQ topics. These topics range from hate crimes, purpose of safe zones, definition of terms, and member responsibilities. 

Faculty, staff, administration, and students are encouraged to complete the short training and become a member. The training should take no more than 15 minutes.

Upon training completion, allies will receive a Safe Zone sticker and be added to the directory. Safe Zone members are expected to attach the Safe Zone sticker to their office door or another visible location within their work area. The sticker allows those searching for help or advice to find LGBTQ allies.

 “Safe Zone is a way to identify LGBTQ allies in the Concord community and provide those allies, and the people who seek them out, support and information. By designating your office as a Safe Zone, those seeking help or advice can find it without fear or having to justify themselves,” says Dr. Joan Pendergast, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Safe Zone.

Dr. Alecea Standlee, Associate Professor of Sociology, recently completed the training, but has been a member of Safe Zone since 2005. “I am proud to be an ally to the LGBTQ community. We all live in a world in which we are surrounded by ideas and people that try to label us, to define us, to explain us. The roles we are expected to inhabit can be confining and restricting. Please know, that everybody struggles with their identity, everybody struggles to meet expectations or to resist them. You are not alone, nor will you ever be as long as there are people who believe that our greatest achievements are the moments when we can live as we truly are.”

Like Standlee, Dr. Sally Howard, Associate Professor of Political Science, has had the Safe Zone sticker on her door since they first became available a couple of years ago. “In the 11 years that I have been at Concord I’ve seen a huge improvement in acceptance of LGBTQ people and support for LGBTQ issues (e.g., same sex marriage). I would tell an LGBTQ person that I truly believe that, with very few exceptions, they will find the Concord community to be supportive and accepting.”

Students, as well as faculty, are in-favor of the proactive steps the Safe Zone Program is taking in effort to ensure the safety of the LGBTQ campus community.

James Gooch, a senior and English major, finds the measures taken by the university to ensure the wellbeing of its gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students to be wonderful. “While I am sure that there are students, faculty, and staff members that do not share the views of LGBT people and their allies, the website and campus safe zones are a genius way for students seeking fair treatment to identify their supporters. Hopefully these are only small steps toward greater initiatives."

College is a place where students learn and grow, socially, mentally, and as a person. It’s important that students of all sexual orientation feel secure on campus. 

Molly Bates, a senior Communication Arts major says, “I don't think that anyone should feel like they can't come to a place of higher education and feel like they aren't accepted. For Concord to be making a place where anyone can come and feel like they will be accepted and taken care of is a good thing. I think the stickers are a cool idea for people who go through the training. I've read statistics about those of the LGTBQ community having a higher suicide rate than others, as well as being depressed, etc., so for students to see that there are faculty who care about them or who will not judge them based on sexual orientation or otherwise, it might help the narrative for those who need to seek help for depression, suicidal thoughts, etc.”’

Bates is correct, as according to the Safe Zone training website, men and women who identify as LBGTQ, are at an increased risk for becoming a victim of physical or emotional violence. Recent statistics on hate crimes in the US show that hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation make up 19.6% of single-bias hate crimes.  LBGTQ college students report an increased incidence of physical and property crimes motivated by their orientation.

At this time there are currently 17 members. Current Safe Zone members can find a variety of resources for helping Concord LGBTQ students on the website. There are also student resources and information about the Concord Gay-Straight Alliance.

The Safe Zone Program and Dr. Pendergast are taking hands-on measures in effort to ensure the well-being and safety of Concord’s LGBTQ community.