Safe Zone is a voluntary network of faculty, staff, and students who believe that every member of the college community should have an equal opportunity to grow and learn in a safe and open environment. Typically, Safe Zone programs are found on university and college campuses; however, they are also found in high schools, and in some churches and communities.

Safe Zones provide safe spaces that are highly visible and easily identifiable to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons, where support and understanding is the key and where bigotry and discrimination are not tolerated. Safe Zones are commonly identified as "ally" programs, through which members of the LGBTQ community receive support from and work together with heterosexual supporters, friends, and allies.

The Wagner College Safe Zone was founded in the Fall of 2008 as a joint effort between faculty, students, and staff. The Safe Zone is coordinated through the Office of Residential Education.

The Safe Zone Workshop

The workshop is an educational opportunity for any interested member of the Wagner College community who wants to learn more about the LGBTQ community and become an ally.

The goals of the Safe Zone workshop are:

To identify a network of allies who are concerned, empathetic, and knowledgeable about LGBTQ issues
To provide evidence of the support of LGBTQ people and their allies within the Wagner College community by posting a sign as tangible evidence of that support
To reduce the fear of reprisal and discrimination by LGBTQ people and their allies within the Wagner College community
To assist LGBTQ and allied students in achieving their educational goals by creating an environment in which they can be themselves

This workshop entails a variety of interactive activities and discussions that address the topics of heterosexism and homophobia, stereotypes, the Queer movement, the development of a homosexual identity, the coming out process, and what it means to be an ally.

Safe Zone workshops can be organized at no cost to any student group, office, department, or any other group connected with the Wagner College community. To set up a date and time for your workshop, please contact Sara Klein, Director of Residential Education, at sara.klein@wagner.edu. We will work to find a date and time that are mutually convenient to both the participants and facilitators.

The Safe Zone Network

Once a student, faculty, or staff member completes the workshop, this person automatically becomes a member of the Safe Zone network and may choose to display the Safe Zone sticker on an office or room/suite door to show their support for the LGBTQ community and their willingness to be an ally and a resource. The Safe Zone sticker, seen on hundreds of college campuses, sends an important message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, colleagues, and their allies. This message is one of understanding, non-judgment, and knowledge of LGBTQ persons' needs and concerns. It is symbolic of a commitment on your part to provide an atmosphere of unqualified acceptance and assistance.

Additionally, those students, faculty, and staff members who complete the workshop can have their name listed on this website as a resource and an ally to the LGBTQ community.

LGBTQ and Ally Resources

Facts

American Psychological Association - Answers to your questions about sexual orientation and homosexuality
Siecus - Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. This site includes definitions of sexuality, origins and characteristics of sexual orientation, civil liberties and discrimination information, and information about the military.

Higher Education

Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
LGBT Scholarship Resources and Links - LGBT-specific financial aid information

Know Your Rights

Human Rights Campaign - Find out what's happening regarding LGBTQ legislation
Out Proud - The National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Youth; publisher of QueerAmerica books
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - The place to go for LGBTQ activists
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund - The nation's oldest and largest legal organization working for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - GLAAD is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination

Health

Staten Island LGBT Community Center - provides lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their family members with direct local access to culturally competent, gay-oriented, LGBT-friendly services, programs, events and activities that promote overall physical, mental and emotional health and well-being. FREE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES for LGBT-identified people and their families are offered 9 AM - 9 PM, Monday through Friday at 25 Victory Blvd and 23 Hyatt Street on Staten Island.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center - This is New York City's only primary health care center dedicated to meeting the health care needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and people living with HIV/AIDS - regardless of any patient's ability to pay.
Gay Men's Health Crisis - GMHC is a not-for-profit, volunteer supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS.

News

The Advocate - The award-winning LGBT news site
Gay Today - It stands at the cutting edge of communication with the GLBT community for the new millenium
PlanetOut - Planet Out, inc. is a leading global online media company offering consumer services, news, and entertainment to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community
The It Gets Better Project - A movement aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth as they explore their identity, as communicated through personal videos created by millions of people.

YOUR NAME COULD BE HERE - sign up to the 155th person to attend a workshop and find out more!

Campus Life

Safe Zone

The Safe Zone Workshop

The Safe Zone Network

LGBTQ and Ally Resources

Safe Zone Network Allies at Wagner College