A Case for a Safe Space:
Evaluating the Potential for a Safe Zone Program at Bluffton University
Kristen Shelly
April 2010
This past fall, I worked on an independent study on Safe Zones as part of a peace and conflict studies course, Peacemaking Project. In this presentation, I will give an overview of Safe Zones and the significance I believe this project has for Bluffton. I will also connect Safe Zones to Bluffton’s values and to a Christian peacemaking perspective.
Throughout this presentation I will refer to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered population as LGBT, or LGBTQ, which also refers to those who are questioning their sexual orientation. No matter how many letters are added to the acronym, it is hard to find an all-inclusive term. Thus, I am not intending to be exclusive in my use of language to those who do not fit neatly into this definition.
I will also reference the term heterosexism, which is an ideological system of oppression that encompasses not only individual responses to homosexuality but the prevalence in society of stigmatizing attitudes toward nonheterosexual behaviors or identities.
Let me begin by explaining what is meant when I refer to Safe Zones. Safe Zones intend to create safe places for LGBTQ students to discuss and express their sexuality in a nonjudgmental and accepting environment. Safe Zone programs are adapted to specific institutions. They often include providing training for interested faculty, staff, and sometimes students and making resources and support available for LGBTQ students.
Safe Zones have implications for individuals, groups, and institutions.
On an individual level, an ally is someone who is a member of the dominant or majority group who works to end oppression through support and advocacy for an oppressed population. In this context, allies are generally heterosexual people who work to develop attitudes, institutions, and culture in which LGBTQ people feel they matter. Allies act in solidarity with the oppressed population. They are public advocates with high visibility, taking risks to increase safety and support. Allies are also nonjudgmental. For LGBTQ people to be truly safe, they need to be accepted and valued for who they are. Only then will truly supportive relationships form. In addition, to be most effective in combating heterosexism, allies must recognize their privilege and role in oppression.
Allies should also be concerned about their attitude toward those who have different opinions. I have found it very helpful to “listen first” when encountering potentially heated discussions. Coming to conversations with an open-mind and seeking to understand rather than to persuade will help those you talk with to feel respected and valued, even when you cannot agree.
While I think it is incredibly important to think about the actions that individuals can do, I also believe that institutional changes occur when efforts are coordinated on and between several levels: students, faculty and staff, and administration.
Student organizations should focus on dialogue and support for LGBTQ students. They may organize awareness-raising events on campus and host speakers that have interest in LGBT concerns. Student groups can also network with faculty and staff efforts, as well as learning from other colleges and universities.
Faculty and staff can bring visibility to LGBT concerns in their offices and classrooms. Professors can bring up LGBTQ concerns in a safe classroom setting through curriculum or by refusing to tolerate derogatory comments. Faculty can also develop a resolution supporting the creation of a safe space campus group. Staff can apply Safe Zone principals in their offices as they advise and aid students in various areas. They should make certain that there is no discrimination in services based on sexual orientation. Faculty and staff who have undergone Safe Zone training should also be responsible for leading training for interested faculty, staff and student leaders. Faculty should also continue to stay connected with the activities of the student group.
Administration can also play an important part in this process. Administration should be aware of and in touch with student and faculty/staff efforts regarding safe zones. While efforts at creating safe spaces do not depend solely on administrative action, institutional changes will be greatly benefitted through administrative support. The administration should continue to develop ways in which Bluffton can become a more supportive and welcoming experience for all.
In locating Safe Zones in Bluffton’s context, I also find it important to think in terms of the values that Bluffton promotes. Primarily, I identified the Mission Statement and the Community of Respect as obvious means by which Bluffton communicates its principles. The mission statement uses inclusive language in terms of Bluffton students’ backgrounds and the preparation for service to all people. It also stresses responsible citizenship, which entails not only refraining from harassment and discrimination but also working against structures of oppression.
The Community of Respect statement expresses a desire to respect and celebrate the diversity of all people. This statement says that, “every human being is created in the image of God” and that we must recognize and celebrate the “divine spark” and the diversity we possess as children of God. There are no exceptions to the mutual respect this statement calls on us to exhibit to every member of our community. I would even go so far as to say that this statement identifies an image of peace that is not uniform, but diverse. God’s plan is not for all humans to be the same, but to be unique creations.
Beyond these two statements, Bluffton University promotes values of justice and peace through its affiliation with the Mennonite church. Article 22 of the Mennonite Confession of Faith expresses that God’s will is peace. Mennonites believe that to follow Christ is to do justice, bring reconciliation, and practice nonresistance in the face of violence.
I strongly believe that peace is not just negative peace, or the absence of violence. Positive peace depends on the presence of justice and right relationships.
Violence is also not only physical harm or threat of harm, either. One of the key concepts in sociological research on LGBT concerns is the impact of daily negative interactions on these individuals. While it is easy to focus on blatantly violent acts, society’s basic assumptions and expectations about sexual orientation and gender identity may be most harmful.
In specifically evaluating how safe zones can fit into a framework for peace, I’ve placed Safe Zones within Lisa Schirch’s categories for peacebuilding. The primary category relating to Safe Zones is reducing direct violence. Strategies in this category aim to prevent victimization, restrain offenders, and create safe space for the peacebuilding process. By intervening on behalf of an oppressed population and providing safe places to imagine new ways out of conflict, Safe Zones reduce direct violence against the LGBTQ population. Yet I also see connections between the three other dimensions that Schirch identifies. The second, waging conflict nonviolently, focuses on tactics such as awareness-raising and advocacy. Safe Zones encourage individuals to evaluate themselves for the violence of privilege and then to speak out on behalf of and with the LGBTQ community. The third category is transforming relationships. Relationships based on meeting needs and increasing understanding is at the heart of structural change. In the context of relationships, this conversation changes from an “issue” to the real experiences of people. The fourth process is building capacity. Although Safe Zones do not create more peaceful societies overnight, the emphasis of Safe Zones on training is an example of peace education. Peace education gives people the resources to think critically about the conditions necessary for peace in society.
If we truly believe that God desires for us to live in peace with one another, then we cannot continue to name apparent calm in our community peace. Peace is a much more vibrant image than the illusion a lack of visible conflict provides.
Peace is both the means and the ends by which we transform society. Peace is the vision of rightness in the world that we imagine God has in mind for us. But peace is also the very process by which we can begin to realize that peace. Opening spaces for safety, acceptance, and dialogue for LGBTQ students on Bluffton’s campus is a concrete step in building peace and bringing justice to our world.
