Would you like to know more about the LGBT community? Do you have questions about the LGBT community that you aren’t exactly sure how to ask? Then you should come to Safe Zone. Safe Zone is an event presented by the AUM Gay-Straight Alliance and Dr. Faircloth of Troy University. This event will take place on Friday, January 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m in Warhawk Alley, located on the 1st floor of the Taylor Center. Interactive and educational, the event is also focused on making sure you have a great time, so step outside your comfort zone, get a free lunch, and learn a thing or two.
Safe Zone is a campus oriented event designed to both educate people about general LGBT issues and teach them how to create a safe and welcoming space for members of the LGBT community. Attendees will have the chance to talk directly to members of the LGBT community in a positive, nonjudgmental space who are willing, and want to, answer any questions that you may have. Dr. Paul Hard, an associate professor in the College of Education who is helping put on Safe Zone, says the event is a “great opportunity to become informed,” and that “these days there is so much said about the LGBT community, this is opportunity to find out from them.” Other examples of what will be taught at Safe Zone include how to deal with friends or family members coming out to you, the concept of privilege and what it means, and a speech by Dr. Faircloth on the nuts and bolts, and language of the LGBT community.
Still on the fence? Not sure what the big deal is? Did you know that in Alabama, and many other states, it is legal to both be fired from your job and evicted from your home simply for being LGBT? That Alabama does not recognize sexual oriented based violence as a hate crime? That according to an analysis done by the FBI in 2014 LGBT people are the most likely target for hate crimes? If any of this sounds concerning to you, come to Safe Zone. Learn how you can help create a better, and more loving world for our LGBT family members and friends.
Click here to RSVP for the event.
By Blake Hunter