The Safe Space program helps those students of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Questioning community on the Wilkes Campus to identify a supportive faculty/staff member or student group. The visibility of the safe space sticker allows the campus community to identify faculty/staff members and know that they can speak freely with these individuals about LGBTQ issues.
The program is completely voluntary. The reason why we are offering these sessions is because we want to educate ourselves about LGBTQ issues and concerns and how they relate to colleges and universities. There will be two ways this program will be offered: Safe Space Ally Training and LGBTQ awareness training. The sessions are offered to faculty/staff and students.
In the Safe Space Ally training session, we will provide participants with the tools to take action against negative attitudes towards the LGBTQ community on and off campus. “In the most general sense, an “Ally” “is” a person who is a member of the dominant or majority group who works to end oppression in his or her personal and professional life through support of, and as an advocate for, the oppressed population.”(Washington and Evans, Becoming an Ally) Participants in the Ally training will receive a Safe Space sign and/or button to display and may choose to be listed in our online Ally registry.
LGBTQ awareness training introduces participants to terminology that is used in the LGBTQ community and includes discussions of different scenarios. The Ally program will also be introduced so that those who attend the Safe Space training will know about the Ally program and can sign up for Ally training if interested.
What is Safe Space?
Surveys indicates that a majority of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQA) students do not feel safe at school out of fear for personal safety. Students who can identify a supportive faculty/staff member or student group are more likely to feel a sense of belonging at their school than those who cannot. For many students, the presence of allies to whom they can turn for support - or even the simple knowledge that allies exist - can be a big factor in developing to improve school climate. Safe Space programs increase the visible presence of students and adults allies who can help to shape a school culture that is accepting of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity/ expression, or any other difference.
Mission of Wilkes Safe Space Program
- To foster an inclusive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning students, and their allies.
- To provides educational opportunities, advocacy, and programming for students, faculty, and staff on the Wilkes University campus.
- To aspire that Safe Space will help develop and support inclusive understanding of gender and sexuality, as well as foster a community that is open, safe, and supportive.
What Can You Do As An Ally - Get Involved!
- Display your Safe Space Sticker! The sticker indicates that, within your office or room, homophobic and heterosexist comments and actions will not be tolerated silently, but instead will be addressed in an educational and nonthreatening manner. The sticker does not indicate whether or not you are LGBTQA; it merely states that you are an Ally.
- Support policies that bring equity to and give open support to LGBTQA issues.
- Encourage others to become a part of Safe Space.
- Attend Safe Space training to further increase your knowledge and awareness.
- Pay attention to the words people use to describe themselves. Not everyone identifies as “gay”, “lesbian”, “homosexual”
- Do not assume that a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person is attracted to you just because they have disclosed their sexual identity.
- Respect the desire for secrecy of a person you know to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. Do not “out” someone.
- Speak out against statements and jokes that attack LGBTQA people. Letting others know that you find ant-LGBTQA statements and jokes offensive and unacceptable can go a long away towards reducing homophobia.
Resources
Campus Resources
- Safe Space | safespace@wilkes.edu
- Office of Diversity Initiatives | diversity@wilkes.edu
- Wilkes Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) | Facebook page
Community Resources
National Resources
Sexual Orientation: The desire for intimate emotional and sexual relationships with people of the same sex (homosexual), the other sex (heterosexual), or both sexes (bisexual).
Gender Identity: A person’s sense of being male or female.
Gay: The adjective used to describe people who are physically romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to people of the same sex.
Lesbian: A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, emotional and/or spiritual attraction is to other women.
Bisexual: An individual who is physically, romantically, emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to men and women.
Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from sex they were assigned at birth.
Transsexual: A person who has changed, or is in the process of changing, his or her physical sex to conform to his or her internal sense of gender identity.
Heterosexism: The assumption that everyone is heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality or bisexuality.
Questioning: A term or period where an individual re-assesses (however privately or openly) the orientation/identity that they have either asserted for themselves, or been brought up as.
Intersex: Describing a person whose biological sex is ambiguous.
LGBTQA: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Ally.
First Name | Last Name | Title |
---|---|---|
Erica | Acosta | Associate Director of Diversity Initiatives |
Abel | Adekola | Dean of Sidhu School of Business |
Mark | Allen | Dean, Student Affairs |
Paula | Andrews | AFROTC |
Mischelle | Anthony | Associate Professor/Chair, English |
Debra | Archavage | Office Assistant, English/ Global Cultures |
Jill | Avery-Stoss | Research Data and Intern Assistant |
Joshua | Blechle | Assistant Professor, Chemistry |
Robert | Bohlander | Professor, Psychology |
Megan | Boone Valkenburg | Civic Engagement Office |
Carol | Bosack | Director, Career Services |
Heather | Bowman | Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian |
Mia | Briceño | Assistant Professor, Communication Studies |
Amy | Bradley | Associate Professor, Chemistry |
Melissa | Bravo | Staff/NCOIC Administration |
Robert | Bruno | Associate Professor, Communication |
Anita | Burns | Office Assistant, Health and Wellness |
Andrew | Chew | Research & Policy Analyst |
Kalen | Churcher | Associate Professor, Communication Studies |
Crystal | Cool | Assistant Director, International Student Services |
Helen | Davis | Associate Professor, English |
Lien | Do | Assistant Director, Admissions |
Contance | Dombroski | Director, Center for Health Science and Engineering |
Deanna | Drako | Assistant Director, Middle School Programs, SHINE Program |
Jean | Eckert | Student Employment Supervisor |
Gerald | Ephault | Adjunct Professor |
Evene | Estwick | Associate Professor, Communication Studies |
Kathleen | Fabrizi | AFROTC |
Raymond | Fedora | Assistant Director, Residence Life |
Jon | Ference | Associate Provost |
Karen | Frantz-Fry | Assistant Professor, School of Education |
Suzanne | Galella | Associate Professor/Chair, Education-Undergraduate |
Melissa | Gaudio | Campus Counselor |
Mohsen | Ghamari | Faculty of Mechanical Engineering |
Maria | Grandinetti | Associate Professor, Nursing |
Brenda | Gruver | Faculty, Pharmacy Practice |
Jessica | Haczewski | Admission Events Coordinator |
Dawn | Harding | Director, Upward Bound |
Gregory | Harms | Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering & physics |
Robert | Hartman | AFROTC |
Dale | Hazlak | Adjunct Faculty, Social Science |
Ryan | Henry | Assistant Professor, Chemistry |
Joseph | Housenick | Human Resources Director |
Ruth | Hughes | Associate Professor/ Dept. Chair, Finance Accounting Management |
Maureen | Iskra | Admissions Counselor |
Angela | Jones | Faculty of Practice, Nursing |
Vicki | Jones | Program Coordinator, School of Education |
Lisa | Kadlec | Associate Professor, Biology |
Anthony | Kapolka | Associate Professor, Math/CS |
Bobak | Karimi | Assistant Professor, Env. Eng. & Earth Science |
Sean | Kelly | Assistant Professor, English |
Kyle | Kreider | Professor/Chair, Political Science |
Joseph | Kultys | Registrar's Office |
Danah | Lassiter | Residence Life |
Lauren | Leighton | Associate Director of Transfer and Grad Admissions |
Leesa | Levy | Visiting Assistant Professor, Performing Arts |
Vee Ming | Lew | Associate Professor of Math and Computer Science |
Tory Lynn | Lewis | Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice |
Thomas | Limouze | Head Coach M and W Swimming |
Del | Lucent | Assistant Professor, Physics |
Blake | Mackesy | Graduate Education |
Jap-Nanak | Makkar | Assistant Professor, English |
Jennifer | Malinowski | Assistant Dean, Pharmacy |
Dana | Manning | Associate Professor, Pharmacy |
Thomas | Mazzolla | Functional Technologist |
Mary | McManus | Associate Professor, Pharmacy |
Julie | McMonagle | Lab manager, Environmental Engineering |
Karim | Medico | Assistant Professor, Doctoral School of Education |
Amanda | Modrovsky | Research & Sponsored Programs |
Lyndi | Moran | Office Manager of Public Safety |
Gina | Morrison | Professor, Global History and Languages |
Mary Beth | Mullen | Coordinator, Student Affairs |
Ellen | Newell | Associate Professor, Psychology |
Sharon | Nolan | Office Assistant, Upward Bound |
Diane | O'Brian | Director, Health and Wellness Services |
Julie | Olenak | Dean of Student Affairs, Nesbitt School of Pharmacy |
Lori Ann | Pajalich | Assistant Professor, Nursing |
Amy | Patton | Associate Director, Admission |
Linda | Paul | Associate Professor, Philosophy |
Alisha | Pitchford | Faculty of Practice, Chemistry |
Kristin | Pitarra | Human Resources Director |
Erin | Pleskach | Assistant Director, Admissions |
Tracy | Polumbo | Assistant to Dean, College of Science and Engineering |
Joanne | Powser | Area Coordinator, Residence Life |
Jill | Price | Adventure Education Coordinator |
Rhonda | Rabbitt | Dean, School of Education |
Paul | Reinert | Assistant Professor, EDD, Education Doctorate |
Alex | Reynolds | Area Coordinator Residence Life |
Lisa | Reynolds | Assistant Professor, IMAD |
Paul | Riggs | Dean, Arts Humanities and Soc. Sci. |
Kristin | Rock | Radio Station Manager |
Marie | Roke- Thomas | Associate Professor/ Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences |
Abas | Sabouni | Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering |
Catherine | Schaeffer | Adjunct Faculty, College Arts Humanities, and Soc Sci. |
Debbie | Scheibler | Director, Residence Life |
Samuel | Schmidt | Assistant Professor, Sidhu School of Business |
Ian | Schreffler | Associate Director, Admissions |
Roberta | Shaffer | Office Assistant, Residence Life |
Robert | Shertza | Technical Support Specialist |
Charles | Smargiassi | Assistant Professor, MS Education Masters |
Amy | Sopcak-Joseph | Assistant professor, History |
Elizabeth | Spencer | Coordinator Field Experiences, BS Education |
Chad | Stanley | Associate Professor, English |
Cierra | Steele | Assistant Director, Admissions |
Scott | Stolte | Dean, Nesbitt School of Pharmacy |
Grace | Surdovel | Faculty of Practice/Prog Coord Graduate Education |
Wagiha | Taylor | Professor, Sidhu School of Business |
Jennifer | Thomas | Associate Professor/Chair, Psychology, Women's and Gender Studies |
Mildred | Urban | Associate Director, Special Events |
Rebecca | Van Jura | Director, Special Events |
Teresa | Wasiluk | Adjunct Faculty, BioEngineering |
Stephanie | Wasmanski | Director, Graduate Education |
Robb | Warmouth | Payroll |
Marketa | White | Assistant Director, Admissions |
Craig | Wiernik | Assistant Professor, Sociology/Anthropology |
Teresa | Wignot | Interim Provost |
Andrew | Wilczack | Associate Professor, Sociology |
Linda | Winkler | Professor, Global History and Languages |
Gretchen | Yeninas | Associate Dean, Student Affairs |
Megan | Youmans | Assistant Professor, Chemistry |
Brent | Young | Assistant Professor, Math and Computer Science |
Deborah | Zbegner | Dean, Passen School of Nursing |