“You’re in the South, everybody knows, especially with Texas, a lot of people are against it,” Marshall said. “And that really hinders people accepting who they are and being able to tell other people.”
Although Marshall, a junior advertising major, said he was lucky enough to have supporting friends and family when he came out as gay when he was 21 years old, he said not every student is as fortunate.
Texas Tech University is taking steps to make lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning, or LGBTQ, students feel more welcome on campus. This includes teaching diversity of all kinds and making sure students feel comfortable enough in their environment to be themselves.
One of the ways Texas Tech is encouraging a more tolerant campus is through LGBTQ safe zones. The safe zones have been around for a few years but were recently recognized by the Student Government Association as an important part of campus support.
The LGBTQ safe zones encourage faculty and staff members to designate their office as a safe area for LGBTQ students to talk about what they are going through in life.
Rob Peaslee, journalism and electronic media department chair, said the University of Colorado had a similar program while he was studying there. Peaslee said he thinks it is important for all students to know someone is on their side.
“My thinking is that I want it to be clear to those students that this office is a place that they can come and ask questions or unload or cry or share victories and triumphs or whatever,” Peaslee said, “and just not feel as though they have to worry about being judged.”
Katie Miller, a junior nutrition major and president of the Gay Straight Alliance at Texas Tech, said Texas Tech has a unique training program for faculty or staff who choose to be a LGBTQ ally. Miller said faculty and staff choose to be a part of the course, and some students find comfort in seeing the LGBTQ ally signs on faculty doors.
“Some people view it as a really amazing thing,” Miller said, “because you see so many allies, especially since you can’t just go up to someone and be like, ‘Do you like me? No? Okay.’ And so, some people view it as that, especially since it can be really scary to come out to a professor, knowing that they’re in charge of your grades.”
Reese Ramsey, waving the rainbow flag, also known as the gay pride flag or LGBTQ pride flag, in support of the organization and greeting students walking by during Diversity Week. Picture by Justin Gonzales.
Miller said the LGBTQ ally signs can also isolate professors and make it seem like they are not welcoming to LGBTQ students. She said there has been a push to make it mandatory for faculty and staff to go through the LGBTQ ally training, but Miller thinks it is not a good idea. She said it could lead to uncomfortable situations if the faculty and staff were required to support something against their will.
As a department chair, Peaslee said, he would not require his employees to be LGBTQ allies. Although times are changing, he said, some areas of the country just are not there yet.
Marshall said he has not used the safe zones and did not even know they existed, but he loved the concept. He said coming out can be a very hard time in LGBTQ students’ lives and having someone to talk to could help many struggling students.
“I wish that I would have had that my freshman year,” Marshall said. “You know, I mean, that’s one of the reasons I came to college or why I was excited to come to college. I was like, ‘I get to explore myself; I’ll come out,’ despite it took forever. But, I wish I that I had had somebody to come and talk to.”
Although he has not faced direct discrimination while at Texas Tech, Marshall said, it is something he is always prepared for. He said he and his boyfriend are open about their relationship but are still careful in public.
“But, it’s always in the back of your mind. I mean, it is always there,” Marshall said. “Especially, I mean, even to the point of holding hands. I don’t want to do it on campus. I always feel like people are staring at us.”
Katie Miller, a junior nutrition major from Dallas, TX, and president of the Gay Straight Alliance, writing what she believes makes a good ally on the pink triangular pyramid during Diversity Week. Picture by Justin Gonzales.
Miller said the Gay Straight Alliance faces some verbal discrimination during events and other things but not as much as some may think. For the most part, she said, Texas Tech students and administration are open to LGBTQ students and diversity in general.
To encourage diversity on campus, Miller is working with other groups on campus to create diversity training. The training will be an online course for freshmen and will include LGBTQ, religion, race and other diversity issues.
Miller said there are about 35 Gay Straight Alliance members who participate regularly. She said there are about 360 Texas Tech students who are trans and many others who are lesbian, gay or bisexual.
To learn more about diversity at Texas Tech, visit the Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
