Archive

February 17, 2005

Campus invited to new Q Center

Over the years it has evolved from a wish to a work in progress — and on Tuesday the UW’s new Q Center will become a reality.  

The Q Center — short for “queer” or “questioning” — is a newly remodeled space on the fourth floor of Schmitz Hall, to support faculty, staff and students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, intersex or questioning their sexuality, and all those who support them.

The new center, located in Room 450 of Schmitz Hall, will hold an open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22, and all are invited.

Q Center Open House: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, in 450 Schmitz. 206-616-7296, e-mail qcenter@u.washington.edu or visit online at http://www.qcenter.washington.edu.

“There will be goodies and people stopping in from different parts of campus though the day,” said Jennifer Self, the social work graduate student and trained therapist who is the center’s director. “And we’ll have a Q Center sign that people can write on that will hang in the center.”

The Center is funded by a grant from the vice presidents for minority affairs and student affairs. The money pays for a graduate assistantship for Self and initial operating costs for the center.

Self said the idea for such a center first came up as long as seven or eight years ago. But it gained momentum with the release in 2001 of the President’s Task Force on Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian and Transgender Issues and its report, titled “Affirming Diversity: Moving From Tolerance to Acceptance and Beyond,” which suggested such support would be helpful.

The Q Center, Self said, now houses the Safe Zone Project, a training program to help the campus community better understand and support issues important to sexual minorities. She said the curriculum for the training program has been rewritten to be more interactive, and that training sessions now can be customized for different audiences. It will also be a resource for information, a meeting space and a safe, nurturing environment for the populations it serves.

Self will run the center with the help of two student interns and a former student who will help conduct Safe Zone training. She said another grand opening ceremony will take place in the fall, where former students and alumni will be invited.

But for now, the Q Center is open for business.

“I think it’s an auspicious day in terms of the stance the University of Washington is taking around its commitment to diversity and anti-oppression on the campus community.”

For more information on the Q Center or Safe Zone training, call 206-616-7296 or e-mail qcenter@u.washington.edu.