The faculty-run Diversity Committee of the Homewood Student Affairs Office introduced the Safe Space program to Hopkins this semester, a workshop aimed at training faculty and staff to connect with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, said Director of Residential Life Shelly Fickau.
Safe Space is common on college campuses nationwide, but has been implemented at Hopkins in response to complaints of misunderstandings between students and faculty members.
Last year, members of the Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance (DSAGA) handed out stickers to faculty members that pictured a pink triangle and read, "Safe Space."
However, according to Fickau, the gesture failed to generate more tolerance.
"When gay students encountered these faculty members, it wasn't a safe space," said Fickau, who serves as chair of the Diversity Committee. "You have to be educated to understand how to provide safe space."
Faculty members who complete the program are offered a placard to demonstrate their support of LGBT students, but university officials warned that they would not hand out placards to just anyone wishing to show support.
Kathy Schnurr, the assistant chaplain and a member of the Diversity Committee, explained that it was a policy of selectivity. "Just going through the training doesn't make you an ally," Schnurr said.
However, Fickau added, "We don't want to convey the message that if you don't see a placard, the place isn't safe."
Before handing out placards, the University hosted a workshop that explored issues relating to sexuality. At the end of the workshop, participants were given the choice of taking a placard or not.
"It's about creating space intentionally," Fickau said.
According to Schnurr, some participants who were supportive of the LGBT community did not take a card because "not all faculty are ready to make that kind of commitment."
Fickau said that the program will most affect members of the LGBT community, but added, "It isn't just the gay students that would benefit - it's there also for people who don't know."
The program placard depicts a rainbow-colored Gilman Tower with a purple triangle in the middle. Fickau hopes that the illustration "links Johns Hopkins with the LGBT community."
The logo, Fickau explained, should be seen as "part of the progression of providing a diverse visual representation on campus," adding that "LGBT students identify with logos."
The card also describes the linkage, saying, "The rainbow and the inverted triangle have been adopted as symbols representing the LGBT community ... The Gilman Tower represents the importance of the LGBT community to the Johns Hopkins University."
Not all faculty and staff members are required to participate in the program, said Fickau.
"Just because one person in a department may display a Safe Space placard, that doesn't mean the whole department has made a commitment to provide a Safe Space," Fickau said.
"For example, Dr. Alain Joffe, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center, participated in the program and displays a placard in his office. There is no placard in the waiting room, though, because not all of the staff members have undergone training for the Safe Space program.
Adam Sifuentes, publicity officer for DSAGA, is hopeful about the new program and the required training designed to improve understanding and communication between students and faculty.
Sifuentes noted that while the humanities, arts and theatre departments have been supportive of the LGBT community, the recreation department needs the most work.
"[The recreation department] is a much more difficult environment for people who need safe space," he said.
The program is not yet available to every faculty and staff member. An invitation e-mail was sent out before the semester began to all staff under Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell and Dean of Enrollment William Conley.
Because of the program's limited availability, "it's only staff right now," Fickau said. She added that the Diversity Committee hopes to eventually expand the program to all faculty and staff members wishing to participate.
The Bunting-Meyerhoff Inter-Faith Center has supported the development of this program. "[We were] eager to participate to let students know that the IFC accepts them as they are," said Schnurr.
The administration has so far been cooperative and enthusiastic about the introduction of the Safe Space program, but Fickau noted that there was also a financial limitation.
"The funding," Fickau said, "is through the very meager Diversity Committee budget."
Despite this obstacle, Fickau said that "the diversity committee felt that this was something we needed to take on ... We want this to mean something."
