Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Offers LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy Training
By Laurel Bennett, Contributing Writer
(Poster provided).
On Friday, Feb. 3 from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center will be hosting an LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy Training Session for students. A session will be open to faculty and staff on Thursday, Mar. 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both events will be held in CUB 260.
The training sessions are being organized by Director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Amanda Del Gaudio. She has offered LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy Sessions at Gettysburg since summer 2022 and has facilitated similar trainings at three other colleges. Del Gaudio emphasizes that the training sessions are for everyone, and all levels of knowledge are welcome.
Students may be familiar with the terms “Safe Zone,” “Safe Space” or “Ally” training to describe events like this one.
Del Gaudio explained that the reason for the name change is that, “‘Safe Zone’ and ‘Safe Space’ [are] beginning to fall out of favor because it could falsely imply that the training session is the only place on campus to safely have conversations about gender and sexuality.”
She continued, saying that she hopes that the title “LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy Sessions” allows future employers to understand what the sessions are centered around, as students can add this to their resumes.
Del Gaudio noted that students and faculty who complete the training will receive a sticker.
She said, “[The sticker] lists the date [training] was completed. Faculty and staff are invited to put this sticker on the door or desk in their office, so students can see that they have invested this time in being trained, to be a more inclusive resource for LGBTQ+ students.”
Del Gaudio will cover many topics during the training, including GSRC resources, allyship and advocacy, pronouns, Bi/Pan/Queer erasure, defining asexuality, identity development models, the history of LGBTQ+ acronym variations, intersectionality, and the coming out process.
The vast array of topics will be taught throughout the sessions with activities and discussions. Del Gaudio acknowledged that four hours may seem like a lot of time, but gender and sexuality are very complex.
Del Gaudio said that this training is important because, “It gives the campus community the option of having a non-judgmental space to go to if they have questions about gender and sexuality, or just want to learn more. Often, folks really want to learn but don’t have a space where they feel comfortable asking difficult questions.”
The training is also important because it allows LGBTQ+ participants to learn more about their community.
“There are so many identities within the LGBTQ+ umbrella, so just because you have one experience as an LGBTQ+ person, doesn’t mean you know everything you need to know to be an ally and advocate for the rest of the community,” explained Del Gaudio. “Outside of a college campus, it is typically really difficult to find educational spaces that teach LGBTQ+ concepts.”
According to Del Gaudio, the rising prominence of social media allows for learning more about the LGBTQ+ community, but it does not necessarily serve the same educational purpose as a training session. Del Gaudio encourages faculty and staff to take advantage of the training session, since so many college campuses do not offer these opportunities.
“Not only does the training help faculty and staff support our students, it also could help them understand gender and sexuality through a new lens in their personal lives outside of the college,” said Del Gaudio.
Interested participants can register for the training sessions by visiting the Gender and Sexurality Resource Center’s engageGettysburg page. Sign-ups must be completed at least a week in advance before the training session.
