Another aspect of diversity is sexuality. Unfortunately, many young LGBTQ people have experienced and are currently experiencing different forms of prejudice and hate, both from the general public and even from their own families. The Queer Resource Center, located in room 210 in the Dreyfus University Center, exists as a safe place for LGBTQ students on campus.

 

Sylf Bustamante is the coordinator for the Queer Resource Center (QRC). Bustamante said that their goal as the coordinator is to help students complete their studies in a healthy and happy manner.

 

                                                                                   “My focus is the retention of LGBTQ students,” Bustamante said. “I help students from

                                                                                    point-A to point-B, which is graduation. Maybe they got kicked out of their home for being

                                                                                    LGBTQ or they are having a rough time because they are transitioning and their hormones

                                                                                    are changing… Those are all area I can help in, just kind of helping them survive higher

                                                                                    education.”

 

                                                                                    Bustamante has worked for UWSP for about five years. A lot has changed in that time

                                                                                    regarding advocacy for LGBTQ students.

 

                                                                                  “We’ve grown so much,” they said. “When I first started, the ideas was that we only had like

                                                                                   40 LGBTQ students and that the resources for them weren’t necessarily as important for

                                                                                   them. As research continues to show, LGBTQ people are a now a larger chunk of the

                                                                                    population. We’re sitting at 20-30 percent of our campus is LGBTQ.”

 

                                                                                     Bustamante explained why they think diversity is so important.

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“Everything is diverse,” they said. “Even if it was just all white people in the area, or it was all just straight people, there would still be some diversity amongst them. Diversity doesn’t make us weaker, it actually strengthens us because we’re able to think of things in a different perspective, we’re able to solve problems together in ways that we could never solve on our own because our personal lenses are limited.”

 

Senior psychology student and president of the Gender/Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Bea

Blenker agreed with this sentiment, stretching it more into an LGBTQ lens.

 

“It shouldn’t be an outlandish thing for someone to be of a different identity,” Blenker

said. “There is no normal, there is no heteronormal.”

 

Inside the QRC, students have access to study materials, free snacks, and other LGBTQ

students. Additionally, the QRC is home to the GSA. According to Blenker, GSA works

side-by-side with the QRC and Bustamante to support LGBTQ students on campus.

 

                                                                                                                             “GSA oversees a lot of the events that

                                                                                                                              happen,” Blenker said. “We currently are

                                                                                                                              a governing body of four or five people.

                                                                                                                              Our main goal is to just foster a safe place

                                                                                                                              in the QRC and outside of it.”

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                                                                                                                              While there are many things that go into making somewhere a safe place,                                                                                                                                   one of the biggest thing GSA and the QRC offers is support.

 

                                                                                                                               “I hope that those who are currently questioning if they should come out,

                                                                                                                               that they know that the QRC is a place of support,” Blenker said. “If you

                                                                                                                               come out to us, you are safe here and we will support you. This is a safe

                                                                                                                               space for everyone, questioning or otherwise, to exist. And you will never 

                                                                                                                               be outed either. That is something we strongly support. We support

                                                                                                                               people’s choice, people’s choice to come out or not. This is a safe space.

                                                                                                                               Everyone is welcome, allies or otherwise.”