Members of the Queer Book Club held their first meeting to discuss lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning issues through reading "Stone Butch Blues," by Leslie Feinberg.
Students, faculty and staff met in the new LGBTQ lounge in room 325 of the Tyler Hanes Commons from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
"Each year we have a theme," said Ted Lewis, Common Ground associate director. "This year's theme is queer classics. They're books that are written by LGBTQ authors or books considered classics by the genre."
Lewis created the club as a response to students' requests for more opportunities to connect with peers, faculty and staff to discuss LGBTQ issues, which they can then relate back to their studies, he said. The club allows students to meet with teachers and discuss books without the pressure of being graded. Everyone meets on "equal footing," Lewis said.
About 35 members have registered so far, Lewis said. Club meetings will be held twice a month, with one meeting scheduled from noon until 1 p.m. and the other from 5 until 6 p.m., although all meetings are optional, he said.
The Office of the Common Ground has partnered with Boatwright Memorial Library, where all assigned books will be available. Common Ground will buy two copies of each book, one of which will be donated to ROSMY, a local LGBTQ youth organization, Lewis said.
A copy of each book can also be found in the new LGBTQ lounge. These books, along with the magazines, couches and television that can be found in the lounge, are available to anyone, Lewis said.
The lounge relates to the idea of the Safe Zone, giving everyone a "shared language," Richmond alumnus Jon Henry said. Henry was co-founder of the Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity (SASD) and president of the organization for three years.
The Safe Zone, a program existing at many different colleges, started here at the university in 1996, Common Ground Director Glyn Hughes said. Originally, faculty and staff oversaw the program until the Office of the Common Ground took over in 2010.
"Well, Safe Zone is a training program for faculty, students and staff and basically teaches straight people how to be allies," Henry said, "so that they can turn the immediate space around them into a Safe Zone for students who may be questioning or facing problems."
The idea of the Safe Zone allows for every person's office, classroom or living space to become safe at a metaphysical level, especially with the presence of a Safe Zone button or sticker, but now the school has created a Safe Zone at a physical level, Henry said.
A faculty member will always be present in the lounge to ensure that it remains a Safe Zone, Lewis said.
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Similar to the lounge, the LGBTQ-ally living and learning community promotes the idea of a designated Safe Zone. This program, which started last year, features gender neutral dorm rooms and bathrooms, Lewis said.
To become an LGBTQ ally through Safe Zone training, register here: http://commonground.richmond.edu/programs/safe-zone/registration.html.
Contact reporter Jamie Edelen at jamie.edelen@richmond.edu
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