Safe Zone at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is gearing up its regular ally training which is to be held Friday, March 22, from noon-2:30 p.m. Ally training is typically offered once in the fall semester and once in the spring semester and is open to all members of the SIUE community: undergraduate, graduate and professional students, faculty and staff.
The purpose of ally training is to provide participants with a core set of skills, a common language and concepts related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. It also serves to identify allies to the LGBT community.
During the training, participants develop listening skills and learn techniques to help. Participants also discuss various methods about developing inclusive habits in the classroom, social situations and the office. Other information provided will address sexual orientation, gender identity, and campus and community resources.
This spring, more than 60 SIUE community members have signed up. One session is located in Founders Hall, Room 0308 and the other will be in the Vadalabene Center, Room 2306. Safe Zone will offer training for small groups upon request. A minimum of 25 persons are required to form a group.
During the fall semester, a record 75 registrants signed up for ally training. Due to the high level of interest, participants were divided into three different sessions with 25 people in each group.
For more information, please contact the Safe Zone co-chairs: Vicky Dean at (618) 650-5296 or vdean@siue.edu and Dayna Henry at (618) 650-3857 or dayhenr@siue.edu.
For more information on ally training, visit the SIUE Safe Zone website.