The Safe Zone Resource Center trains students, faculty members and staff each month through the Ally Training Program. Allies receive UA Safe Zone stickers, which they can place on the door of their office to indicate that it is a safe place for LGBTQ students to come seek help.
“We want students to know when they see the stickers that there are people that are fighting the good fight for them,” said Ben Van Dyke, the graduate assistant for the UA Safe Zone Resource Center.
Van Dyke said more than 1,000 faculty members have elected to become allies since 2007. He said just having the Safe Zone stickers visible throughout the buildings on campus creates awareness and helps LGBTQ students feel safe.
“It gives a safety net and helps defer cognitive resources towards things that students should be worried about, like school,” he said.
April Harris, a junior majoring in creative writing and public relations and the Outreach Chair for Spectrum, said UA Safe Zone provides a safety net by using stickers to identify allies, making them visible and available to students.
“It’s nice walking down the hall and seeing the stickers,” Harris said. “It feels like being wrapped up in a really warm blanket.”
Van Dyke said it is vital to the LGBTQ community that there are visible allies that are there to help them.
“We want students to know that there are people who are trying to make this a better place for them,” Van Dyke said.
