The Current Online

by Dalton Gossett

MCC-Longview held SafeZone workshops for individuals seeking to learn about the lives of gay people and acceptance of the gay culture.

SafeZone is a nationwide program consisting of hundreds of colleges participating to fight homophobia and improve any negative connotations associated with homosexuals.

History instructor Angela Bahner and Campus Life and Leadership coordinator Kim Prosak instructed these workshops, held in the Private Dining Room in the Campus Center November 18 and 20.

According to Prosak, two smaller courses were offered: 101 and 102. Course 101 dealt mainly with the vocabulary affiliated with gay people. Course 102 discusses the complete understanding of the lifestyle and how to be an ally. This workshop is a condensed version of these two courses.

“This is the first time this has been offered to faculty and staff,” Prosak says. Students were also welcomed.

Mako Blevens, admissions coordinator at Longview, said she was interested in attending one of the workshops. She used to be involved in QSA, which meant “Queer-Straight Alliance.”

“I got involved because of friends and professors involved in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community,” she said. Her main motive in attending the course is to learn more about the community. “If people attend, they are open to the idea of LGBT,” Blevens says. She also stated that the success rate of these workshops depend on attendance. She describes herself as “all about diversity.”

Bahner said the program uses visible symbols to be easily recognized. The symbol used most often is an upside-down rainbow triangle. “It comes from Nazi concentration camps. Instead of the usual yellow star, they would give the gay Jews pink stars.” The star symbol is used to represent oppression.
Bahner said that the workshop’s goal is to promote “equal rights for everyone.”