Now on many campuses this could mean a specific space on campus where students from a particular demographic can go and call their own. An example of this is the LGBT Safe Space at the University of Sussex. This is an area which is only available for students who self define as LGBT.
Other theories of 'safe space' is that it is a concept, and that an area should feel safe and secure for all students, while at university. Therefore this should mean that all students should feel safe wherever they are on campus and should at no times feel discriminated or even have an unwelcome feeling. Therefore this is every bodies responsibility to ensure that the environment is free from discrimination.
So what I'm struggling with, and forget the financial and space constraints, is whether at Brighton we should be looking to provide physical space to ensure all our students have somewhere where they will always know is safe and free from any unwanted bad feelings towards them.
However I also wonder that if a certain student group is given a specific space on campus does this elevate them to a point of contention from other groups who may also want a specific space on campus? Or does a physical safe space Mean that we shouldn't be campaigning for the entire campus to be free from all forms of discrimination and sense of Wellbeing for all on campus?
There is also a difficult question for an institution like Brighton in regards to the physical space side of 'safe space' in that if this is the way that should be pursued then where would it be placed across the 5 main campuses along 75 miles of the south coast, would we need to duplicate SU ices or a central hub?
Really interested in all views on this as it will help me to get my mind around it all.
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Location:Brighton,United Kingdom
Personally I would love safe spaces at University. A room for just LGBT+ self defining people would be amazing...
ReplyDeleteCould say that's because I'm jealous of what other Universities offer (for example the LGBTQ room at Sussex), but a safe space also become a social hub for those students... It gives LGBT+ students a place of belonging/community (this is also true for the other liberation groups who could use physical safe spaces).
Brighton is an amazing city for acceptance, freedoms etc, So the need for an LGBT safe space here isn't so much of a need as it is in say the Highlands of Scotland, or the Welsh Valley's; areas which don't have a thriving LGBT scene of shops, bars, social groups and the like... This I think is also why involvement in LGBrighTon is hard, the need isn't there as Brighton as a city is just too welcoming; there's not as much to fight for (a good thing obviously).
The theory that the whole University should be a safe space is an aspiration... Some LGBT+ people don't feel safe being who they are at University or in other places, due to past experience they have had, or thing that they have heard.
Until Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity becomes an accepted and non-taboo subject in all society, LGBT+ people wont feel comfortable expressing their real selves in the public domain.