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Our Policies | FAQsOur Programs: Safe Zone
Goals & Objectives | History | The Safe Zone Sign | The Rainbow Triangle
Become an Ally | LBGT Resources on the Web
Current Allies | Safe Zone Celebration 2001
The purpose of Safe Zone is to create a network of allies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, and by doing so, to make the University community a safer and more supportive place. The Safe Zone program is a symbol of this University's efforts to increase awareness and acceptance of the LGBT community. Safe Zone ally training workshops, open to faculty, staff, and students, are held throughout the year. Allies receive a Safe Zone sign (shown at left) to display in their offices and living space space to let others know publicly that they identify as an ally for LGBT persons.
Goals & Objectives of Safe Zone
Allies develop:
- A deeper awareness of personal ideas, stereotypes, and assumptions related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons
- An increased comfort level in addressing LGBT issues such as "coming out" and heterosexism/homophobia
- An increased awareness of services both on campus and in the community that support LGBT students
- A network of community and campus staff, faculty, and students to support LGBT persons on campus
UNC's Safe Zone program is modeled on a program started by employees at AT&T and currently in place at corporations including Lotus Development, Disney, and Levi Strauss. There are also Safe Zone programs on many college campuses across the country. The Safe Zone program at UNC-Chapel Hill started in 1998 as a collaborative effort between the Office of the Dean of Students and B-GLAD (now Queer Network for Change). UNC includes sexual orientation as a protected category in its equal opportunity policy, and is committed to creating a community where all people are welcome and feel safe. As a part of this commitment, the LGBT Office was opened in Spring, 2003.
The Safe Zone program experienced a great deal of growth during the 2001-2002 school year. The number of trained allies went from approximately 30 to 130, the first undergraduate students were trained, the training program itself was revamped, and two campus wide events were held: the Safe Zone Kick-off in October and "Linking Together for Change: Ally Speak Out" in April.
In 2002-2003, Safe Zone was proud to have the opportunity to train members of Student Government and many resident advisors across campus and in Granville Towers. The number of trained allies across campus rose to 235.The Safe Zone signs have a rainbow triangle, a person's name, and the statement, "is a safe person to talk to about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual ally issues" The person displaying the sign has undergone ally training and is understanding and supportive of GLBT students and colleagues. Safe Zone allies are bound to confidentiality.
The rainbow triangle is a combination of two symbols of gay/LGBT pride: the pink triangle and the rainbow flag. The rainbow stands as a symbol of the pride and diversity of the LGBT community. The pink triangle, on the other hand, has its origins in oppression: it was required of homosexuals in Nazi Germany as an identifying mark, just as Jews wore the yellow Star of David and political prisoners the red triangle. The pink triangle has been re-appropriated by the LGBT community as a sign of pride and identity. The rainbow triangle is a symbol of struggle, remembrance, pride and diversity. The green circle surrounding the triangle is an international symbol of acceptance.
All UNC faculty, staff, and students are eligible to become Safe Zone allies. Training takes place several times a semester. At the end of the training, you will be asked if you wish to become an ally, if you are willing to have your name published on the website and other publications, and if you wish to join the Safe Zone ally listserv.
Next Safe Zone Ally Trainings
We currently do not have any trainings scheduled for summer 2003. If you would like to be placed on the interest list for future trainings, please email Stephanie Chang, LGBT Office at schan@email.unc.edu. In your email, please include your name, email address, your department, and classification (faculty, staff, undergraduate, or graduate student). We will notify everyone on the interest list as soon as we schedule a training session.
In order to attend a training, you must register beforehand and must be able to attend the FULL training. We do not permit participants to arrive late or leave early.
If you are interested in scheduling a training for your group or department, email Stephanie Chang at schan@email.unc.edu and send a list of possible times.
This information will be kept confidential. For more information, please call the Office of the Dean of Students at 966-4042.
For more information on being an ally, check out the “For Allies” section of the LGBT website.
Division of Student Affairs
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Questions, Comments? Email us at dsa@unc.edu
