Student Testimonials
The impact that Safe Zone has on students is exemplified by first-year Biology/Math Major, Christina Bischoff, who submitted the following to the Daily Wildcat after attending a Safe Zone Training on January 27, 2010:
Ever notice those small plaques with pink triangles that some professors have on their office doors? I’ve got one, too. I had the honor of participating in a Safe Zone training presented by LGBTQ Affairs tonight. Students, faculty, RAs, everyone: if you’ve been looking for a way to help out your friends, family, coworkers, residents, students, and about ten percent of the population, check out Safe Zone. The workshop gave me a rollercoaster of emotions and helped me understand and reflect upon so many issues that I and many others have faced for years. If everyone cared enough to learn how to help others, imagine what we could do with the world.
The impact of the Internship Program is described by the following students:
My internship was a great experience and it taught me a lot. The most important thing I learned is that leadership is not about giving orders, it’s about taking a group of people who all have different strengths and guiding them to a common goal, while they learn from and work with each other. A good leader uses everyone’s strengths to make the vision come alive. There is not one thing I would change about my experience as an intern, I learned so much about myself and about the real world.
Arthur Vinuelas, Sophomore, Business Major, Spring 2010 Intern
I started the semester refusing to label myself an activist, but throughout the semester I have learned to be proud of the time I committed and all we accomplished. I am a proud dress-wearing feminist, femme, dyke, homosexual, gay, same-sex loving, equal rights, top, bottom, trans, queer, self-identified, true to yourself, vagina warrior, intersex ALLY. I am sure I am forgetting a few, but I learned I shouldn’t be quiet and ashamed about it. I am starting to understand what the work is really about. It’s about not staying in the background; it’s about about doing something and reminding yourself why you fight the fight. I ended the semester feeling like I had walked into a room of strangers and was leaving knowing they were family.
Patty Putman, Sophomore, English Major, Spring 2010 Intern
This experience has changed me and changed the way I think and feel about activism. I have seen work actually get accomplished. I have been able to experience proactive activism rather than reactive activism, and that gives me hope for future change on this campus and possibly in the greater Tucson area. More than anything, my internship experience has given me the confidence and support to continue growing and learning.
Nora Carasik, Senior, Deaf Studies Major, Spring 2010 Intern
I learned plenty more beyond the regular clichés of teamwork and the need to educate. I’ve been able to read climate surveys and news articles that I probably wouldn’t have been able to find before. I’ve had access to a wealth of resources that I wouldn’t have even thought about before. All of this information has led directly to me trying to share it with as many people as I can possibly reach. Everything needs at least one vector: the person who sorts through everything we have and finds the facts so that everyone else is inspired to finally take action. My job is to make people realize that these numbers include people and everyone is part of a statistic—whether they are the 90% affected by something, or the 10% removed from the issue. I now consider it my job to work on the apathetic people out there.
Christina Bischoff, Freshman, Biology/Math Major, Spring 2010 Intern
The impact of the LGBTQ Support Group is described on an anonymous survey:
I enjoyed meeting other LGBTQ individuals—I really needed that and I received it through the support group. This group really helped me out and I plan to keep attending to gain more knowledge about the subject and to learn more about myself in the process.