In the wake of Boston University administration’s recent announcement of their new, professionally staffed LGBTQIA+ student resource center as a first step to becoming more proactively inclusive, attention has returned to calls from many in the Boston College community for a similar center.
Reports the Boston Globe:
Georgetown University opened a resource center for its LGBTQ students a full 15 years ago. Since then, several other Catholic universities and colleges have followed suit, including Marquette University and Santa Clara University. But not so at Boston College, where students say officials have rejected many requests to establish a space where they could seek support, programming, and other services.
Several students said that adding such resources on campus, including a dedicated staff person, would help queer students feel more comfortable and welcomed at the Catholic university. They expressed frustration with the school’s administration, saying it hasn’t made enough progress supporting diverse students.
“It would show that BC is an ally, which they currently do not show,” said Wellington Arkins, a senior from Arkansas who heads a student government council focused on LGBTQ issues.
Jack Dunn, spokesperson for BC, did not confirm that the university had denied student government proposals for an LGBTQ center. He said in an an e-mail that “traditionally, Catholic universities, including Boston College, have supported LGBTQ+ students through support services and education.”
According to Shawna Cooper Whitehead, BC’s vice president for student affairs, the administration plans to add support for queer students through a “more holistic model,” that involves adding resources for students of color and LGBTQ students in the college’s Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.
“The university has been engaged in active dialogue with students and student groups about increasing support and resources for LGBTQ+ students,” Cooper Whitehead said in an e-mail.
Read the complete Boston Globe story here.
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