Tufts is becoming an increasingly queer-friendly environment. During the last four years, our community has gone through many changes. As out, queer seniors who have been greatly involved in the LGBT community, other social justice initiatives and additional facets of campus life, we have witnessed a transformation in the Tufts queer community as well as in how it is perceived by the campus at large.
Currently, under the heading of the LGBT Center, identity-based discussion groups and politically-minded activist coalitions are fundamental components of our community. LGBT people and their allies are progressively more introspective, allowing us to make efforts toward a heightened awareness of queer issues.
First and foremost, there has been a diversification in the outlets available for our community, largely in response to the growing number of out individuals on the Hill. It is difficult to discern whether the development has occurred alongside national trends or is unique to Tufts; however, the entire student body is now more aware of a queer presence.
Longstanding groups such as the Queer Straight Alliance (formerly Tufts Transgender Lesbian Gay Bisexual Collective), Queer Men and Women's Discussion Groups, Rainbow House, the queer-friendly living space, and Team Q, the LGBT and ally University-wide speakers' bureau, continue to provide a voice for LGBT students.
Since our freshman year, however, the creation of new groups speaks to the expanding needs of a more diverse community. The Bisexual Students Group, Queer Students of Color and Allies, Queer Peers mentoring group, as well as the University's Bias Intervention Team, have made the queer community at Tufts considerably more visible.
In addition, queer-minded programming and events designed by dedicated individuals have contributed to making the greater Tufts student body more accepting. The Day of Silence, a national day of protest in which students take a vow of silence to represent queer people who are not able to express themselves as freely as they would like, received support from both queer and ally students and staff.
The Safe Colleges Conference, New England's largest collegiate LGBT conference, boasted a bevy of workshops on the many issues facing queer people, from white privilege in the LGBT community to issues affecting same-sex parents. Both of these annual events are part of GayPril, a month-long series of social, educational and political programming.
Institutional changes resulting from long-lasting student advocacy efforts have brought about change to the University's non-discrimination policy, which now includes a clause protecting gender identity and expression.
More courses addressing queer people and the issues they face, including the addition of "Introduction to Queer Studies," are consistently offered by many departments.
It is important to remember that the queer community we speak of is hard to quantitatively define. For every out person at Tufts, there are many others who are coming out, struggling with their sexuality or will never come out during their time at Tufts.
Our community encompasses all those people, regardless of whether or not they would identify as part of it. There are many queer people - both out and closeted - who will graduate from Tufts never having set foot in the LGBT Center or any other queer-related group meeting. Does that make them less queer? Absolutely not.
The LGBT groups on campus are not just here for people to use as resources, rather they also stand as necessary symbols for those who are unable to use them.
While Tufts has made considerable progress, we cannot become complacent but must continue to make further strides. Though measurable changes have been made, our university is still not an entirely safe place for every queer person. The Tufts queer community must continue to work with allies who view discrimination toward queer people as issues that affect everyone.
We must maintain the efforts aimed at raising queer visibility at Tufts. Whether it be wearing a Tufts rainbow pin, attending Queer-Straight Alliance meetings, or helping to make University policy more queer-friendly, the activism on all levels must be sustained.
We are excited to see what Tufts can do in the next four years and beyond. If the past four years are indicative of what is yet to come, then we cannot wait for what is in store for the Tufts queer and ally community.
Rachel Kraft is a senior majoring in American studies and Sam Stiegler is a senior majoring in history. Both are active members of LGBT groups on campus.
