An LGBT mentoring program founded in 2004 has been undergoing expansion this year.
Queer Peers, which is run through the LGBT Center, offers confidential, individual counseling for students. It began as a resource for students who sought counseling and has only truly entered the arena of social programming this year.
The goal, according to one of Tufts' four Queer Peers, junior Ari Rosenbaum, has been to increase the program's presence on campus.
"I think it's ... about expanding our reach within the community and because it is a relatively new program, it's going to be growing," he said. "It's now just starting to catch on where it hasn't necessarily caught on before."
According to LGBT Center Director Dona Yarbrough, the purpose of the group has always been to provide a forum for students to seek support and advice.
"We thought it would be good to have a small group of trained students who could talk to other students one-on-one about LGBT issues," she said in an e-mail to the Daily.
This interaction between students has been particularly helpful, Rosenbaum said. "I've always thought that students listening to students can mean more than an adult listening to students because there's less of a power-play involved," he said.
Before this year, although counseling was available for all students, the only programming that the group had done was aimed at helping freshmen adapt to college life.
This year, there has been more social programming and events have been open to students of all years.
Most recently, the Queer Peers sponsored an ice skating trip in Kendall in February. They are also planning a dance for next month.
Rosenbaum said that the four Queer Peers are also trying to reach out to other similar organizations, such as Ears for Peers, to increase cooperation.
He said that the effects of the increased programming efforts remain to be seen. "I think it's sort of to be determined. I think it takes a while for things to kick into gear in any community," he said.
At Tufts, Queer Peers is one of several programs aimed at discussing LGBT issues. The university is among the less than five percent of American universities that provide a center for gay and lesbian students, according to Yarbrough. Last August, Tufts was named one of the 20 most gay-friendly universities in the country by The Advocate, a gay and lesbian issues magazine.
"I think Tufts has an outstanding LGBT community," sophomore and Queer Peer Jason Hill said. "I had always wanted a support network, and my [high] school never had anything like this."
Freshman Lucian Nagle has found the LGBT Center in particular to be a valuable resource. "I didn't know about the center when I first came to school," he said in an e-mail. "But the events and activities that they host there have made me more comfortable with myself."
Even so, there is still room for improvement, according to Rosenbaum. "I think that there's always work to be done," he said.
Specifically, Rosenbaum would like to see minority groups on campus show greater unity. "There isn't much cross-pollination. On a wider scale, there needs to be more interaction between minority communities," he said.
Rosenbaum believes Queer Peers should play a role in that process. "Part of our training is on how to deal with people with dual identities, like how to be black and gay, or Jewish and gay," he said.
In the meantime, the group will continue on its current trajectory. Aside from the programming that they sponsor, the student counselors also meet once a week to discuss topics unique to the LGBT community, as well as counseling strategies, ways to bring concerns to the attention of the administration, identity development and listening techniques.
Usually, around eight students per year request counseling, but Hill said that numbers are not the most important consideration.
"I wouldn't say [the program] is huge, but it's absolutely a vital thing," he said. "If it helps even one person, it's well worth it."
