Earlier this year the UW-Platteville public relations department put out a press release looking for more students, staff and faculty to become Safe Zone trained and Safe Zone officials have said the campus has stepped up to the challange with more than 75 people completing the training in January alone.

Deirdre Dalsing, a counselor for UW-P Counseling Services, said the purpose of Safe Zone training is to inform and educate people about GLBTQ issues and to dispel myths and misinformation associated with GLBTQ individuals. The training module takes about two hours and addresses issues such as problematic and offensive language, common definitions and GLBTQ terminology, and the qualities of a supportive GLBTQ ally. In the past, Safe Zone training has been available to resident directors and resident assistants at UW-P. However, Dalsing, who got involved with the program in 2006, saw a need to update and standardize the program curriculum. She also determined that the training needed to be available to all UW-P faculty, staff and students, as well as local community members.

Dalsing said in the month of January, 76 individuals from various UW-P offices and organizations have completed Safe Zone training. One of the offices that recently finished the training was the Prospective Student Services office. Heidi Tuescher-Gille, recruitment manager for Prospective Student Services, organized the training because she saw an opportunity for both staff and student development.

“By completing this training, we hope that everyone, enrolled and prospective students, faculty and staff, who comes through our doors feels comfortable, accepted and welcome on our campus,” Tuescher-Gille said. “By hanging the Safe Zone triangle in our office, we hope to send a message to all students that says that we are informed about the issues that diverse students face and that we are willing to serve as a resource and advocate for any student.”

“I took the foundation of the program and tweaked it a bit,” said Dalsing, who increased the informational content and expanded the training module of the program. Dalsing also invited members of the UW-P Alliance, a student organization supporting members of the GLBTQ community, to assist her with the training.

“It is great to have actual representatives from the GLBTQ community playing an active role in the training,” Rebecca Wonder, president of the Alliance, said. “Members of the Alliance involve themselves in the training module in order to open up a dialogue and to work through any questions, concerns or other issues that participants may have. It is really nice to see the increased interest in diversity training and I hope that it will continue.”

Safe Zone training is now offered once every semester. Training for the spring 2010 semester will take place in March. On-and-off campus groups can also contact Dalsing at any time and request specific times for training.
Dalsing hopes that in the future the number of pink and green triangles on the UW-P campus will continue to grow.

“Our ultimate goal is to have the UW-P campus overwhelmingly identified as a safe zone. We would like to see safe zones in every building, department and office on campus,” Dalsing said. “Although we have more safe zones on campus than we have ever had before, we will diligently continue to offer Safe Zone training in order to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for everyone.”

To learn more about Safe Zone training or to request a group training session, contact Dalsing at (608) 342-1865 or at dalsingd@uwplatt.edu.