How to take advantage of available resources to bolster up the college’s LGBTQ+ community
By Alyson Oliver
senior editor
TCC has a variety of resources and support systems available to its LGBTQ+ students.
“Representation matters and I feel it is important for me to use my platform to help connect with others who are in the community,” said Andee Rodriguez, LGBTQ+ Pride Club adviser and district financial aid associate.
Some resources include student organizations, counseling and training opportunities. These resources are available to students as well as faculty and staff.
“The good thing about TCC is that we have a space where employees can get trained,” South counseling director Ticily Medley said.
The district Safe Space committee’s origins date back several years, Medley said. It gives students, alongside employees, the chance to do volunteer work and inform themselves on supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
“Participants who complete this training are equipped with the tools and resources they need to better understand the LGBTQ+ community at TCC,” Rodriguez said.
Additionally, each campus has its own LGBTQ+ student organization. These provide opportunities for connection and community service, and the occasional guest speaker will attend meetings, said Sarah Chavez-Reckling, Power of Representation and Inclusion of Student Matters staff adviser and district information center assistant.
Students can also reach out to their campus’s Consultation, Assessment, Resources and Education Team, made up of faculty and staff members who will support individuals in distress. Students may file reports inclusive of issues that impact the LGBTQ+ community directly, Rodriguez said.
The TCC community can get involved with the college’s Equity and Inclusion councils, which are in place to promote diversity on campus, and students can find a chosen name form online that they can use to replace their legal name on their school account.
Many of these resources are accessible through TCC’s website, and students can get in contact with Student Activities or reach out to an LGBTQ+ student organization’s adviser to get involved.
These resources have been adapted to the online environment, making communication and sharing information possible, Medley said.
Still, there have been some struggles maintaining organizations due to a district-wide decrease in enrollment and a lack of student leadership, she said.
Rodriguez said the NE Pride Club’s attendance has suffered due to many students still living at home, where they are unable to be out.
However, they are still making efforts to connect students to the club virtually, Rodriguez said.
They are confident once TCC transitions back on campus, where students are encouraged to be their authentic selves, the club will flourish again. “Resilience is in our nature,” they said.
Chavez-Reckling asked students who identify as LGBTQ+ to share their thoughts on how everyone at TCC can do their best to support the community.
They said even if one is not a part of the community, being kind, respectful, keeping an open mind and making sure to call others by their proper name and pronouns is important. They said combating negative stereotypes about the community with positive representation is vital as well.
Rodriguez said they encourage everyone to undergo Safe Space training and be on the lookout for ways to support underrepresented populations.
“It is important for everyone to understand that no matter what role they are in at TCC, they have the power to create change,” they said.
