Campus Resources

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Bathrooms

All-Gender restrooms are available in many buildings on campus. DeWaters, Crissey, Trowbridge and Severn have at least one all-gender restroom. The other residence halls do not have public restrooms. The Hicks Student Center, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Admission Center, Dewing, Mandelle, Upjohn Library main floor, Light Fine Arts second floor, Olds/Upton fourth floor, and Humphrey House each have all-gender restrooms. The Fitness and Wellness Center has two all-gender restrooms and an all-gender locker/changing room.

Healthcare

The Student Health Center follows the Guidelines for Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender students as established by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

Center staff members provide a safe, comfortable, supportive and confidential environment for students, with a focus on providing information and services suited to each student’s needs without unrelated probing.

The basic visit form enables students to provide their chosen name.

Information about local and regional medical and support resources for gender variant patients is available, as is good information about what relevant services are covered by the student insurance plan. There are also educational materials for men who have sex with other men and for women who have sex with other women. The center also has some periodicals in the waiting room geared to lgbtqai+ readers.

Student insurance coverage is available to some services related to gender expression or confirmation. Hormone treatment is covered under the student health plan. Related surgical treatment is not covered.

Counseling

The Counseling Center provides individual and group therapy for all students, including students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender-non conforming, questioning sexual orientation or gender identity, asexual, queer, intersex, etc. The Counseling Center also offers a support group for Transgender students or any student questioning their gender identity every Friday of each term at 4:00pm. This is led by Dr. Heather Dannison. For more information, visit the Counseling Center website.

Student Organizations and Leadership Development

The Office of Student Involvement supports a number of student organizations, including Kaleidoscope, the Queer and Trans People of Color Coalition (QTPOCC), and the Sexual Prevention Education at K (SPEAK), to name a few organizations that may encompass issues related to gender identity or expression. The Office will help students establish additional groups as student interest develops.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership will partner with student organizations to bring programming to campus and the community. In addition, it sponsors the Social Justice Leadership Fund that offers grants up to $1000 to support personal leadership development initiatives and research with a social justice focus.

For many years, OSI has sponsored students to attend Camp Pride during the summer, a collegiate leadership academy for lgbtqai+ and allied students. The new Intercultural Center includes lgbtqai+ students as a group of special focus.

The OSI has conducted expansive surveys including gender designations/identification. OSI is developing a practice to be explicit about preferred pronouns in working with student groups.

Religious and Spiritual

The Chapel and Office of Religious and Spiritual Life has many lgbtqai+ resources in their library, and in constant rotation.

Gender is an important identity that blends into unique experiences of religious community. As such, it comes up a great deal in a range of discussions about religion. And though there are not specific services or practices related to gender variant students, many students find a place of welcome in the Chapel.

Social Justice Leadership

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) has many resources available to all K college students, including those in the LGBTQAI+ community. The ACSJL works to ensure the building is open and available as a safe space for students to meet, study, relax, or find someone to talk to on issues relating to social justice.

The ACSJL hosts programming throughout the year focused on leadership, education, and capacity-building that advances justice and movement-building. Several of these programs aim to increase understanding of multiple identities relating to gender and sexual orientation as well as highlight the work that is necessary to stop discrimination based on such identities.

The ACSJL is always open to partnering with student organizations to bring programming to campus and the community. In addition, the ACSJL has the Social Justice Leadership Fund that offers grants up to $1000 to support personal leadership development initiatives and research with a social justice focus.

The ACSJL also is home to the Praxis Center, an online resource featuring weekly posts, articles, toolkits, and action steps on a variety of social justice topics, including “Genders and Sexualities.”

Career Services

The Center for Career and Professional Development is Gold certified by OUT for Work, a national nonprofit dedicated to the development, evaluation, initiation, and implementation of career plans and opportunities for LGBT college students.

The following resources are available for review in the CCPD Resource Room during business hours:

Straight Talk About Gays in the Workplace: Creating an Inclusive, Productive Environment for Everyone in Your Organization, Third Edition by Liz Winfeld

“The latest edition of this National Library Award-winning guide covers all aspects of sexual orientation and gender identity diversity in the workplace. Straight Talk About Gays in the Workplace: Creating an Inclusive, Productive Environment for Everyone in Your Organization, Third Edition includes new and updated information on: domestic partner benefits, educating employees about sexual orientation and gender identity, nondiscrimination policies, effective employee networks and alliances, sensitive issues that involve transgender people, opportunities for marketing to the LGBT community, internal and external outreach programs, new information focused on LGBT youth and academia inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People: The Authoritative ACLU Guide to the Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People by Nan D. Hunter, Courtney G. Joslin, and Sharon M. McGowan

“In its fourth edition, this fully revised and updated survey covers the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people under present law, specifically in regard to freedom of speech and association, employment, housing, the military, family and parenting, and HIV disease. Utilizing an accessible question-and-answer format and nontechnical language, The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People provides an overview for understanding both the general themes in legal doctrine and the way in which individuals can begin the process of asserting rights provided by the law.

The volume is a useful starting point for people facing discrimination or legal uncertainty and helps readers navigate the turbulent and constantly changing waters of the laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. New to this edition are two appendixes that include contact information for national and regional LGBT legal groups, an overview of the legal system to explain some of the terms and concepts that appear throughout the book, and a summary of highlights of the law state by state.”

Everyday Law for Gays and Lesbians and Those Who Care About Them by Anthony C. Infanti

“Everyday Law for Gays and Lesbians and Those Who Care About Them makes complicated legal issued approachable, including marriage and its alternatives, bias crimes, the military, education, employment, housing, medical and tax planning, and parenting. Going beyond a mere summary of the law, Infanti provides both legal and nonlegal strategies for coping with and effecting positive change in the law as it affects the lives of lesbians and gay men. The book also contains an appendix with a list of useful resources for lesbians, gay men, and those who care about them.”

Civic Engagement and Service Learning

The Center for Civic Engagement partners with LGBTQAI+ people in our communities, including Out Front Kalamazoo, Community AIDS Resource and Education Services, and Transtech Social Enterprises through service-learning courses and summer Community Building Internships.