Senior Wyatt Baer is among a group of students working to get Brave Spaces approved as the university’s first official group for LGBTQ+ students and allies. “I felt like [a student organization] was missing on campus, and there weren’t people for me to talk to. I didn’t have any resources,” Baer says. Photo provided
A listening session was held March 26 for students and faculty to discuss the future of a student group for LGBTQ+ students and allies. Vice President for Student Life Julie DeGraw said four students attended in addition to staff members.
“I felt like [a student organization] was missing on campus, and there weren’t people for me to talk to. I didn’t have any resources,” said Wyatt Baer, senior accounting major and Bren-Dell Hall resident advisor. “I didn’t hear anyone talk about it, so I didn’t really know whether it was safe or not to tell people.”
Baer identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and said he felt “isolated” when he arrived on campus in August 2017 after transferring from Hesston (Kan.) College.
After the listening session, Baer and other interested students began the process of creating an official student organization called Brave Spaces. They designated Assistant Professor of Social Work Heidi Mercer as faculty advisor, filled out the application and drafted a constitution. The proposal made its way to the Student Life Committee after passing through the hands of the Director of the University Event Complex Mark Bourassa and Student Senate.
The group will receive official student organization status if approved by the Student Life Committee on April 25.
Mercer said she envisions Brave Spaces not only supporting students who identify as LGBTQ+, but also promoting an inclusive and positive atmosphere and refuting negative perceptions across campus.
“Every year the student body is a little bit different, so the group can be an evolving thing,” said Baer.
Potential events sponsored by Brave Spaces include holding training for resident advisors, hosting panel discussions with LGBTQ+ students and showing related movies or documentaries for Thursday Night Spotlight.
Baer said he also sees potential for collaboration with similar student organizations at area universities such as Ohio Northern University, University of Findlay and Bowling Green State University.
The movement to create Brave Spaces is not the first of its kind on Bluffton’s campus. A former group, known as Safe Spaces, existed as a “Special Initiative of the Office of the President” from fall 2009 to spring 2016 before dissolving due to lack of student involvement.
Professor of Religion Alex Sider, former advisor to Safe Spaces, said the group was initially formed in the 2009-10 academic year in response to an “anti-LGBTQ+ incident in chapel” and then used a student’s departmental honors project as the basis for its organization.
When Safe Spaces members attempted to achieve official student organization status during the 2010-11 academic year, Sider said their request was approved by Student Senate but denied by the Student Life Committee. They continued to receive support and funding directly from the President’s office.
If Brave Spaces is passed, it will mark first time an LGBTQ+ group has successfully earned official recognition as a student organization at Bluffton.
Baer said he recognizes the efforts to talk about diversity on campus but believes more can be done in terms of inclusion in Bluffton’s “community of respect.”
“This is a big part of campus diversity that hasn’t been addressed and doesn’t really have a spot on campus, yet. Having this group paves the way for new students to have a voice and feel welcomed on Bluffton’s campus,” he said.
As a faculty member, Mercer said she does not hear much discussion on campus about LGBTQ+ issues but finds it important to incorporate such topics into classroom discussion. She said faculty members are in a unique position to open up dialogue and let students know it’s a safe place.
“From my experience with not having people to talk to, the group should be a place where you can find people who are similar to you and can offer the support that you need,” he said. “For incoming students that are like me, I don’t want them to have to go through the same isolation. When they get here, they should just know they have a place to go.”
Students who have questions or are interested in being a part of Braves Spaces may contact Mercer at mercerh@bluffton.edu.
