QRC, March 2006

The Queer Resource Center in the student union at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is an academic and informational resource center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, questioning, and straight allies.[1] California is considered "ground zero for the LGBT studies movement" [2] and City College established the first bachelor's degree program in Gay and Lesbian studies in the United States. San Francisco is known worldwide as a capital of queer culture and City College is an integral part of academic opportunity in the Bay Area.

The Queer Resouce Center aims to empower and celebrate its demographic as well as its community.[3] The center has participated in anti-violence, anti-homophobia, and anti-transphobia rallies and workshops. [4] Planet Out has given City College an A+ rating because of the extensive LGBT studies department and organizations such as the Queer Resource Center.[5]The center has struggled with funding although this has caught the attention of politicians, notably the Green Party, whose candidate for board of trustees John Rizzo has promised funds for more LGBT studies and the Queer Resource Center.[6]

College may be the first opportunity for a student to come out of the closet [7]and queer student centers provide safe, non-judgemental places for students to be themselves and to connect with others. Being part of a community also provides support to young people who often come from a high school experience of harrasment and isolation. The oldest operating queer student organization is the Queer Student Cultural Center at the University of Minnesota, established in 1969.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ associated students council @ Ocean Campus, Programs & Services, retrieved May 31, 2007
  2. ^ "New Schools of Thought: LGBT Studies Programs Take Their Place on American College Campuses" by Vince Catrone reprinted with permission from Frontiers Magazine, Vol. 20, Issue 3 (2001). http://out.ucr.edu/campus/studies_article2001.htm
  3. ^ Queer Resource Center (Mission Statement), retrieved May 31, 2007
  4. ^ "Ms. Phoenix announced that City College of San Francisco is having its first trans celebration tomorrow that will be held in the Student Union at noon." Minutes of the November 15, 2005 Meeting, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee SF CITY/COUNTY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION http://sfgov.org/site/sfhumanrights_page.asp?id=36834
  5. ^ PlanetOut.com, The Queer Fifty, The West, CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO, retrieved May 31, 2007
  6. ^ sfgreenparty.org, Community College Board, John Rizzo candidate questionaire, Question 6, retrieved May 31, 2007
  7. ^ New Student Services, a unit of the Office of Student Development, University of California Berkeley, resource@berkeley.edu Copyright 2007, The Regents of the University of California http://resource.berkeley.edu/r_html/r06_02.html