Narrator 0:08
You're listening to the Spartan Orientation Station on Impact 89 FM. The podcast by students for students. Now, this week's episode.
Sav 0:18
Hello everyone. Welcome back to our podcast, the Spartan Orientation Station. Today we will discuss the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, better known as the GSCC. The GSCC acts as a resource and support for queer and trans students on campus. They offer educational resources, fun events, support for LGBTQIA+ students and so much more. My name is Sav, I use she/they pronouns. I actually just graduated in the spring majoring in genetics and genomics. And I'm joined here with my friend.
Emily 0:48
My name is Emily. I use she/her pronouns and I am a rising sophomore, majoring in environmental studies and sustainability. Today, we have a special guest joining us, Grace Wojcik. She is the Director of GSCC. Thank you so much for joining us today, Grace.
Grace 1:06
Thanks for having me.
Sav 1:07
Yes, Grace. And could you begin by just introducing yourself and explaining your role within the GSCC?
Grace 1:12
Absolutely. So I am actually new in this role. I just started at the end of February, and I serve as the Director for the center. So basically, I'm here to kind of oversee all of our strategic plans, our goals, where we're going, and, you know, to support students, ultimately, as well as my colleagues, our Coordinator and Assistant Director Morgan and Oprah, respectfully.
Emily 1:34
So we just had a couple of questions to start off with, um, what is the GSCC? And where is it located on campus?
Grace 1:42
Absolutely. So the GSSC ultimately, is a space where students, alums, faculty, staff can come, feel safe, connect with one another at the end of the day. That's the ultimate goal. We're located in 302 Student Services Building. So we have a lounge space, snacks, coffee maker, so usually when the school year is happening, it's very active, I would say. Folks can come and help themselves to some coffee or snacks, like I mentioned, all free, no questions asked. And that's a portion of what we do. But we also have additional programming such as Quest, which is a self-guided learning module that's available to students, staff, and faculty, to teach them all about terminology, best practices, that sort of thing. As well as our programs such as Pride Month events, like lavender reception, as well as Pride Prom, New to You. And then of course, we have various Fall Welcome activities.
Sav 2:40
And I know you said that you're newer to this role in the GSCC. So what's your favorite part about working with the GSCC?
Grace 2:46
Sure. So I am actually a Spartan myself. And so that's probably my favorite is to see just how much campus has changed and all the progress that has been made. But ultimately, the best part of my job is to just see the students grow and flourish. And just to have that really proud moment, at the end of their time here where they're on to bigger and better things once they graduate or wherever they end up going.
Emily 3:14
That's amazing. I know we talked and touched a little bit on what resources the GSCC provides. But could you be more specific on how they support LGBTQ+ students? And like, does it include counseling, are there sort of like things for that that, like students could go to?
Grace 3:33
Sure. So we do partner with CAPS to offer some counseling services, we do not do those ourself in house. But we do have a CAPS Liaison who is wonderful, and I want to say weekly is in the center during the academic year. And we also have similar partnerships with Safe Place. Aside from that, we have safer sex supplies that folks can help themselves to. We have a gender affirming resource area, as well. So folks can kind of test out what clothing might feel good, different products to help affirm gender identity, and various community resources as well. So aside from that, we have social activities. We have games and Nintendo Switch, you know, really every day is different in the center which makes it fun, yeah, definitely.
Emily 4:27
So because you can go to there like for support, do they support you and students if there is any, like problems or like hate and bullying regarding their gender and sexuality, like, can students come to you and like, what's the process going through that?
Grace 4:46
Sure, students can definitely reach out to us and we can kind of help guide them through that process. Typically, we would refer those cases to OIE, which is the Office of Institutional Equity, and they're the office that really oversees all Title Nine, or anti discrimination, policy issues. We are a confidential source under the RVSM (relationship violence, sexual assault) guidelines. But some folks are unfamiliar, they don't want to just reach out to an office. And if they already have a relationship with us, or they maybe just feel more comfortable, they're absolutely welcome to contact us first, and we'll help guide them through their options.
Sav 5:27
Alrighty, so I know as we were looking around at the GSCC website, we noticed that there's some different abbreviations, sometimes you see LGBTQ, sometimes you see LGBT, LGBTQIA2S+, can you explain a little bit more of how can I use these terms while being inclusive?
Grace 5:45
Absolutely. That's a great question. Ultimately, we're talking about the same community. That's why there's many different ways to get there, you know, the abbreviation is longer or shorter, just depending on ease of communication. And of course, whether or not someone is specifically talking about a certain subsect of the population. So I would say is, you know, LGBTQ, LGBTQIA2S+ anything in between they're all acceptable. Really, we focus a lot on the queer and trans experience. So that's an even another way you might see it written out and about. So I would say, as long as you're using any of those, you're you're doing the right thing.
Emily 6:26
Sounds good. And there, are there any specific resources for new and incoming students, when they're like, just starting to like, get familiar with campus and whatnot?
Grace 6:36
Absolutely. Thank you for asking. So we will have a few Fall Welcome events planned. So we have a welcome event specifically for graduate students. And we do have an event that we're planning for our undergraduate and transfer students. And aside from Welcome Week or fall welcome programming, we are also going to be doing our New to You program and that is geared towards first year students. We're actually in the process of tweaking it a little bit this year. However, that program is really a good way for new to MSU students to really connect with other folks that are new, that is really the intention behind it, hear from some different resources that they may find useful. And really, it's about relationship building, so that they can maybe get a chance to meet us and our students and what we kind of do on campus.
Emily 7:22
That's very helpful.
Sav 7:24
So you mentioned a little bit about Quest, that's like a module that people can enroll themselves into. But are there any other educational programs within the GSCC that allow students or individuals to learn more about being inclusive?
Grace 7:37
That's our biggest one. We also have an Understanding Pronouns workshop, that folks can attend. The difference is Quest can be self guided. So that can be a lot easier for folks who maybe are busy, or students with very busy schedules, it will actually hold your place, it's on D2L. So very intuitive, folks are already used to using that system. And we're looking at right now, updating Quest, as well as adding to it. So expanding upon the different modules that are being offered.
Sav 8:07
And on a similar note can different like student organizations reach out to the GSCC for maybe like, you all to come in? And like speak about inclusivity on like, within the organization? How does that work?
Grace 8:19
Yeah, they can just contact us directly at gscc@msu.edu. We also, on our website, which is gscc.msu.edu, have links to our calendars where folks could actually book appointments with myself, Oprah, our Assistant Director, or Morgan, our Coordinator, and that'll bring up all of the options, sometimes that's a lot easier. So you don't have to do an email back and forth, you know, sort of chain. So that would be the best way to approach it. And as long as we have the capacity between ourselves and our student staff, we're happy to support those endeavors as well.
Emily 8:55
So in being an ally, and like trying to educate myself, like more on ways where I can support like my friends, and just like people around me, and the LGBTQ+ community, is there anything like any tips that you have, like for incoming students, previous students? Are there volunteering opportunities that students can get involved in, in any way?
Grace 9:17
Sure. So what I would say to students is to just be open to new experiences. I know speaking for myself, I came from more of a rural place. Coming here was a very big difference from my hometown, in some of the best ways possible, but I really had to be intentional about being open to those experiences. So there may be things that you're unfamiliar with. We are all open to those questions within the GSCC space, especially, you know, particularly the pro staff. So if you ever have questions about something or how to navigate a situation, we're here to, you know, answer your questions, lean on for support. I would say, you know, really get engaged with campus. There are caucuses across campus that are LGBTQIA caucuses, focused caucuses. Anybody is able to join those. So if folks are looking to show support, advocate, those would be really good resources. And then there of course, are other organizations on campus such as the Alliance, there is Transcend, TransAction, any number of ways for folks to get involved with these particular topics and with this community.
Regarding volunteer opportunities, we don't necessarily have a ton of volunteer opportunities on a regular basis. Usually, those are surrounding our special events. So maybe, you know, we recently just celebrated our pride month on campus in April, we had a lot of folks come out to help set up for pride prom, or setup for lavender reception. That's all super helpful to us, because we are a small team. And we want to make sure all of those programs feel special to the folks attending them.
Emily 10:50
That's so cool. Good to know for sure.
Sav 10:53
So kind of on a similar note, I know coming into college, I kept hearing this word all the time, especially I'm more of like a social science minor type background, intersectionality. Can you touch on that a little bit?
Grace 11:05
Definitely. So intersectionality comes from a theory coined by a scholar named Dr. Kimberly Crenshaw. A lot of times it is misconstrued to just mean anybody can have multiple identities. Yes, of course, that part is true. That's not necessarily what Dr. Crenshaw was speaking about in her theory of intersectionality. For myself, for the larger GSCC purpose, when we're talking about intersectionality, we're talking about the ways oppression shows up for folks who have intersecting identities, so black, queer people, disabled, queer people, right? So all of those different, you know, permutations of being a human. How does that show up in the world, right? We know that systems are built to oppress certain groups. They don't necessarily focus on any one aspect. So that's how I would really broadly explain intersectionality.
Sav 11:59
Thank you. So in that note, then how does the GSCC support and identify intersectionality within their department?
Grace 12:06
Definitely. So we have a few different ways that we do that. One of our primary ways is that we host the Queering Racial Justice Summit. And that's really to draw attention to the intersection between sexuality, gender identity, and racial justice, and how we're all in alignment with our larger goals of Liberation and Justice for All, right. So that's a huge one. We also have community conversations, which focus on various populations within the larger LGBTQIA community, such as people of color who happened to be queer, trans. We even have things like Cafe so Gay, which really focuses on graduate students, which may have their own different struggles that they're facing, right, as graduate students rather than undergraduate students. Those are some of the ways we're looking at expanding on some of that finally, now that we have a full staff.
Emily 12:58
Awesome, so sort of a little, I think you touched on this a little bit. But do students need to be out? Or like, if they're questioning, do they like, are they able to come to you with any questions that they might have? Is this like a confidential service that you provide?
Grace 13:18
Anybody can visit the center, or come to our programs, access our resources. That is open to any students. You know, we even have faculty and staff that seek us out, but we are primarily focused on students. Now in terms of whether or not someone's out or whatever part of their coming out process they're in, we don't really ask about that, if that makes sense. Of course, if it's relevant, or if that's what you're struggling with, we'll chat with you about that. But we don't necessarily have, you know, a litmus test, if you will. In terms of what you were saying about whether or not we're confidential, we, of course, are more of a private resource. There are certain instances where we would have to report, you know, behavioral issues, if we're concerned about your safety or the safety of others. But we are a confidential place to report any RVSM issues, which can be, you know, a differentiation that people maybe are not familiar with. But if someone is maybe experiencing something like sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence of any manner or relationship violence, we are a confidential source for that. And we work very closely with the other resources on campus to make sure folks can get their needs met.
Sav 14:30
So is there any way that I can get involved with the GSCC separate from maybe like volunteering opportunities?
Grace 14:37
Yeah, absolutely. So we actually will be hiring some students staff for the next school year. Right now we have one posting up, it's actually for our sex educator position. So if you're someone that you know, maybe you have experience in working with sex education, or just an interest in it, I welcome you to apply that's available on Handshake and then we will be posting another position shortly. And that's more for our Communications Assistant. So our fabulous Communications Assistant now is she oversees all of our newsletter, our social media, she does a ton for us to really make sure that we're a fully functioning office. Those would be two ways that you might see very soon and potentially more down the way.
Sav 15:21
Okay, and do you do you partner with like any clubs or like maybe I don't know like sponsor, like supervise over any clubs?
Grace 15:28
We actually have a very close relationship with the Alliance. Oprah Jrenal, our Assistant Director is their advisor and the Alliance is one of the COPS groups on campus.
Emily 15:36
So you briefly mentioned your social media, and that you're located in the Student Services Building. Are those the best ways to contact you with questions? Or are there other ways that you guys prefer or just like, any, anything that you need to like, plug, please do.
Grace 15:51
Well, our website is a really great resource gscc.msu.edu. It has a lot of educational guides there too. You know, in case you're feeling shy, you maybe don't want to ask a quote unquote, stupid question that can be a really great one stop shop. And also, as I mentioned before, it has all of our contact information. So gscc@msu.edu is our email, you can definitely reach out to us on Instagram, I believe it's @MSU_GSCC, on Instagram, and our booking calendars are available for folks to access as well. So we welcome you know, if folks want to take time to make a one on one, whether that is virtual or in person, we would welcome the opportunity to meet you.
Sav 16:30
Alrighty, I have one last question for you. I know we talked about your favorite part about working for the GSCC. But overall, what's your favorite part about working with students and being a Spartan?
Grace 16:40
Oh, gosh, there's so many. Well, I think for me, this role in particular has always been my dream job. I remember accessing the center as a student myself, and really being involved on campus with the different LGBTQIA2S+ organizations. The the, at the time, LGBT Resource Center played a huge part in me being able to, you know, work for different nonprofits. For over a decade, I lead the GSC at Oakland University. And so those are some of the major things that I remember but really, you know, spring on campus, fall on campus, there's like pivotal times right. And of course, everybody has to shout out the Dairy Store.
Sav 17:21
Yes, we love the dairy store.
Grace 17:23
Right.
Emily 17:25
Um, well thank you so much for joining us. This is definitely super informational. And make sure to catch us next time for our podcasts with the religious advisor Association and Student Parent Resource Center. Happy Pride Month.
Narrator 17:40
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Spartan Orientation Station on Impact 89 FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at MSU_NSO.