Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2011)
----community---- Worth The Wait O R EG O N ’S LGBTO N EW S M A G A ZIN E The Rock Creek campus of Portland Com munity College is about 12 miles west of down town Portland, abutting the predominantly rural areas of North Bethany and Helvetia. There, the students and staff have been work ing since last year to create an LGBTQcom m u- nity center that would serve not only the students at the college, but the community at large. The new Queer Resource Center, or QRC, had its grand opening on October 11, National Coming O ut Day. The Q R C ’s mission is much like that of the Q_Center, the nonprofit LG- BTQ_hub in Portland. It’s a designated space where people can come and connect with oth ers in the LGBTQ_population, participate in activities, get help if they need it and learn about the community’s issues and history. These resources are available at the Q^Center in North Portland— near PC C ’s Cascade cam pus, in fact—but they are sparse in the suburbs. “At a campus like Rock Creek, it makes sense that you would create these types of services and programs because these sorts of outlying areas don’t have as much available,” says David Martinez, the outreach and orientation coordi nator with the Rock Creek campus and a mem ber of the task force that started the QRC. Students and staff invited the community to attend the grand opening, which was celebrated with a ribbon cutting, music and food. Tables were set up to educate people about the new QRC, and representatives from Cascade AIDS Project and the Portland Area Business Associ PCC Rock Creek opens Queer Resource Center BY AARON SPENCER ation (PABA), as well as Q_ Center executive director Barbara McCullough-Jones, came to show support. But the QRC didn’t happen overnight. In fact, the very idea of a school-based QRC is something of a novelty, especially on a commu nity college campus. Larger universities like Oregon State University and Portland State University have QRCs, though they go by vari ous other names. But as far as staff at PCC Rock Creek can tell, their QRC is the first at any community college in Oregon. “W e’re really at the forefront of a new and innovative program,” says Joshua Peters- McBridc, who as the clubs and programs spe cialist with PCC Rock Creek, helped drive the QRC forward. “Even though the concept of a QRC isn’t new and innovative, at an academic level, it really is.” PCC Rock Creek’s QRC sprang from the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, a club found at many schools and universities that’s meant to provide support for L G B T Q jouth (though the PCC club is in talks to rename itself the Queer- Straight Alliance, or QS A). GSAs are not uncommon. Students often C a rlo s S a nche z, Ja zm in S a n d o va l, and P a tric k G u illen w ere re co g n iz e d fo r th e ir e ffo rts by Q C e n te r e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r B a rb a ra M c C u llo u g h -J o n e s . OCTOBER 21, 2011 17 .ft at her high school in Scappoose, but parents eventually forced the club to shut down, she says. W hen she went to PCC Rock Creek, she got involved with its GSA. “I joined the GSA, but it took me a while to get the courage to go to a meeting," she says, “and then when I went there I was like, ‘This is where I belong.’” The QRC idea came from students in the GSA and was brought before the school’s stu dent government. Around that time, in Janu ary, the school hired Peters-McBride, who had experience organizing queer groups at the University of Montana. He “really ran with the idea,” Martinez says. Student government worked with the dean of students to create a task force, which drafted a proposal for the QRC. That proposal was even tually okayed by the president of the campus with an annual budget of $16,500 a year. The QRC is operational now and sees about 30 to 50 people walk through its doors each day, says Peters-McBride, who has an office near the space. Plans for future programming aren’t concrete, but students envision events that can help the entire community. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s defi nitely been worth the wait,” Peters-McBride says, i t ] come to college from high schools that have GSAs, so they’re looking for something similar in college, Martinez says. But the QRC is dif ferent from the GSA in that it provides a desig nated space for LGBTQ_ resources. It has a front lobby, or lounge, a collection of books, computers and a part-time staff. One of those staff members is Jazmin San doval, a sophomore and student advocate for For more inform ation on the P C C Rock Creek Q R C , the QRC. She had been a member of her GSA v is it pcc. edu/resources/aspcc/rock-creek/qcenter. HazeLDeN ■Hi Find lasting freedom from the disease of addiction — and a whole new start on life . LGBT-sensitive addiction treatment Residential primary care and extended care programs Life an the Water Culturally relevant groups and information 7:15 AM Saturday Safe, welcoming, respectful environment Reflected light flows in through generous windows. Sip a cup of Stumptown. while you watch a blue heron 30 yards away at water's edge. Out the door for quick run before you really starl the day Condominium Homes For Sale Presentation Center 5 0 3 .2 2 9 .7 6 0 0 In-network provider for most insurance companies http://waterfrontpearl.com Hazelden’s Springbrook campus 1310 NW Naito Parkway NP112 Portland. OR 97209 Monday - Friday 8:00 -5:00 & Weekends 9:00 -5:00 WatBrfrantPBarl. com Newberg, Oregon © 2011 Ha/elden Foundation 3241-3 hazelden.org/springbrook 866 650-2045 -
