University News

WIU LGBT*QA Resource Center Expands Options for Students

February 18, 2020

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MACOMB, IL - "All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential." - Harvey Milk, American politician.

The staff of the Western Illinois University LGBT*QA Resource Center is dedicated to the care, success and empowerment of the students who call WIU home. Since moving from its old home in the University Union, to its new home the Multicultural Resource Center (MCC) in Fall 2019, the LGBT*QA Resource Center expanded its resources and ability to meet the needs of diverse students. The gender-affirming closet, a resource within the center where students can obtain free items of clothing to support their identity development and expression, was established after the center's relocation and has been joined in the Spring 2020 semester with the free binder initiative.

Binders are chest compression clothing designed to assist Trans people. The LGBT*QA Resource Center provides this resource as a result of a partnership with the company 2c2b Transitional Apparel, which has sponsored over 100 LGBT organizations and donated over 6,000 binders.

According to MCC Program Coordinator Carl Ervin, the binders becoming an available resource is a direct result of the extraordinary efforts of Multicultural Center graduate assistants Grace Davis and Paul Copeland.

"We have been able to help so many students feel at home and welcome in their own identities and relieve an aspect of financial concern that many face," said Davis. "Seeing the joy, relief, and comfort in the faces of the students we have provided binders is an amazing reminder of the great impact this holds for each person we work with."

Copeland added that having a wider variety of options available for students "helps create and foster a more welcoming and inclusive environment on campus."

For more information, contact the Multicultural Center at (309) 298-3496.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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