AUCCCO Conference

I'm barely working as a Full-Time staff and wound up landing in the role of Outreach Coordinator. Campus/Community Outreach? Preventative mental health? Heck yes! The director was also gracious enough to approve the expense of registering me last-minute for the 2015 Association for University and College Counseling Center Outreach (AUCCCO) Conference.

That's the University of Utah crew right there in the preview-frame. 

As Conferences generally go there's a keynote speaker, food (quite yummy for a conference!), free swag, and breakout sessions on various topics. One in particular caught my eye:

“Addressing the Needs of the Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming College Student Community through Systemic Outreach and Interdepartmental Collaboration” 

Erica Lennon, Psy.D.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Exploring the use of systemic outreach and interdepartmental collaboration to address the needs of trans* and gender nonconforming students on a university campus including identifying/addressing needs such as harassment, housing/facility considerations, university records, and access to affirmative medical services.

Erica Lennon turned out to be a wonderful energetic counselor with a strong passion for Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) advocacy. She spoke a great deal about how to advocate for social justice by focusing on common interests. At UNC Charlotte, she reports facing resistance similar to here regarding support for Trans* friendly restrooms and also gender-free student housing. However, when re-framed using language that expressed common interests between departments more was actually accomplished. For instance, instead of advocating for Trans* friendly restrooms or even gender-neutral restrooms she discovered a nice term: FSUAR. While I haven't actually seen it as any sort of "official" acronym out there she used it to stand for Family Style Unisex Accessible Restroom. Simply by placing in the term "family" in the project is going to immediately create a bridge to anyone with "family values" which is too often found in opposition to LGBT advocacy. Rather than focusing purely on the gender identity social justice piece they were able to advocate for restrooms that increased accessibility for all. This wasn't a restroom specifically for people who are trans* but one that allows anyone to use it, including children who need help from parents, people with physical disabilities who need assistance, those who want privacy for self-administered medication (insulin shots), and isn't restricted to one gender. How many parents either raising children alone or are out an about without their opposite sex partner face the awkwardness of bringing their children into the "wrong" restroom? FSUAR to the rescue!

I have to admit, however, that I feel a little strange about not having the issue of TGNC rights being right up at the forefront. The social justice advocate in me wants it to be right in people's faces so that social justice wins aren't reduced to an afterthought. But which one gets better results?