QRC

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The Queer Resource Center at City College of San Francisco is an academic and informational resource center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, questioning, and straight allies. Furthermore students, staff, and faculty members at the institution that are allies are also very welcome. The center prides itself on its "Everyone is Welcome!" motto.

Contents 1 Mission 2 Closure 3 History 4 See also

[edit] Mission

The Queer Resource Center (QRC) at City College of San Francisco, also known as "El Centro de Recursos Queer" in Spanish, is a drop-in space and resource and information center for queer-identified students that opened in October, 2005 at the main campus of City College of San Francisco after years of struggle. It offers a welcoming space for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, queer, questioning, intersex, polyamorous, and pansexual students and their friends, family, faculty, colleagues, as well as straight allies. As of the Fall of 2006,the QRC has been closed since June, 2006, and is undergoing extensive re-tooling before its grand re-opening. The center is now reopened under new coordinator Allen Conkle.

The center refers students to services, academic rsources and literature on HIV and Other STD/STI testing , psychological counseling, academic counseling, and other services. It can also refer students and staff to gay friendly staff members in various parts of campus. More importantly, the QRC provides a safe space for queer identified students to do their homework, meet people, or just to get away for a moment from stress, that is a nice respite for LGBT students at school.

Currently, the staff of the Queer Resource Center plans various educational and social events for CCSF students hoping to not only let more people know that the center exists, but also to play a bigger role in the educational, social, and political development of the students of CCSF.

[edit] Closure

In the summer of 2006 the QRC was closed by Dean Mark Robinson due to several high profile incidents involving the campus police, 6 of 7 of which were gay-on-gay crime. The QRC was set to reopen but this statement was released by the school:

[edit] History

Besides the aforementioned volunteers, there are many more people who have lent their valuable time whenever possible to ensure the institution's smooth operation. The current Queer Resource Center at City College has been going through various changes, current coordinator Steve Ibarra says the center is thriving and has been serving hundreds of LGBTQIPPS (pronounced: l-g-b-t-qips) that is "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, questioning, pansexual, polyamorous, and straight" population a week and has been supporting all those who come in for resources, coffee, counseling, therapy, educational support, as well as information addressing HIV, STI, AIDS, mental illnesses, depression, ageism, ableism, sexism, and homophobia. This is the place to go for resources and information for, by and about the most under represented communities all over the nation. Specifically at City College of San Francisco where 146,000 students come to from all over the San Francisco bay area. A gateway to gay America and a place to come and be applauded and supported for your diversity. A place you can thrive and be all you can be. The Queer Resource Center had been a vision of many, including Steve Ibarra for four years and it finally became a reality in August of 2004. This program has been applauded by many historians and gay educational institutions as a model for most other programs in that only in its first week of being open, it has managed to have more resources than most other resource centers and has been able to stay open more than 10 hours a day 5 days a week. A historical moment has arrived at city college and one that will stay alive for years and decades to come. A model organization for the community. "It takes a village" says Ibarra after a death threat was received and shunned. "We are not scared and will not bow down to the ignorance". As of September, 2006, the QRC will re-open with a student coordinator at its helm, and a Classified Staff Head Coordinator, a district funded position is currently being selected by a hiring committee, (which includes Ben A. Schaeffer,former QA ICC Representative & Current VP of Administration of Associated Students,and Robert Copeland (former QA President)which expects to have the Head Coordinator in place by October, 2006.

[edit] See also

• Queer Alliance