Many universities around the United States have created programs and services to help cater to those struggling with parts of their identities. The University of Northern Iowa is no different.  It has created the Gender and Sexuality Services office to help students.

Located on the upper level of the Maucker Union, the goal of the office is to assist students with issues like accessing medical services or implementing legal changes to their records to ensure that they correspond to the student’s identity.

“We see many inquiries, including, but not limited to, primary care providers,  voice therapy, mental health services, hormone therapy, and dental care,” said LGBTQ student service coordinator Kalyani Kannan. “A bit of everything that we make sure to do our best in trying to provide information on local providers.”

Kannan said that students who need medical care can receive help from the UnityPoint LGBTQ Clinic, located at 5100 Prairie Parkway in Cedar Falls. 

 Kannan also confirmed that Gender & Sexuality Services works efficiently to respond to every email sent by students within one workday. 

One useful tool that Gender & Sexuality Services has available is an incident reporting form. On the web page, one can safely and privately report incidents that one may have witnessed or experienced.

The webpage also offers access to the university’s Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct policy as well as a link to the university’s safety information. Once a report is submitted it directly goes to the Office of Compliance & Equity Management (OCEM). 

On the academic end, the office offers the Rainbow Fund, a scholarship fund that the Gender & Sexuality Services. The scholarship fund was created in the spring of 2017 with donations made by community members. Calculated around $1100 the fund’s purpose is to help students at the University of Northern Iowa due to personal merit and LGBTQ+ activism. 

 The Gender & Sexuality Services prides itself on hosting a variety of LGBTQ+-friendly events. One staple event is the LGBTQ+ Visit Day. Held on Wednesday, Oct. 18, the yearly events registration is open to have a space for those who identify themselves as a part of LGBTQIA. The University of Northern Iowa website described the event as “This comprehensive visit provides students and their families the opportunity to discover everything that UNI has to offer including our LGBTQIA-specific services, resources, and staff who are here to support you.’’ 

Alongside that UNI is also proud of hosting the Rainbow Reception and also the Lavender  Graduation. The Lavender Graduation is a celebratory reception for LGBTG+ students who graduate after the fall, summer, or spring semesters here at UNI. This year’s Lavender Graduation will be held on Tuesday, May 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Maucker Union with registration being open until Tuesday, April 18. 

The Gender and Sexuality Services also provides ways for people to become a Safe Zone Ally. UNI offers this program for community members to learn about helping grow a more diverse supportive community. The UNI website talks about the ally program “supports the university’s value of cultivating a caring and diverse campus community that values respect for all people, the open and free exchange of ideas, and responsible and ethical behavior.”

“The Safe Zone Ally program at the University of Northern Iowa is a campus-wide opportunity designed to identify and train community members interested in supporting the continued growth of an inclusive campus community,” said Kannan.  A Safe Zone Ally is someone, often a member of a marginalized group,  known for their work against institutional or personal bigotry and harassment.

 “This program supports the university’s value of cultivating a caring and diverse campus community that respects all people, the free and open exchange of ideas, and responsible ethical behavior,” Kannan said.  The process of being a Safe Zone Alley is organized into two different phases. Phase 1 has an individual watching an hour-and-a-half video for training with learning information on the LGTBQ+ community while also providing a vocabulary for an individual along with talking about the need to practice allyship with the University of Northern Iowa’s LGBTQ+ community.  Phase 2 is a two-hour program that explores the ins and outs of intersectionality and privilege on top of probing participants to think about their roles as an ally. 

Once completed with both phases a participating ally can sign an agreement to confirm being a Safe Zone Ally and register to be listed as a resource on the Out & Alley List located on the UNI website. The University of Northern Iowa has helped establish its community as an LGBTQ+ ally. As well as having an email newsletter one can also stay informed about LGBTQ+ news with the University Instagram page @northerniowaproud.