Queer Workplace Exchange for Employee Retention & Student Success

Who We Are

QWEERSS began in 2011, the brainchild of two queer* identified staff members who wondered why there was no organized professional group on campus. They wanted to establish a group to share ideas and information of interest to the queer campus community which would serve as a means to support one another, and hopefully, create greater queer visibility on campus for the benefit of students.

We are a loosely based group who welcome all queer identified staff, faculty, and administrators. We manage a Google group that notifies all its members of upcoming events that may be of interest. This Google group is private and not open to the public. Email qweerss@humboldt.edu to be added to the Google group.

Lunches

Join us every other week for lunch (bring-your-own) and conversation; come when you can! They happen every first Wednesday of the month and third Thursday of the month in an outdoor and on-campus location. Please email Patrick (patrick.malloy@humboldt.edu) or Nicki (nicki.viso@humboldt.edu) to be added to the calendar invite.

Gender Pronouns

In English, the commonly used pronouns that refer to a person are gendered with the single (not plural) male/female binary. Not everyone identifies with these genders. To reduce the need to continue outing oneself or avoid uncomfortableness in asking, one can elect to include the pronoun others should use to refer to them.

For safety of individuals, as well as to be more trans-inclusive, the hope is to normalize the preliminary identification of which pronoun to use. Some people use a gendered pronoun, single (he/she) or a plural pronoun (they). One’s identity may change, so it’s important to be aware that the pronoun may change.

If you know of students who may be struggling with gender pronoun issues in class, please refer them to the sample email below.

Pronouns—A How-To Guide

Subject: [1] laughed at the notion of a gender binary.
Object: They tried to convince [2] that asexuality does not exist.
Possessive: [3] favorite color is unknown.
Possessive Pronoun: The pronoun card is [4].
Reflexive: [1] thinks highly of [5].

(Taken from “Pronouns – A How To Guide Cards” posted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at http://architect.lgbtcampus.org/office_resources.)

Sample Email

Professor __________,

I am a student in your (insert class name here). I am getting in contact with you to let you know that I identify as (insert identity here). My name will probably show up on your roster as (insert legal name here), but I would prefer to go by (insert chosen name here) and (masculine/feminine/neutral) pronouns. I will be putting (insert chosen name here) on my assignments and would appreciate it if you called me by that name in class.

Thank you very much.

(Sign with chosen name)