Safe Zone training for the fall semester will begin Friday and Tuesday in the Effingham Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The training sessions will be at various times during the two days, with Friday’s sessions at 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday’s sessions will be from 8 to 10 a.m.

Hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Ally (LGBTQA) Resource center, Safe Zone is a way for students and people identifying as LGBTQA to have their issues and concerns addressed in a safe environment.

Cameron Carrara, a graduate student in the college of student affairs, is the graduate assistant in the resource center.

“I believe that having this resource center on campus is vital,” Carrara said. “It is a physical space for students of the LGBTQ community to come together (and) share ideas.”

The LGBTQA Resource Center at Eastern strives to support an open, welcoming, and collaborative campus environment for students, faculty, staff and friends, Carrara said.

Safe Zone training has two phases.

Phase-one training is open to any student, staff or faculty member who is interested in becoming an ally for the LGBTQ community and learning more about LGBTQ-related issues.

Topics that will be addressed include LGBTQ terminology, the coming-out process, heterosexual privilege, facts and myths about the LGBTQ community, the Riddle Homophobia Scale, and ways to engage in quiet activism.

Carrara said this resource center on campus is vital because it is a physical space for students of the LGBTQ community to come together, share ideas, feel as though their voices can be heard and feel as though they are in a safe space.

Qian Cheng can be reached at 581-2812 or qcheng@eiu.edu.