A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

Come As You Are
Creating an Inclusive Environment
For a small rural college, Colby-Sawyer is doing big things
to create an inclusive environment for all students, faculty
and staff. Over the past year, Social Science and Education
Professors Kathleen Farrell and Randy Hanson and members of
Safe Zones—a student club that supports lesbian, gay, straight,
bisexual, transgender and queer members of the college community
and their allies—have been working to make the campus more
welcoming for those in the LGBTQ community.
“The basic goal of the college is to create an environment
where everyone feels they can be who they are and learn or work
without fear, discrimination or hostility,” says Professor Hanson.
In a short amount of time Professors Hanson and Farrell have
been able to implement several changes. One initiative is the inclusion
of gender identity in the college’s statement of inclusivity.
The new statement reads: “Colby-Sawyer College is committed
to being an inclusive and diverse campus community which celebrates
multiple perspectives and, as an equal opportunity employer,
does not discriminate in its hiring, employment or admissions
practices on the basis of gender, race or ethnicity, color, national
origin, religion, age, mental or physical disability, family or marital
status, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information or
gender identity.”
“The goal of these initiatives is to make sure people know
there are members of the LGBTQ community on our campus and
that we need to be sensitive to their needs and concerns,” says
Professor Farrell.
Professors Hanson and Farrell, along with two SafeZones
members, attended the Northeast Campus Pride College Fair, a
fair exclusively for LGBTQ students. Professor Farrell believes that
Colby-Sawyer’s small size addresses a market not covered by other
colleges and universities.
“Colby-Sawyer has a huge advantage in that there were two
types of schools at the pride fair—big universities with LGBTQ
resource centers and highly selective liberal arts schools,” says
Professor Farrell. “Not all LGBTQ students fall into one of these
36 COLBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
By Amber Cronin ’11
“The basic goal of the
college is to create an
environment where
everyone feels they can
be who they are and
learn or work without
fear, discrimination or
hostility.” –Professor Randy Hanson
two categories, but they want to have a place in the market so we
are fitting this niche.”
Professor Hanson notes that even on a small campus, where
it is easy to feel everyone is included, there are always people
who do not feel like they fit in. “We want an environment where
everyone has the same opportunities, and that is going to be an
ongoing battle in society,” he says. “Human nature means we will
always be working on it. Prejudice and intolerance block student
learning, and these are things that we have been working on for a
long time. It is like a garden, it needs tending and weeding. Seven