My Global Identity: Developing Travel Resources for LGBTQA+ Students at Northeastern

By Alexa Soares

Over the past year, we at the Global Experience Office of Northeastern University have been working to improve programming and resources available to underrepresented students. The “My Global Identity” series provides guidance and discussion spaces for students concerned about how their various identities–and the intersection of these identities–will affect their study abroad experience. A significant component of this series has been the development of resources for LGBTQA+ students. We know that students at Northeastern have become accustomed to the relatively progressive culture in Boston, and need to be prepared for how people in other countries may react to their sexual orientation or gender expression. As a Senior Peer Advisor in GEO and a bisexual student at Northeastern, this effort is of particular importance to me.

This endeavor was inspired, in part, by negative feedback that GEO received pertaining to a pre-departure orientation event held last year. A portion of the event involved presenting students with scenarios that may arise while abroad and asking students to write in how they would react. One scenario addressed being outed to your host family; this scenario was the only part of the event that addressed any form of diversity. Students were disappointed that issues of diversity received such a relatively small amount of time during the event, and aired their concerns on social media. A Global Ambassador in the office alerted Jenny Woodford, our Marketing & Events Coordinator, to the student response, and it became clear that GEO needed to improve the way we addressed underrepresented students, and LGBTQA+ students in particular.

In order to create a program that catered to and centered LGBTQA+ students, we started out by partnering with Northeastern’s LGBTQA+ Resource Center. Lee West, the Director of the Center, provided a training session to the entire GEO staff to ensure that everyone in our office was equipped to serve LGBTQA+ students in a respectful and affirming way. Jenny, along with Jeff Sullivan, a Global Experience Advisor, created a survey and held a focus group in order to gather student feedback. They found that 59% of students reported that their sexual orientation and/or gender identity impacted their global experience, and 91% did their own research about it before leaving, demonstrating that there was a need for specific programming to prepare students for these issues. Several students reported that they were unaware of available resources and wished they had more support from GEO. Armed with the data and training, GEO developed a multi-faceted approach to tackle this problem.

We aimed to address the various factors that impact LGBTQA+ students, including local laws and regulations, social norms and culture, and personal health and wellbeing. In order to make students aware of legal restrictions that affect same-sex relationships, I added information from the U.S. State Department’s Country Information section to each of our 174 program pages. I also started designing print resources to be provided to students at pre-departure events. This included a handout listing on-campus offices and external organizations that provide support to LGBTQA+ students, as well as a brochure detailing specific issues that LGBTQA+ students should take into consideration when planning to go abroad, such as safety concerns related to dating apps and rights that trans individuals have when navigating airport security. Additionally, I compiled a comprehensive resource guide, which includes information on accessing both support and scholarships for various marginalized identities. I am also developing city guides for individual cities that are popular destinations for Northeastern students which detail relevant laws, cultural attitudes, and LGBTQA+ organizations both in the universities that we partner with, as well as the greater community.

Starting in Fall 2018, we have organized a pre-departure orientation session every semester where LGBTQA+ students and allies who are going abroad can meet, express their concerns, and learn about the resources available to them. This is part of our ongoing partnership with the LGBTQA+ Resource Center, so we have staff from both our office and theirs, in a casual environment for both staff and students to share their experiences and concerns. Going forward, we will also be working with the Center to create more print resources, such as a checklist for trans students to make them aware of the legal issues surrounding travel documents and airport security.

At the beginning of this academic year, GEO had very few resources to address the unique needs of LGBTQA+ students. We realized that we were failing students in this area, and worked quickly to improve our support for this important community. There is still room to improve, and we intend to continue developing stronger resources for LGBTQA+ students at Northeastern, guided by student feedback and advice from our colleagues in the LGBTQA+ Resource Center.