The role of the MRC as a resource for faculty, staff, and students around educational workshops and trainings has significantly expanded in recent years, in particular educational efforts around trans/gender concerns. As a result of a charge from the President’s Task Force on
Diversity and Multiculturalism, the MRC developed a two-hour workshop titled Trans Ally 101 Training over the summer of 2004. The first part of the training is more theoretical, discussing how gender identity and expression intersects with and informs current conversations about
identity formation. The hope is to break down simplistic binaries of there being just two sexes or two genders or two sexual orientations. The second half of the training takes the theory knowledge and applies it to the practical work of each college office or student group.
Since the fall of 2004, more than 40 college offices and student groups totaling approximately 750 participants have gone through the training. Among the offices and students groups that have participated are the Athletics Department professional staff (participated in a broader LGBT issues training that included work around transgender concerns), Baldwin Collective, Career Services, Center for Service and Learning, Bonner’s Scholars, College Relations, members of the Dean of Students Office, the student board of the Edmonia Lewis Center, the MRC professional and student worker staff, Oberlin College Dialogue Center, students (RAs and
SRAs) and professional staff (RDs) in the Residential Life, Safety and Security, the Peer Liaisons in Student Academic Services, Student Health Services, Student Union student and professional staffs, Third World House residents and Professor Pam Brooks’ African American Studies course.
In order to meet the demand a training group of staff and student facilitators has been formed. We hold training sessions each year for new facilitators. And each year they will be joined by a number of first and second year students who will help as “facilitators in training” insuring a pipeline for the future. The feedback on the trainings has been overwhelmingly positive both in terms of participation and assessment. For example, the Residential Education student staff of 86 RAs and SRAs, the largest single group of participants, rated the training an 8.3/10. In addition to continuing to offer Trans Ally 101 Trainings, we are also currently focused on adapting the Trans Ally 101 Training for faculty and the offering of a Trans Ally 201 Training.
Trans 101 Resources:
 Common Trans Definitions
Trans Resources
Trans Allyship
Trans Accessibility Worksheet
Gender Neutral Pronouns |
