LGBTQIA+ at College of DuPage

College of DuPage offers a variety of clubs and resources for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Pride Alliance

Pride Alliance aims to create a safe, welcoming community for LGBTQIA+ students and supporters, encourage education and discussion around LGBTQIA+ issues, and provide an avenue for students to get involved with the wider LGBTQIA+ community and its various causes. Members support, promote awareness, and educate on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and straight issues with regard to diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Safe Zone at College of DuPage

Safe Zone is an association of students, faculty and staff who are focused on building a safe, affirming and welcoming campus for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Safe Zone members are individuals who are willing to provide a safe haven, listening ear, and support for LGBTQIA+ people or anyone dealing with sexual orientation or gender identity/expression issues. Safe Zone members can display a placard in their office, classroom or residence showing that they are a friend to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Safe Zone registration information: The two-part Safe Zone training at College of DuPage for students is available each semester through Student Life’s Living Leadership Program in partnership with COD Counseling Services.

For more information about the Safe Zone Project, visit thesafezoneproject.com.

The two-part Safe Zone Training at College of DuPage for employees is available through the Employee Development Center (EDC): www.cod.edu/edc 

As part of College of DuPage’s efforts to provide our students and community with a safer and more inclusive campus, below you will find a list of the single-stall gender inclusive restrooms on the main campus at College of DuPage.

Berg Instructional Center (BIC)

• Single-stall restroom located on the second floor near Stair 8 and the Testing Center (Room 2522)
• BIC Floor Plan

Health Sciences Center (HSC)

• Single-stall restroom located across from the Dental Hygiene Clinic (Room 1207)
• Single-stall restroom located on the third floor on the east end near the stairs (Room 3315)
• Single-stall restroom located on the third floor on the east end near the stairs (Room 3317)
• HSC Floor Plan

Physical Education Center (PEC), Room 126

• Family restroom/locker room near PE Offices (Room 126)
• Family restroom/locker room/pool entry near the Dance Studio entrance (Room 139)
• PEC Floor Plan

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27)

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, is an international memorial day on 27, January commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. It commemorates the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews, 1 million Romani, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled people, 9,000 homosexual men by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly 60/7 on 1, November 2005 during the 42 plenary session. The resolution came after a special session was held earlier that year during which the United General Assembly marked the 60 anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (February 7)

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative for Blacks in the United States and across the Diaspora. There are four specific focal points: Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated.

National GLBT Heath Awareness Week (Last week of March)

The Annual LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week, a nationwide event that promotes the unique health and wellness needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQIA+) community. Sponsored by the National Coalition for LGBTQIA+ Health

International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31)

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual holiday occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide. The holiday was founded by Michigan-based transgender activist Rachel Crandall in 2009 as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQIA+ holidays celebrating transgender people, citing the frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered holiday was the Transgender Day of Remembrance which mourned the loss of transgender people to hate crimes, but did not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender community.

Day of Silence (April 17)

The Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQIA+) students and their supporters. Students take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBTQIA+ students and their supporters.

Lesbian Visibility Day (April 26)

Held on April 26 every year, Lesbian Visibility Day showcases women-loving-women, providing a platform for lesbian role models to speak out on the issues facing female sexual minorities.

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17)

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO or IDAHOT) are widely recognized as an essential feature in the international LGBTQIA+ rights calendar. In the 9th edition, in 2013, commemorations took place in almost 120 countries, in all world regions. The day aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBTQIA+ rights work worldwide. IDAHO's date was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990. The original founders of the International Day Against Homophobia (or "IDAHO"), established the IDAHO Committee to co-ordinate grass-roots actions in different countries, to promote the day and to lobby for official recognition of May 17.

Harvey Milk Day (May 22)

Harvey Milk Day is organized by the Harvey Milk Foundation and celebrated each year held May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist assassinated in 1978.

LGBTQIA+Q Pride (June)

Gay pride or LGBTQIA+ pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQIA+) people to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBTQIA+ rights movements throughout the world. Pride has lent its name to LGBTQIA+-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals and even a cable TV station and the Pride Library. Ranging from solemn to carnivalesque, pride events are typically held during LGBTQIA+ Pride Month or some other period that commemorates a turning point in a country’s LGBTQIA+ history, for example Moscow Pride in May for the anniversary of Russia's 1993 decriminalization of homosexuality. Some pride events include LGBTQIA+ pride parades and marches, rallies, commemorations, community days, dance parties, and large festivals, such as Sydney Mardi Gras, which spans several weeks.

Pulse Night Remembrance (June 12)

Marking the date when a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016, and took the lives of 49 people, while injuring dozens of others.

Stonewall Riots Anniversary (June 27)

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States.

International Drag Day (July 16)

International Drag Day is to celebrate the greatness and wonder that is Drag Artists from every corner of the planet. Created by Adam Stewart in 2009, International Drag Day was set up to give Drag Artists a well-deserved chance to shine and be celebrated for everything they give to gay life and culture.

Celebrate Bisexuality Day (September 23)

Celebrate Bisexuality Day is observed on September 23 by members of the bisexual community and their supporters. This day is a call for the bisexual community, their friends and supporters to recognize and celebrate bisexuality, bisexual history, bisexual community and culture, and all the bisexual people in their lives. First observed in 1999, Celebrate Bisexuality Day is the brainchild of three United States bisexual rights activists: Wendy Curry of Maine, Michael Page of Florida, and Gigi Raven Wilbur of Texas.

LGBTQIA+Q History Month (October)

LGBTQIA+ History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.  In the United Kingdom, it is observed during February, to coincide with a major celebration of the 2005 abolition of Section 28.

National Coming Out Day (October 11)

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an internationally observed civil awareness day celebrating individuals who publicly identify as a gender or sexual minority. The day is observed annually by members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies on October 11. NCOD was founded in 1988 by Robert Eichberg, a psychologist from New Mexico and founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience, and Jean O'Leary, an openly gay political leader from Los Angeles and then head of the National Gay Rights Advocates. The date of October 11 was chosen because it was the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Spirit Day (October 17)

In early October 2010, Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan promulgated the observance of a new commemoration called Spirit Day, the first observance of which took place on October 20, 2010; it now however takes place on October 17. On this day people wear the color purple to show support for LGBTQIA+ youth who are victims of bullying. Promoted by GLAAD, many Hollywood celebrities wore purple on this day to show their support of this cause, and many websites added a prominent purple shade to their design. The name Spirit Day comes from the purple stripe of the Rainbow flag, whose creator Gilbert Baker defined it as "representing 'spirit'”. The observance was inaugurated in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of gay school students in 2010, including that of Tyler Clementi. More than 1.6 million Facebook users signed up for the event globally.

Asexuality Awareness Week (October – November- dates vary every year)

Asexual Awareness Week is an international campaign that seeks to educate about asexual, aromantic, demisexual, and grey-asexual experiences and to create materials that are accessible to our community and our allies around the world.

Intersex Awareness Day (October 26)

Intersex Awareness Day is an internationally observed civil awareness day designed to highlight the challenges faced by intersex people. The event marks the first public demonstration by intersex people in North America. On October 26, 1996, intersex activists from Intersex Society of North America (carrying the sign "Hermaphrodites With Attitude") and allies from Transexual Menace demonstrated in Boston, outside the venue where the American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference. Intersex Awareness Day is an international day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20)

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), which occurs annually on November 20, is a day to memorialize those who have been killed as a result of transphobia, or the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people, and acts to bring attention to the continued violence endured by the transgender community The Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1998 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a trans woman who is a graphic designer, columnist, and activist, to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts. Since its inception, TDoR has been held annually on November 20, and has slowly evolved from the web-based project started by Smith into an international day of action. In 2010, TDoR was observed in over 185 cities throughout more than 20 countries.

World AIDS Day (December 1)

World AIDS Day, observed on December 1 of every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.

COD currently offers Safe Zone and ally training for employees and students to become more aware, inviting and inclusive of community members of all genders and sexual orientations.

Yes, the offices of Student Life, and Counseling Services work in partnership with Pride Alliance to create a safe and hospitable campus by offering activities; events; training sessions and counseling services.

Student Mental Health Counselors are available to assist with non-academic concerns, personal development, and special situations which may interfere with the student’s educational and personal goals through the office of Counseling Services: Services are available to all full- and part-time students enrolled at all locations of College of DuPage, as well as those students taking courses online.

Pride Alliance is available for LGBTQIA+ identifying students, allies, and others who simply want to know more about gender identity and sexuality topics. TransForm is a support-and community-based group for transgender and non-binary individuals. 

All employees who have completed Safe Zone and ally training are expected to place a placard on their door/office space identifying they are a friend to the LGBTQIA+ community.

You may add a preferred name and pronoun upon application to the college and add or change your preferred name online through your myACCESS account using the Personal Contact Information change Request form. To add or change your pronoun, contact the Office of Student Records. You can receive a school ID card that matches your preferences through Student Life.

All students and employees should consider it their responsibility to report concerning behaviors for the safety and well-being of the student and campus community. The Behavioral Intervention team (BIT) at College of DuPage acts as a “centralized collection” point of information that addresses a spectrum of risk from a position of care and concern: odd, disturbing or disruptive behaviors;  unexpected change in academics; potential targeted violence; harm to self; and provides guidance to campus offices with regard to student success and safety. If you feel that you have been a victim or witness of a hateful act, complete and submit the BIT Incident Report. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender, which includes sexual harassment and sexual violence, in educational programs activities. See the Dean of Students website for Board Policy 15-11 and Administrative Procedure 15-11 Prohibition of Sexual Misconduct and Harassment for more information including information related sanctions, protective actions, remedies and Title IX complaint investigation procedures. For more information on sexual harassment and additional resources, contact the Dean of Students Office at (630) 942-2485.