Salt Lake Community College shows no signs of following in the footsteps of other public colleges in Utah regarding the closures of LGBTQ+ and cultural centers because of HB 261. The bill, passed last January, seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at public institutions.
Specifically, the anti-DEI bill targets use of certain words and phrases that suggest preferential treatment towards certain identity characteristics.
According to members of the Queer Student Association (QSA) at SLCC, who have been in conversations regarding the effects of the HB 261 bill at the college, the Gender and Sexuality Student Resource Center (GSSRC) will be submitted for review under the Utah State Board of Education.
Leaders of the GSSRC believe this review will allow the center’s continuance to be approved under the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) guidelines, which follow HB 261.
According to an article from The Salt Lake Tribune, all centers at public colleges in the state, even preexisting ones, must go under review from USHE to check their compliance with the new law.
“Right now, we are in those conversations of ‘what can we do’ … I think once the school year starts, we will see those effects,” said Leka Heimuli, secretary at the GSSRC. “It’s going to have a tremendous impact because there are certain things that we can do as a center.”
“I think in regard to resources, we’ll still be here,” Heimuli continued. “One of the main concerns is if we are going to shift the name, and certain things [like], how are we able to get [resources] out to students who need [them].”
What USHE will allow
Kai Lyon, member of the QSA, said that the bill “is not the problem.” While it aims to shut down target language in cultural centers, the bill does not exclude their existence. Rather, it aims to separate funding from cultural centers and student engagement centers.
But there is incongruency in these policies, according to Lyon and others.
“We are not a blank entity,” Lyon said.
For instance, the new anti-DEI related USHE guidelines do not detail the need to get rid of cultural centers but advise public colleges to stay away from offering academic resources such as tutoring or counseling on the basis of race or gender.
USHE also will continue to allow cultural education and celebrations, such as the annual Lunar New Year festivities that take place at SLCC.
Emily Thompson, manager of the e-portfolio office at SLCC, said that students have already come to her with the worries of a potential impending need to change outward appearances at the college to go along with the new law.
Changes at the GSSRC?
For now, SLCC President Greg Peterson said at SLCC’s 2024 convocation ceremony that there will be no intention of closing any centers down and the GSSRC will keep their name, and their department will be moved under the Thayne Center to remain open.
The discussions at the center now revolve around how branding and marketing of certain resources will be handled.
“We are seeing people question if this center is closing, if the resources are still there,” Heimuli said. “We’re trying to go in and be more mindful. And kind of stay in compliance with all of that.”
Heimuli went on to speak on how, before HB 261 began to take effect, efforts and student outreach at the GSSRC and other diversity centers weren’t ever used as a means of differentiating the student population, although they represent the diversity at SLCC nonetheless.
Braden Timmerman, a student at SLCC who frequents the GSSRC for support and to foster community, spoke on how it feels to have the state legislature determine one’s experience as a student at college in Utah.
“When you’re saying you’re engaging with a student experience, that experience is my life,” Timmerman said, regarding the name change that saw the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) recently become the Student Engagement, Experience and Achievement (SEEA) office.
Timmerman went on to detail the ways the GSSRC has impacted him as a student.
“Without the [GSSRC], I don’t even know where I’d be right now,” they said, adding that it is disappointing as a student at SLCC, which is known for its diversity, to know that future prospective students may not attend SLCC because they may feel there is no place for them.
Helias Hammari, another SLCC student, shared Timmerman’s sentiment. Hammari expressed that it was disheartening to come into their classroom, which before had a perfect viewing of a SLCC billboard which heralded the slogan “75 years of inclusivity,” and seeing the billboard gone.
While it does seem so far that USHE does not intend to shut down the GSSRC, much of the work that it and other centers do must be revised and reviewed to continue offering the services which so many SLCC students rely on.
