Legislative Summary: A Resolution to Require Faculty within the College of Natural Sciences to Complete the Allies in Action Program

Written by Shreya Vunnava

What is allyship? 

Allyship involves learning about, listening to, and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. It is essential to creating a safe and inclusive community, both on a personal level and an institutional level- especially on college campuses.

How is allyship currently maintained at UT Austin, and why does it need to be improved?

The UT Austin Gender and Sexuality Center offers training programs to staff and faculty in order to provide a structured education on how to be an ally in a professional setting. However, because these programs are optional, there is a severe lack of participation within the College of Natural Sciences, with only three assistant professors listed as certified allies.

 According to the Spring 2022 State of the LGBTQIA+ Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin Report, LGBTQIA+ students scored UT as a 6.04 out of 10, and LGBTQIA+ BIPOC students a 4.88 out of 10 when asked how well faculty and staff are equipped to address issues affecting LGBTQ students at UT.  Furthermore,  LGBTQIA+ students report an average comfort level of 5.54 out of 10 on expressing their sexual orientation to faculty and staff, compared to cisgender-heterosexual students who reported an average of 8.42 out of 10. 

How does this resolution address allyship at UT?

The purpose of this piece of legislation is to require faculty within the College of Natural Sciences to attend and complete the Allies in Action two-part workshop, offered by the Gender and Sexuality Center, and then apply the lessons provided by the workshops to make campus safer and more welcoming for the LGBTQIA+ community.

What are the next steps?

In order to determine how this piece of legislation will be implemented, it is imperative that discussions be held with the deans to confirm how training will be mandated, how often it must be taken, and the consequences of not completing the training. Further funding for the UT Gender and Sexuality Center could also help ensure that the university has the resources required to provide allyship training sessions on a larger scale. 

For more information about GSC’s Allyship Training Workshops or for support for LGBTQ+ students, contact the GSC at gsc@austin.utexas.edu .

The legislation in its entirety can be found here.