Where are homosexuals gathering at Fresno City College?

Is there a spot for gays to hang out?

What are safe zones and do they exist?

What Clubs could a student seeking a connection or simply a place to express his gay identity feel comfortable in?

Without a doubt, the number of people openly identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered has increased on campus. But there is still a gap that we all must deal with.

Depending on whom you ask, the college struggles in many areas, including — showing support towards an openly gay campus — a place where everyone, staff, administrators, students and faculty, can live their lives openly, without concerns about repercussions.

Being openly gay is hard for instructors as well as some students. Teachers and students who have medical conditions such as HIV are in hiding and afraid. An FCC instructor I met on a gay site said people “are concerned of retaliation on campus.”

If symbolism is everything, why is there not one rainbow flag for equality on campus to encourage acceptance of differences? What message does this send to gays –that we are not equally valued on campus?

Maybe, the intent is to make being openly gay on the FCC campus undesirable. What was once something of pride has turned into a sexual stereotype. Who is being protected here: gays or homophobes?

“I do not think there is a spot that gays can hang out openly on campus” says Jacob Madrigal FCC student. What type of attitude towards equality is encouraged at FCC? State antidiscrimination laws are clear about protection of gay rights.

Beyond safety concerns, what type of activities is there on campus for newly out and open gays? The college offers only one questionably gay spot on campus and it is diversity club. The club does its best in engaging students, but that is grossly inadequate.

Locating the diversity club during the first weeks of the semester was literally impossible. Fliers for clubs on campus for 2015 with meeting places were not up to date. I was informed by staff that rooms were not yet assigned. No one from Diversity Club was available for comment or conversation.

How are people supposed to join or support a club if they do not know where it meets? Without proper communication, gay students feel left out and isolated. “What good is anything if you can’t find it [Diversity Club]?” Joshua Forbes FCC student, expressed his disappointment at not being able to locate the group.

Among the reasons to offer gays a strong identity on campus is to start breaking stereotypes, boundaries and group classifications which is not easy. Gays on campus come in different forms — break down into very diverse categories, more than able to fit in this story, some include: out, closeted, down low, transexual, bear, cub, chaser, twink, even a couple of emo goth gays.

Stigma behind the words can hurt us and makes other students afraid of being in any association with gays.

Anything not openly accepted is segregated into categories; humans are not simple; we are all complex individuals and all children of God.

What benefits will making FCC a more openly accepting place for gays? Improving open tolerance towards homosexuality should always be at a forefront of everyone’s mind. If other students are not open, out, or accepting of others’ differences then the college is not working towards a change.

Regardless, we must stay optimistic.

“Your own freedom, be who you are. I’m not ashamed of it. I am proud of who I am,” said student Phanecia Nevarec on why she is open about being gay on campus. “Just being another openly gay person helps others see that you’re normal.”