Proposals

Abstract

Due to the nature of our work as a 2SLGBTQIA+ resource center on a major metropolitan university campus, we know first hand how barriers and financial hardship impact students' ability to holistically thrive--from their academic performance, to navigating inaccessible resources and beaucratic processes, to experiencing the daily challenges of holding multiply-marginal, intersecting identities. The Q Center aims to foster ease and mitigate these barriers--especially for our most vulnerable students--by offering no cost, limited wait services via our computing stations and free printing/scanning/copying. Two student workstations--one PC, one iMac and 2 printers-- already exist in our center located within the HUB. However, these devices are extremely outdated and thus inefficient to use in 2023. The newest desktop computer that is available for any/all students who visit our space was purchased in 2014. We are seeking to use STF funds to upgrade these devices to enhance visitor experience, make it easier for vulnerable student populations experiencing financial (and often housing) precarity to access technology + printing at 0 cost, and invest in the creative innovation/digital storytelling/artwork brought to us from students who otherwise would not have access to these tools.

Access