Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 50, No. 3 - 16

More Than an Assemblage of Queers
USING SCHOLARLY PERSONAL NARRATIVES AS A RESEARCH TOOL,
we explored how the director of an LGBTQ+ living-learning program
(LLP) created community within the constructs of an otherwise cis- and
heteronormative residential environment. We reviewed the first author's
reflections about community experiences and analyzed them for opportunities
to upend assumptions, practices, and operations for more liberatory futures.
Students participating in LLPs tend to have higher levels of engagement and
belonging, but those with marginalized identities may benefit even more from
this kind of involvement. The first author's personal narratives about serving
as an LGBTQ+ LLP program director revealed that many of the residents
appreciated the feelings of affinity and safety offered by this residential
community, and they were uninterested in engaging in community in many of
the expected ways (i.e., program attendance). Our exploration offers liberatory
possibilities for queering institutional transformation, with the recognition that
campus housing professionals should reconsider their expectations for all LLPs,
and higher education institutions must make strong commitments to provide
support that resists assumptions about queerness and community. The stability
and growth of this LLP requires specific support that allows it to evolve into
configurations that reflect the needs of its divergent communities while still
being centered in queerness.
Editor's note: The authors have chosen to lowercase the word White, which would normally
be capitalized according to APA guidelines, in an effort to de-center whiteness.
A
larmingly, since 2020, state and federal lawmakers have introduced more than
300 pieces of legislation seeking to ban gender-affirming care, equal access
to public spaces, and name change processes (Branigin & Kirkpatrick, 2022).
Although most have focused on P-12 youth, these attempts to diminish trans*ness and
queerness create ripple effects that reach institutions of higher education (Catalano et
al., 2021; Keenan & Nicolazzo, 2021). Lawmakers have also leveraged similar attacks
on Critical Race Theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in higher education
because these efforts seek to undermine regimes of normative power (Lange et
al., 2019). In response to these legislative actions to sublimate DEI efforts, social justice
advocates must employ innovative approaches and participate in acts of resistance to
transform higher education policies, practices, and structures (Stewart, 2018). In short,
there are no simple solutions for creating and bolstering campus environments as places
and spaces that welcome LGBTQ+ students, as campuses are already in a state of
constant change (Jourian, 2017; Lange et al., 2019).
Volume 50, No. 3 * 2024 13
Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 50, No. 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 50, No. 3
