About

The mission of the Queer Resource Center (QRC) of The Claremont Colleges is to empower each LGBTQIA+ (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/agender) person to have a positive college experience, grow as a self-aware individual and be a responsible community member. Specifically, the QRC provides support, resources, leadership development, and an inclusive and welcoming space for all members of The Claremont Colleges (i.e., 7C community) to explore topics related to diverse sexual and gender identities. Through collaboration with students, faculty, and staff, the QRC creates opportunities for fellowship, thoughtful dialogue, and the pursuit of knowledge. The QRC does this through enlivening its physical space, providing quality programming, building strong relationships, encouraging personal growth, ensuring safety, and documenting history. In working towards these goals, the QRC recognizes and actively addresses the diversity within and beyond the queer community – this includes, but is not limited to, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sex, class, religion and ability among many other intersections of identity.

The QRC seeks to foster a safer, more diverse, and inclusive campus by educating and engaging the 7C community about the multiplicity of sexual and gender identities by:

Creating a Safer Space

• Providing a visible, comfortable, and accessible center for the diverse communities of the Claremont Colleges to build community, study, and explore issues of sexual and gender identity.
• Actively challenging all forms of oppression, including but not limited to racism, sexism, fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, xenophobia, classism, and ableism, and actively working toward justice.
• Prioritizing lived experiences and centering voices of those who have multiple marginalized identities.

Providing Access to Resources and Support

• Creating accessible, open, and inclusive student-driven programming that encourages learning, growth, and healing.
• Recognizing and responding to the changing needs of diverse sexual and gender minoritized communities.
• Building and maintaining strong coalitions with on-campus student organizations, faculty, staff, and alumni at The Claremont Colleges.

Encouraging Personal Growth and Identity Development

• To encourage and support holistic identity development through an intersectional lens.
• Continuously searching to better understand our privileged and oppressed identities and the ways in which multiple identities influence how we see and engage in our communities, and our positionality in working toward justice.
• Promoting individual and community health and wellness — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — and recognizing the importance of self care.
• Encouraging diverse leadership, community engagement, and service to communities in and surrounding the Claremont Colleges.