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You Are Welcome Here

What is the "You Are Welcome Here" campaign?

The "You Are Welcome Here" campaign strives to create a more welcoming campus environment. It is a way to show that Woods Hole is a welcoming community for everyone.

"If something as simple as a sticker can help retain even one potential scientist, then we should all plaster them to our office doors and other places where people will see them" -Kyle Frischkorn

The campaign asks WHOI and Woods Hole research community scientists, staff, and students to consider posting a “You are Welcome Here” sign in a visible location. By posting the sign, individuals are affirming that they:

  1.       Will avoid heterosexist assumptions, confront homophobia, and use inclusive language;
  2.       Believe that our campus is enriched by the inclusion of LBGT people; and
  3.      Will refer individuals to the glow@WHOI and other appropriate resources.

Individuals who post the "You are Welcome Here" placard agree to the statements above and are working to create a more welcoming environment, but have not been trained in LGBT-related issues. The YAWH campaign is based on the "Safe Space" campaigns at other universities and communities across the USA. Our YAWH campaign is based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's YAWH program (http://yawh.mit.edu).

YAWH Placards

You can download a placard from the website or email glow-owner@whoi.edu to ask us to interdepartmental mail you one.

Stickers are also available on both campuses – at the front desk in Smith Lobby, and in the Academic Programs Office in Clark.

We have three versions of the YAWH placard – one is more WHOI-centric, and one is GLOW-centric, and the new, more inclusive version can be used with the WHOI logo or another institutional logo can be added.