Princeton University mentorship program sorts LGBT students into 'families'

Princeton University’s Gender + Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) is offering a mentorship program to LGBT students in which participants are sorted into “families.”

The program, known as “Q’nnections,” is advertised as “a collective mentorship program that was developed out of a need for community on campus.” The goal of the program is to “help Queer and Trans students, faculty, and staff build community, learn new skills, and connect in with campus resources.”

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Upon its founding, the Q’nnections program followed a traditional mentor-mentee model. However, upon a decrease in mentor applications and an increase in mentee applications, as well as decreased engagement as the school year progressed, the program moved to a “family-style” model.

“Traditional mentorship models (mentor to mentee) often perpetuate systems of oppression and fail to take into account the needs of both parties,” the description elaborates. “For example, there is often a power imbalance, and an ‘imparting of wisdom’ that is one directional.”

Individuals new to the program can join as a “family member.” The responsibilities of a “family member” include “attending family gatherings and large group gatherings throughout the year.”

Once individuals have been active in the program for a year, they can apply to be a “family lead,” carrying the role of “planning some of the logistics for family meetings ... as well as attending those meetings.”

Q’nnections’ structure takes inspiration from the late feminist author bell hooks (pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins), particularly from two chapters titled  “Consciousness-Raising” and “Sisterhood is Still Powerful” in her 2000 book “Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics.”

The program puts into practice the idea of “consciousness-raising” through “family leads” being given “prompts for conversation surrounding Queer and Trans identities, how they intersect with other identities, and how they show up in the world.”

As for “sisterhood,” the program puts the idea into practice through serving as a “space for support, learning, and growth moments” and “creating a group of people to care for and with.”

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Princeton University is no stranger to pushing leftist ideology. Just last month, Campus Reform reported that the university hosted a “feminist musical comedy” titled “To All the Babies I’ve Killed Before.”

In addition, as reported by Campus Reform, in June the university invited a “superfat queer bisexual non-binary therapist” for an event titled “Creating a Pleasure Practice with the Fat Sex Therapist.”

Campus Reform has reached out to all individuals and entities named for comment and will update this article accordingly.