Deep Dive in Five with Robert Marx: The Queer Hope Institute

In recognition of Pride Month, SJSU Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Development Robert Marx answered questions about the Connie L. Lurie College of Education's Queer Hope Institute, a new initiative that brings together SJSU students and faculty to provide resources for queer and trans youths in the Bay Area. What would Pride be without hope?

Tell me about the Queer Hope Institute. What do you do?

Robert Marx (RM): The Queer Hope Institute (QHI) is a university-community bridge that fosters and strengthens existing family, school and community environments that support the well-being and growth of queer and trans youths in the Bay Area. The QHI ensures that queer and trans youths have the bright, beautiful futures they deserve by documenting the impact of youth-serving organizations' existing initiatives; enhancing collaborations among researchers, policymakers, practitioners and community partners; and developing innovative solutions that foster queer- and trans-inclusive environments.

Tell me about the first annual Unity Conference this spring. Who participated, and what did you do?

RM: The f irst annual Unity Conference was a partnership between the QHI and the San Mateo-Foster City School District. We welcomed 75 queer and trans middle schoolers (and 20 community volunteers!) to SJSU for a day of celebration, pride and fun. Students formed bonds within and across their schools and got to experience what the world can be like when we are allowed to be ourselves without outside judgment! We made friendship bracelets , drew self portraits , recorded podcasts, played games, went on campus tours and dreamed about our futures.

How else can SJSU students get involved with the QHI?

RM: One of the main goals of QHI is measuring and amplifying the impact of existing queer-affirming community programming, and we're lucky to partner with organizations throughout the peninsula. As we work to conduct research and program evaluation to document the effectiveness of existing initiatives, helping them secure funding, expand their reach and ensure long-term sustainability, there are many opportunities for SJSU students to become involved. By highlighting successes and areas for growth, SJSU students can help to amplify these organizations' impacts and strengthen support for their work. SJSU students have also volunteered with each of our events - making marketing materials, staffing registration tables, coordinating speakers and helping out at events. QHI is focused on creating a better world for queer and trans young people, and that includes SJSU students!

The organizational structure of QHI also builds in opportunities for SJSU students - as the director, I work closely with QHI's two program managers, Danny Castillo, '23 Child and Adolescent Development, '25 MA Interdisciplinary Studies, and Ellery Carlson, who are both SJSU students. Their dedication, vision, creativity and passion shapes everything that QHI does, and QHI would not exist without them.

Why is the QHI so important now?

RM: Queer and trans youth across the country - even here in the Bay Area - continue to experience negative academic and health outcomes, leading to elevated risk of depression, violence and discrimination and suicide. We have known for years that the [environments that disparities that queer and trans youths face relative to their cisgender, straight peers are not due to any inherent flaws, weaknesses or problems within queer and trans youth; rather, it is the environment in which we live that causes these disparities. Queer and trans youths, as well as queer and trans adults, are constantly bombarded with negative, untrue and damaging messages about themselves, and this can have severe, adverse consequences. We need to push back, stand up and show the queer and trans people in our lives that we love and support them and that the world is a better place with them in it.

What does queer hope look like to you?

RM: For me, queer hope is the constant practice of affirming and nurturing the queerness I find in myself, my loved ones and the world.Mariame Kabawrites that hope is a discipline, something we recommit ourselves to each day in the work of making the world a better place. Queer hope to me means that every day, I am taking the "next best step" towards creating a world that celebrates the inherent dignity of queer and trans people (and especially queer and trans young people), a world that empowers them to imagine and pursue meaningful, fulfilling futures.

Learn more about the Queer Hope Institute at SJSU.