Tamara Lash Oral History Interview on the SOL Support Network, April 16, 2019

Partial Transcript: Can you please tell a little about yourself?

Segment Synopsis: Tamara Lash introduces herself as a first year graduate student who completed her undergrad at OSU also, part of the AYA initiative for women of color on campus, and works at the Women & Gender Center. Lash also discusses her experience of being a person of color at a predominately white school.

Partial Transcript: What kind of support do you think is needed for QTIPOC folks on campus?

Segment Synopsis: Lash discusses how many of the initiatives on campus that support QTIPOC folks are student lead but the students running these programs do not have enough administrative support from the university so often these students experience burnout.

Partial Transcript: How do you perform self-care when things get tough on campus?

Segment Synopsis: Lash shares her new found appreciation for yoga and how her girlfriend gives her a sense of community.

Partial Transcript: Do you believe that the lower retention rate of QTIPOC folks is due to the lack of support in higher education or is it due to the pressures of higher education? Or is it a mixture of both?

Segment Synopsis: Lash shares that she believes it is definitely both and these places of higher learning weren’t made for students of color or queer folks originally. Marginalized students see the university through a different lens that is trying to dismantle their power structures and not giving these students resources to continue to stay here is part of pushing them out.

Partial Transcript: How do you believe that SOL can improve the lives of QTIPOC students or in the surrounding community?

Segment Synopsis: Lash gives ideas on how SOL can reach out to the most marginalized QTIPOC folks which are those who are in prison. She emphasizes the importance of taking what is learned in the academy out into the community.

Partial Transcript: What is your connection to SOL and how has it impacted your life?

Segment Synopsis: Lash shares that she did not learn about SOL until her senior year of undergrad but she is thankful to have become connected to this initiative before graduating since she learned tools to help her resist microaggressions outside of the academy. SOL also provided her with community and friendships that she still cherishes today.