Kara Martin: Ushering in GFU’s New Era with HSCI
Reported By: Benny Schorie
Photographed By: Allison Martinet
One of the most memorable events at George Fox University (GFU) in the last five years was the infamous lip sync performance where former student Reid Arthur publicly came out as gay to the whole student body. This launched GFU into a period of dramatic change as the campus became more vocal about the hardships of LGBTQ+ students. One of the fruits of this turmoil is The Human Sexuality Care Initiative (HSCI). Created by GFU’s board of trustees, this initiative is “designed to support students who are grappling with [their sexuality.,”
Since July 2023, Kara Martin (she/her) has stepped into the role of the director of HSCI part-time alongside her previously held role of assistant director of Residence Life. Initially, Martin found the open position posting while job searching in the spring of 2021. As someone with a heart for the LGBTQ community, Martin felt a sense of calling to that role and GFU. Despite not being selected at that time, “it was Fox’s pursuit for someone like that that made me interested in the campus, so I was constantly checking the school’s jobs which is how I got into Residence Life here,” Martin said.
After working as area coordinator of Newlin Hall, Martin was selected for her current role in the last year. With the recent change in position, she has been figuring out what HSCI means to her and how she views it.
“I picture it as having three zones,” Martin said. “The first is a relational or care area where I meet with students that reach out and hear their stories. This can be with straight or queer students alike who have questions.”
“Another one is as an advocate or policy-maker,” she added. “I worry specifically about hiring and housing practices, figuring out how we can make them more understandable, approachable, and equitable for LGBTQ students. The last zone is educational. This includes reworking the All-Student Leader training before the fall semester started as well as coordinating staff and faculty education.”
The existence and purpose of the initiative lead to some natural questions about its relationship to GFU’s theological stance which states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is God's intention for the joyful fulfillment of sexual intimacy.” However, Martin has observed that GFU’s practical approach is to welcome students from all walks of life, have open conversations with students, and remove barriers to access.
In order to promote this diversity, Martin hopes to encourage conversations across campus. “When you don’t have conversations about making campus a safer place for minoritized students, you communicate that they don't matter,” Martin said.
She wants to address faculty assumptions about LGBTQ+ people, help them learn to change their behavior in class, and, consequentially, make campus more hospitable for those students, no matter the status of their faith and identity.
Ultimately, Martin exists as an outlet for students and reaffirmed this when she said, “Whether that's freshmen coming to campus realizing they have questions about their gender and sexuality for the first time or the senior who feels well-developed in their identity and faith but wants to have conversations about it, I am a resource. I also want to be open to straight students who have questions.”
As she stated, she wants “to let students guide where this position goes and help their experiences be easier on campus. I want them to guide my goals and priorities.”