UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Carter Gangl, a junior majoring in psychology with minors in women's studies and sexuality and gender studies, is using their position in the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) to try to help make Penn State a more inclusive space for traditionally underrepresented students.
As an at-large representative on UPUA, Carter writes legislation with the goal of creating change on a University level and meets with student leaders, faculty and administrators to help make those changes happen.
“The biggest reason I joined UPUA was to promote more equity and inclusion, specifically for LGBTQ+ people on campus, and to bring more representation to the issues that those students were facing,” Gangl said. “Since I consider myself part of that community as well, I want to bring more representation for those groups that are often left out of important conversations.”
Gangl is currently working on an identity-based resource map with the hope of adding it to the Penn State interactive map sometime later this year. The map will include locations specifically for LGBTQ+ students, students of color, and students with disabilities, to attempt to put these identity-based resources in one location to facilitate access and accessibility to those places. Some of the locations that will be consolidated under the identity-based resources map overlay include the updated location for the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, as well as the locations of the Clothing Transit, Gender Equity Center, Paul Robeson Cultural Center, Multicultural Resource Center, Student Disability Resources, and locations for all lactation stations, along with other locations pertaining to one’s identity.
To implement the identity-based resource map, Gangl has been working closely with the Office of Educational Equity in collaboration with Penn State Transportation Services to update map.psu.edu, which also can be accessed via the Penn State Go app.
“We’re hoping to see it fully implemented by the end of the semester and being used and engaged by visitors and students,” Gangl said. “The map layover will look at equity, diversity and inclusion on all levels. Not just at the LGBTQ+ level but also students of color and students with disabilities as well.”
Gangl also is working to help expand signage for gender-neutral bathrooms across all Penn State campuses to help transgender and nonbinary students feel more comfortable. Gangl and UPUA President Erin Boas (senior, international politics and economics) met with the Office of Physical Plant to discuss campus signage. They’re hoping to be able to implement the idea into some of the higher-traffic areas, such as the HUB-Robeson Center, Thomas Building and Willard Building.
“The gender-neutral bathrooms were one of the things that I came into UPUA knowing that I wanted to do during my time as a representative,” Gangl said. “I identify as nonbinary, and I prefer to use gender-neutral bathrooms whenever they are accessible. I realized how much time out of my day I spent just looking for gender-neutral bathrooms. I really wanted to do something to enhance the experience for individuals like myself.”
In addition to UPUA, Gangl is a research assistant in the Underrepresented Perspectives Lab in the departments of Psychology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. The lab’s research is focused on underrepresented individuals who are often left out of psychological research. Gangl examines how sexuality, stigma and race intersect and influence different experiences and the ways that individuals navigate situations and interactions. Gangl completed qualitative research and coding, as well as literature reviews and surveying to gather information.
Gangl heard about the lab through Jes Matsick, assistant professor of psychology and women's, gender, and sexuality studies and principal investigator for that lab. Matsick was Gangl’s professor for an introductory women’s studies course and introduced Gangl to the lab. Gangl said the experience has been rooted in their interest in psychology but also bridges their passion for social justice and change.
“I’ve known Dr. Matsick since I was a first-year student at Penn State, so she’s been very influential in shaping my trajectory as a student and the things that I want to do in my future,” Gangl said. “She’s also my professor for a 400-level psychology class, "Psychology of Gender.” Through these classes, I was able to create a better relationship with her. Just watching what she’s done with her career and how she has used her degree in psychology and her background in gender and sexuality, and used that to do research based on science and evidence is inspiring.”
Gangl also interned for Dotdash Meredith, which owns companies such as Investopedia, People magazine, and Better Homes and Gardens, and throughout the internship, Gangl was able to work directly with the head of diversity and inclusion at Dotdash Meredith. Throughout the internship, Gangl analyzed many diversity metrics at the company, compared those to previous years, and set up a dashboard that showed the intersection of not only race and ethnicity but also gender.
Gangl also was able to create a gender-affirming guide to help transgender and nonbinary workers that might be in the middle of their transition to navigate logistical processes that they might have to undertake — changing their names, changing their pronouns, taking a new picture for their ID — and outlining specific health care benefits that they would have as transgender employees for Dotdash Meredith. Gangl also hosted a session to educate employees and have an open dialogue about how to address groups of people and use more inclusive language throughout the workplace. As a result of this internship, Gangl plans on working for a couple of years in human resources incorporating diversity and inclusion before pursuing a master's degree.
“I want to make sure that students like myself know that there are people that care about them and that people are working for their benefit to make sure they feel included,” Gangl said. “I know there have been some times as a transgender student, as someone from an underrepresented background, that felt hard, but know that there are people that are trying to fight that fight and do the work. That’s what inspires me to create that change.”
To learn about other Liberal Arts Change Makers, visit la.psu.edu/changemakers.