Walking down the hallways of DeSoto High School, many students have noticed the cards on display in classroom windows and other public places entitled ‘safe space.’ Most of these students have no real understanding of what they mean or why they are there.

The brightly colored cards have made their appearance around the school, from hanging in the library to adorning many classroom entrances.

Science teacher Benjamin Cook stated that safe spaces are environments where any student dealing with issues such as sexism, racism, gender identity or sexuality oppression “can feel safe and welcome, and if they need to, [they] have someone to talk to.”  

School social worker Joe Kordalski is proud of the fact that students truly have someone to discuss issues with at almost all times in school.

“I refer to safe spaces as areas of the school where people who have different views can come and know that by that designation, they’re coming to a staff member who is not going to form judgement and be a listening ear for them,” Kordalski said.

The cards began to spread like wildfire as soon as a few teachers started displaying them in their windows.

“Once staff  saw that they were up in a couple of places, emails asking for them started coming in,” Kordalski said.

However, Kordalski worries that students may not understand the meaning of a safe space and doesn’t want them to hesitate to ask questions.

“I would encourage if somebody has a question about a safe space to feel open about asking what a safe space is, rather than forming an opinion about something they have either read online or opinions they’ve gotten from a friend,” Kordalski said.

The safe space cards not only represent an environment that is open for questions and conversion but an overall place where students should feel welcomed.