Creating a Campus Community of Difference
Advisors' Roundtable
This open-forum discussion will provide an opportunity for faculty and staff advisors to share strategies for strengthening student groups, increasing attendance, encouraging participation in discussion, and fostering student leadership involvement. In addition, the discussion will focus on maintaining group diversity and the role of the advisor.
Facilitator: Michael E. Jackson is originally from London, England. He came out in 1969 while working in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay). He is now employed on the staff of Columbia College in Chicago as a public relations associate. He is completely out at the college, even to the trustee level, where he served as trustee representative of the alumni association for three years.
Changing Campus Culture: How Metro State Has Become a More GLBT-Friendly University
Worshop facilitators will describe how they have been actively involved in changing the "straight" culture at Metropolitan State. Through working together -- at many different levels of the university for the past few years --they have created a very successful Ally Training Program and have encouraged the university president to create a part-time Coordinator of GLBT Student Services position. Facilitators will present a sample of the Ally Training Program.
Facilitators: Ann Phibbs, Coordinator of GLBT Student Services at Metro State and co-advisor to the Lavender Bridge GLBT student organization and Jeanne Cornish, Academic Advisor in the College of Management at Metro State, co-advisor to the Lavender Bridge.
Creating a Positive Bisexual Identity
We will look at some of the myths and sterotypes about bisexuals that can get in our way and make us feel bad about ourselves as bisexuals. After shredding these stereotypes, we will discuss what bisexuality really means, and what steps we can take to affirm ourselves and educate others. This will be a highly interactive workshop.
Facilitator: Robyn Ochs, teacher, writer, activist and workshop leader has taught courses on bisexual identity at MIT and Tufts University. She is a co-founder and active member of the Boston Bisexual Women's Network and the Bisexual Resource Center. She is the editor of the Bisexual Resource Guide and the International Directory of Bisexual Groups and her writings have appeared in several anthologies including Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queeries and Visions; Closer to Home: Bisexuality & Feminism; Homophobia: How we all pay the price; and Bi any other name.
The Doctor Says I'm Gay
The presenters break down genetic research on sexual orientation into laymen's terms so that all can benefit from and understand the studies. Then we will ask the audience to critically think about the ethical considerations surrounding the idea that sexuality may be genetic.
David Henderson, is a Whittinger Scholar at Ball State University who plans on attending graduate school next fall. He stays active by participating in an improvisational comedy troupe, working as an Honors Fellow for the Academic Advising Office, and reporting for Ball State's TV News Magazine Show. Rebecca Culley is a senior Whittinger Scholar at Ball State University. She is a published researcher in genetics and has taught a genetics course at Ball State University. In her free time, she remains an active particpant in the area of womens studies. Her future goal is to become a Genetics Counselor, specializing in sexuality and gender research.
For Whom the Belle Toils: Drag Performers, Drag Consumers in the '90s
Rupaul, Lipsynca...Patrick Swayze? What does drag mean to you? Is it bugle beads and feather boas? Polymorphous performativity? Or just Hollywood's favorite escape from homosexuality? Come learn about the pretty (and not so pretty) faces of drag MTV left out. Rare video footage provided; witty repartee guaranteed.
Rosemary Weatherston is completing her doctorate in English at the University of Southern California. Her current projects include co-editing the anthology Queer Frontiers: Politics, Polemics, and Possibilities for the Millennium (forthcoming, University of Wisconsin Press, Fall 1998). Jeffrey C. Tingley is an American Studies major (concentration in gender/sexuality) at the University of New Mexico. His undergraduate honors thesis centers around coding, fashion and gay male identification and will expand to encompass drag and its relevance as well. He believes drag is a legitimate artform and is worth exploring.
I Will Survive: Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual High School Students
The results of a questionnaire administered to current students will be presented. The focus of the presentation will be on positive coping skills and positive attributes of the students.
Facilitators: Karen M. Jordan, Project Director, Department of Psychology, DePaul University; Jill S. Vaughan, Statewide Technical Assistance Coordinator, Community Family Services, Oak Park, IL; Katharine J. Woodworth, Site Evaluator, Community Family Services, Oak Park, IL.
Identifying and Eliminating Sexism in the GLBT Community/Movement
We will identify elements of sexism against women within the gay community/movement. This program will detail how sexism hurts every member of our community, and will provide a model for eliminating sexism in your organization.
Facilitators: Amy Dertz is a feminist dyke working on her Master's Degree in Sociology and Women's Studies at Western Illinois University. She co-founded Feminist Action Alliance at WIU and served as President of Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Friends Association. She hopes to work for a GLBT civil rights organization or in the classroom teaching Women's or GLBT Studies. Brigette Anderson describes herself as a dyke in revolt against a heterosexist society. She is actively involved in Feminist Action Alliance and Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Friends Association. She is currently seeking out a Feminist Studies Ph.D. program in which to explore both pluralism and separatism within Lesbi-Feminist discipline. Matthew Toland is a student at Western Illinois University, studying Sociology and Women's Studies. He is involved in Feminist Action Alliance and Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Friends Association, of which he is a co-chair for the university-wide GLB Awareness Week. Matthew wants to focus on GLBT studies.
Intimacy Building in LGBT Relationships
This workshop will explore issues relating to intimate friendships and romantic relationships. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their past relationship patterns, their relational needs, and the unique qualities that they bring to relationships. The workshop will also focus on practical interpersonal skills which facilitate intimacy in relationships.
The workshop will be facilitated by Alfred Golden, a graduate student at Mankato State University studying family and gender communication. In addition to teaching classes at Mankato, he is the former president of Mankato's GLB Association and has served as the treasurer for the University's Straights and Gays for Equality Association.
It's Time To End The Gay Rights Movement As We Know It
This workshop will question the current mainstream "gay rights" movement. We will discuss the disproportionate time and resources spent on assimilationist issues like marriage and the military to the neglect of more fundamental concerns such as health care, sex education, immigration, and welfare, and the growing gay conservative movement that has created this black hole in queer activism. Participants are welcome and encouraged to engage and challenge the presenters and each other in a discussion about the current state of queer politics and activism.
Facilitators: Unnamed Ad-hoc Queer Coalition. A group came together in 1996 to protest the rise of gay conservatism and the stronghold that the gay conservatives have on the gay media and public dialogue. Since then, they have done actions against the focus on gay marriage, demonstrated against the Human Rights Campaign's assimilationist politics, produced a popular broadside called "It's Time to End the Gay Rights Movement as We Know It," and continue to meet to address issues as queer activists.
LBGT Student Discussion Groups: A Collaborative Model of Consultation and Training
This interactive presentation will focus on LBGT student discussion groups at Michigan State University. The development and implementation of a consultation and training model has been utilized to select and prepare student facilitators. Group format, the training itself, along with difficulties encountered will be addressed by staff and student presenters.
Presenters: Ann Flescher, social worker at the MSU Counseling Center, has been the LBGT Liaison on an informal basis for the past two years. Mary Anderson, psychologist, is the current LBGT Liaison from the Counseling Center. Brent Bilodeau is from the Multi-Cultural Development Office and is the coordinator of LBGT Concerns. Cari Lipke, junior in psychology and women's studies and Kelly Fuller, a junior in history and women's studies co-facilitate the women's discussion group. Stephen Jefferson is a grad student in clinical psychology and facilitates the men's discussion group. The coming out group is facilitated by Davon Woodard, who is a sophomore in secondary education.
Legally Speaking: Safety and Support in School
Since Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. represented Jamie Nabozny in the first lawsuit challenging anti-gay abuse in schools, many students and youth advocates have been encouraged to fight back against anti-LGBT harassment and organize for support. In response, Lambda attorneys and other activists have developed non-legal and legal strategies for stopping abuse, improving school policies and state laws, and forming gay/straight alliances -- all of which this panel will discuss.
Facilitator: Patricia M. Logue of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., the nation's oldest and largest legal organization dedicated to achieving full recognition of civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV. Logue is the Managing Attorney of the Midwest Regional Office (MRO). Since helping establish the MRO in1993, Logue has overseen Lambda's impact litigation, education and public policy efforts throughout the Midwest. Logue has won cases establishing custody, second-parent adoption, domestic partnership and other rights, fighting anti-gay and AIDS-related violence and defending civil rights laws on behalf of lesbians and gay men, including the first federal appeals court challenge to anti-gay violence in the nation's schools, in Nabozny v. Podlesny. Logue is also presently an adjunct professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law.
Lesbian/Bisexual Women's Health
Lesbian and bisexual women of all races, ethnicities, economic backgrounds and cultures have been invisible in all aspects of U.S. society, but particularly in health research and delivery. Lesbian and bisexual women often encounter ignorance and heterosexism in medical and health-related fields, sometimes making routine health exams stressful and uncomfortable. As such, they are less likely to seek routine medical care, such as gynecological exams, which can detect sexually transmitted diseases and infections and early signs of cervical cancer, and clinical breast exams. This workshop will discuss the effects of homophobia on women's health, inform women about the need for routine gynecological care, and teach breast self exams.
Facilitators: Trish Beckmann, a Registered Nurse Midwife and volunteer at the Lesbian Community Cancer Project's Gyne Clinic, and Vicky DiProva, M.A., the Executive Director of LCCP. LCCP was founded in 1990 in response to the devastating absence of lesbian-sensitive support services, information, education, advocacy, and direct services for lesbian and non-lesbian women living with cancer and cancer histories, and for their self-identified families.
Organizing for Equality:
Creating a Campus Community of Difference
Creating and preserving a campus climate that offers equal learning opportunities for all students and academic freedom for all faculty is one of the greatest challenges facing higher education. This program will review the current campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons and provide suggested strategies for change.
Sue Rankin is a Senior Diversity Analyst in the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity at Pennsylvania Sate University. Dr. Rankin earned her Ph.D. focusing on climate issues in for gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in higher education institutions. She has conducted several investigations including Enhancing Diversity: Toward a Better Campus Climate (1992) as part of a Penn State University Task Force.
PFLAG, Family, and Society
A panel of PFLAG parents will discuss the coming-out process -- their children's and their own -- and the challenges in their relationships with their children, other family members, colleagues, and society at large. In addition, the panel will examine the role of PFLAG as a support group, an education resource, and a social change agent.
John and Charleen Cepek lead this panel of PFLAG parents. John has been a member of PFLAG for five years and has served in a variety of capacities, most recently as the president of the suburban Chicago chapter. In addition, he has recently served as an advisor at PRISM, a drop-in center in Oak Park for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trangender youth. Charlene has shared his experiences, and has also been active in supporting high school youth groups and spearheading diversity training in the high school in which she teaches.
Safe on Campus: Allies in Support of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Students
This presentation will instruct students in implementing a "SAFE" program on their college campus. SAFE programs combine the support of heterosexual students, faculty, and staff with gay, lesbian, and bisexual students in need of support. The program will provide students with information on how to design and implement a support program, secure funding, recruit allies, and promote their program.
Workshop facilitators: Sandra Schroer is a non-traditional undergraduate student in the department of Sociology who is currently serving an internship in Student Life with the Advisor for LBG Issues. Kerry Poynter is a graduate student in the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology department working on a masters in Student Affairs. Currently serving an assistantship in the Office of Student Life as the Advisor for LBG Issues, Kerry initiated a similar Safe On-Campus program at Ball State University in 1992. Jessie Cassidy is also a graduate student in the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology department working on a masters in Student Affairs counseling currently serving an internship in Student Life with the Advisor for LBG Issues.
Self Image and Identity 
In an art expression workshop participants will explore the core issue of self image and identity. Quick spontaneous drawings will be followed by small group discussion. No art experience is necessary.
Harriet Wadeson is a professor and coordinator of the UIC Art Therapy Graduate Program. She has published 4 books, many chapters, and over 75 articles on art therapy. She has been awarded Honorary Life Membership by the American Art Association, the profession's highest honor. She is an international guest lecturer.
Sensuality, Sex, and Safety
This workshop will address basic HIV prevention issues in a sex positive, client centered manner. The workshop will address the role that psycho-social issues play in safer sex behaviors. This interactive workshop will explore how homophobia (both internal and external), racism, ageism, and sexism play a part in increasing an individuals risk for engaging in unsafe behaviors. Participants will be asked to engage in small, break-out sessions where, working on a community model, they will develop a support structure which will help them and their friends maintain commitments. Everyone will have the opportunity to become active in hands-on demon stration and role-playing activities, designed to help desensitize highly charged sexual issues.
Stop AIDS is a city-wide HIV prevention program founded in 1987. Stop AIDS has provided comprehensive HIV prevention services to over 500,000 people. Based on a harm-reduction model, Stop AIDS attempts to remain client centered, helping people develop safer sex plans that are realistic, obtainable, and enjoyable.
Sexual Orientation: Reading Between the Labels and Hate Homophobia and School
This participatory workshop will highlight the objectives of Northeastern Wisconsin In-School Telecommunications' (NEWIST) television programs (Reading Between the Labels and Hate Homophobia and School) including what happened after these television programs were broadcast. Clips from the programs will be shown, followed by a discussionof the accompanying teacher's guide/manual, and how these videotapes can be used as a catalyst for discussion in your community. A GLB installment of Teen Connection -- a live call-in television series -- will also be discussed.
Brian Stahlkopf will present on behalf of NEWIST, a non-profit organization that produces television programs that are broadcast statewide on Wisconsin Public Television. These video tapes, part of a broader series of "Social Issues Facing Youth," are also disseminated nationwide. Further information is available on theNEWIST web site http://www.uwgb.edu/~newist .
Social Issues of the Transgender Community
Most people are comfortable with their birth gender and rarely question their identity. Transgender individuals have internal feelings that do not conform with their external physical bodies. This workshop will provide the general public and professionals with a better understanding of the nature of the people who are members of the Trangender community. It will cover distinct terms used to describe Transgender individuals, and some of the social issues adversely affecting this population such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and working in the sex trade industry. Mental and physical health issues for the Transgender community will also be explored.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville, BSW, is a Case Manager and Social Worker at the Columbia / Michael Reese HIV-Care program in Chicago. Several years ago, Lorrainne founded "trans-Genisis," a discussion group for those within the Transgender community impacted by HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, mental health problems, and the sex trade.
Strengths & Challenges: Bringing All of Who You Are on the Journey
This workshop is for those who have not come out to friends and family, or who have only come out to a few people. Have fun with the friends you'll meet during this discussion. We'll share ideas and experiences about the joys, fears, successes and traumas of one of the most important processes that occurs in a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered person's life.
Patricia O'Brien has been Chair of the Arkansas Task Force on Gay and Lesbian Issues and the Lesbigay Issues Committee of Kansas Chapter/NASW. She is currently a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues-UIC. She is on the faculty of Jane Addams College of Social Work, UIC.
We're Here, We're Queer, We're in the Library
Library services to undergraduate students should be an easy resource. Unfortunately, all too often, students have real or perceived conflicts with library systems at universities with regard to GLBT collections. This workshop will answer the questions: What can you expect from campus libraries? How can you create your own library? This interactive workshop will focus on the role college libraries can play in the lives of GLBT students. Facilitators will discuss strategies for taking the best advantage of existing libraries, and how to create your own library.
Facilitators: Anne C. Baker, reference librarian at UIC, and Carmen Wargel, Library Coordinator, Gay Lesbian Bisexual Student Support Services at Indiana University. Anne Baker served as Vice President of the University Of Florida Gay and Lesbian Student Union. Carmen Wargel is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio.
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