LGBT Calendar Events At Universities Across America

This page is to explore the various calendar events of LGBT communities at various universities and colleges across America. I thought it would be interesting to see what schools are doing across America to better our program at Rutgers University and to maybe provide other clubs across America with ideas of LGBT events.

Indiana University http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=glbtsecr%40indiana.edu&ctz=America/New_York

Boston University http://people.bu.edu/spectrum/

UCLA http://www.lgbt.ucla.edu/eventcalendar1.html

University of Arkansas http://pride.uark.edu/calendar.html

University of Connecticut http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/content.php?pid=22174&sid=158586

University of Iowa http://www.uiowa.edu/~glbtau/2009_11_Calendar.html

University of Kansas http://www.calendar.ku.edu/index.php?option=simplesearch&keyword=lgbt&go=Go

University of Maine http://www.umaine.edu/wildestein/

Florida State University http://sga.fsu.edu/pride/calendar.html

Penn State http://www.events.psu.edu/cgi-bin/cal/webevent.cgi?cmd=opencal&cal=cal297&

University of Florida http://www.multicultural.ufl.edu/calendar/index.php?department=lgbt

North Carolina State University http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_affairs/glbt/pdfs/EWH%20Fall%202009.pdf

Virginia Tech University http://www.lgbta.org.vt.edu/calendar.htm

Northwestern University http://www.northwestern.edu/lgbt/events.html

Michigan State University http://www.lbgtrc.msu.edu/

New York University http://www.nyu.edu/lgbt/events.html

University of Maryland http://www.lgbts.umd.edu/resources.html

University of Chicago http://lgbtq.uchicago.edu/involved/calendar.shtml

North Carolina State University Information:

Numerous universities throughout the nation have started partaking in the acceptance of the LGBT community within their diversity programs. As I researched links to LGBT calendars for different universities, an array of websites loaded; many had history pages, with calendars and events of current campus involvement within the LGBT society. Though most schools had an easily accessible LGBT link, they lacked the resources to have a fully funded program, with an actual LGBT center or full acceptance from the universities community. As I personally researched some of the larger universities throughout the US, North Carolina State University brought back memories I felt were worth sharing. I visited their LGBT homepage, and within seconds had found a calendar of events, history pdf, research center, staff, photo gallery, and links. I instantly realized this school needed recognition in their work and involvement as a new LGBT community school.

On January 23, 2008, NCSU opened an official LGBT center on campus. After a year in the making, the LGBT community had pressed for this center in the 2006-07 academic calendar years. The UDAC, Student Senate, and Faculty Senate endorsed the proposal, and then in January of 2008, it was officially opened. Along with this ceremony, NCSU joined “the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Standing Committee for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Awareness.”

The main GLBT page for NCSU offers six different links; home, about us, programs and services, important information, resources and supports, and contact us. The initial homepage broadcasts GLBT news within the community and throughout the US; the “breaking news.” The about us link reads NCSU mission statement and main functions. Their mission statement reads, “The mission of the NC State GLBT Center serves the mission of NC State University by creating, maintaining, and strengthening an inclusive and safe campus environment for people of all sexualities and gender identities. This is accomplished through awareness and educational programs, individual consultation and referral, student organization advisement, advocacy, ally support and development, and community outreach on and off campus. The Center supports success by working to create a campus that is both diverse and inclusive and conducts ongoing assessment to monitor its progress in this regard.”

While reading this statement, a red box appeared on the side of the website. Along with educating their own community within the university, NCSU is also bringing awareness to its local high schools. Part of the college experience is learning to advocate for many of our beliefs. As university students within the LGBT community, it is important that we spend the time to encourage the acceptance of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered individuals, not only in college, but in the years that make or break us; high school! It was enlightening to see a university partake in outreach throughout its high school community. Education is the key to success as far as I am concerned, therefore, educate acceptance at as early of an age as possible. High school is a start!

While searching through the programs and services link, I came across the AEGIS and Delta Lambda Phi organizations. AEGIS (Accepting and Embracing Gender Identity and Sexuality) is NCSU’s GLBT student organization on campus. There purpose is to provide a voice for the GLBT communities students. Together, these two organizations, the GLBT center and AEGIS provide meaningful projects and programs within the university and neighborhood community.

On the other hand, the Delta Lambda Phi organization is “a national fraternity providing social, service, and recreational activities for gay, bisexual, and progressive men since 1986. They are one of the fastest growing fraternities with more than 25 chapters and 7 colonies across the nation.” NCSU also offers mentoring programs, coffee talks, and Project Safe; an ally training program offered multiple times throughout the year. This program runs approximately three hours, and encourages education, sharing of knowledge and ideas, openness to diversity, and active participants. They also have a link to their own website.

The next two links are important factual information for any LGBT student on campus to be made aware of. The important information link offers statistics on hate crimes, terminology, housing, policies, coming out, etc.; important information to becoming acquainted within NCSU’s LGBT community. However, the resources and support link offers a wide array of on-campus resources, local resources, and national resources; all ranging from health to religion within LGBT communities.

Because the main focus of this OutHistory.Org page is to provide various calendar events of LGBT communities throughout different universities, I think it is important to at least include a brief clip of NCSU calendar for the month of October, GLBT awareness month. It is important to note that only as of January 2008, NCSU opened up its GLBT center. Yet within the year, the monthly calendar is filled with events.

OCTOBER - Sunday 11th: National Equality March in Washington, DC, all day Monday 12th: Tunnel Painting, 10pm-12am Tuesday 13th: T-shirts on the Brickyard, 11am-1pm Tuesday 13th: Diversity Panel Discussion, 4pm-6pm West Campus Tuesday 13th: Project SAFE ally training, Talley, 6:30pm-9:30pm LDS session Tuesday 13th: HRC 101, Talley, 8pm-10pm Thursday 15th: Diversity Dialogue, Witherspoon, 3pm-5pm Friday 16th: Blue Jeans Day, all day on campus Friday 16th - Sunday 18th: Crape Myrtle Tennis Classic, Raleigh Saturday 17th: Raleigh is Coming Out Party, Downtown Raleigh, 5pm-10pm Monday 19th: Pursuit of Equality documentary, Witherspoon Cinema, 7pm Tuesday 20th: Pursuit of Equality documentary, Talley, 12pm and 8pm Thursday 22nd: Lawful Wedded Rights - Marriage Equality Friday 23rd: Marriage Equality - A Frank Discussion Tuesday 27th: Project SAFE ally training, Talley, 1:30pm-4:30pm Tuesday 27th: What Did Jesus Say About Homosexuality?

Overall, I was very impressed with the different organizations, events, and programs offered through NCSU. However, as I visited different sites, there was a large proportion of schools that had recently opened up LGBT chapters and centers, compared to other universities such as Rutgers that have had programs for years. We often speak about the differences in location in my current Lesbians and Gay Men and Society class, yet I had never fully understood the degree of difference depending on one’s location. I understand that there are rural verse urban areas, Rutgers University falling in the center of the spectrum. Yet, for schools to start taking the initiative to stand behind ALL their students only in the year 2006 is very degrading. Though much of my research has yielded towards the fact that most state schools have LGBT communities and programs, I still wonder how much farther we have to come, at the university level, to make individuals more aware of the differences among all types of people.

In all, when I look back at the different angles to define what constitutes a school beyond the classroom education, I have always been proud to be a Rutgers’ student. In many of the obstacles we have faced, students have come together to fight for what they believe in. We have formed a school of acceptance, diversity, education, and liberalism. As students decide what school best fits their educational needs, I hope this website can encourage a choice. These schools are making large steps in its own community, whether LGBT or the whole student body. Therefore, if they are willing to stand for each individual student’s needs, they hopefully will be willing to stand for each of ours.

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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