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by Aongus Burke |
A lot of you already know that you're gay.
A lot of you will figure that out while you're at Wesleyan. (I did.)
A lot of you know that you're at least somewhat bisexual.
And before it's all over, ALL OF YOU will be at least a little bicurious.OK, OK, I acknowledge that some of you out there might be completely 100% straight. But no matter what, all of you will have to deal with queer issues while you're here at Wesleyan (yes, we use the word "queer" here--check out the accompanying P.C. glossary). Homophobes beware: there is a fairly large population of openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual students here at Wesleyan and we will let you and everyone else know it if we don't like what you have to say.
Case in point: our response to a sudden rash of homophobic incidents last semester. A brief history lesson seems appropriate here. Under the leadership of Kevin O'Leary '97, Queer Alliance, Wesleyan's umbrella organization for gay students, mounted a campaign for increased visibility on campus, including a series of much talked about advertisements for QA meetings that put a queer spin on a few scenes from 'The Family Circus.' Apparently this was a little too much to handle for a few students, who initiated their own series of homophobic writings on campus sidewalks, bathroom walls, and elevators. After one queer student and his/her friends were confronted outside a ChiPsi party and called "faggots," QA took action. A speakout against the incidents was held in front of the Campus Center. Over 200 people attended, including several faculty members and President Bennet. QA subsequently worked to reform the protocol for reporting and responding to such incidents in the future. They also made sure that the Student Judicial Board took action against one student in particular who had been involved with some of the most hateful grafitti. And to insure that these sort of incidents don't become commonplace in the future, queer students began a dialogue with the Admissions Office in order to insure that prospective students are aware that homophobia will not be tolerated at Wes.
How visible Queer Alliance will be this semester is an open question. O'Leary has graduated and his passionate activism will be sorely missed. However, three of QA's most committed members, juniors Chris Hansmann, Patrick Rayner, and David Bowden, will be taking command of the organization this semester. One thing frosh in particular can expect is their BiLeGa workshop. All frosh-gay, straight, bi, label-defiers--should attend theirs. Many students report that it's an incredibly valuable experience, especially since it's an opportunity to put a human face on what most have only experienced as a political issue. And you get to anonymously ask real live gay people any question you want.
Another program that is especially of interest to newer students is Step One, a confidential discussion group for students who are questioning their sexuality or just beginning to come out. As a Step One graduate, I can tell you that the group has the potential to be really helpful. It was one of my first opportunities to talk to other people about my sexuality in a supportive environment, and it made it easier for me to eventually come out to other people. Look around campus for posters for a Step One meeting time and place.
In addition to educating other students about issues pertaining to sexuality, queer students at Wesleyan like to educate themselves. The Gay, Lesbian, and Sexuality Studies (GLASS) Committee has been working on getting the university to recruit a professor to teach queer studies classes. Last year the group met with administrators, gathered testimonials from students who have taken classes with queer themes, and collected over 700 student signatures on a petition toward that end. GLASS has also worked to better inform students of courses with queer themes. This year the group expects to continue these efforts and work on getting Olin Library to stock more queer-themed periodicals.
Olin isn't the only place on campus where you can find queer literature, however. There's also the Queer Resource Center, located on the second floor of the WSA building at 190 High Street (conveniently located across the hall from the Hermes office). The QRC has tons of cool gay magazines, posters, books, videos, safe sex info, condoms, etc. All gay students at Wes owe it to themselves to make a trip there.
Not all queer activism at Wesleyan stops at the campus border. Recent efforts have been made towards reaching out to Middletown's gay youth. And even policy-makers in Washington have felt the wrath of Wesleyan's queer community, thanks to an ongoing letter writing campaign protesting the Food and Drug Administration's blood donation policies, which essentially prohibit gay men from donating blood at Red Cross blood drives. Letter writing campaigns protesting the mistreatment of queer people in other countries also periodically surface on campus.
But queer student life at Wesleyan isn't just about activism. Queer social events and organizations abound on this campus, from the National Coming Out Day dance in October to BGLAD in April. BGLAD (Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days) is a week(s)long festival, featuring gay bands, films, speakers, and a dance we call Queer Prom. Parties are also routinely held at Open House, located at 156 Church St. Open House is a special interest house where upperclass students who have an interest in queer politics, activism, and/or culture can live. Open House has been known to be the meeting place for both LBQ and GBQ, social groups for gay, bisexual, and questioning women and men. (Actually LBQ is frequently called Queer Women's Snacks and a name change for GBQ has been talked about, but I have decided that tradition will be awarded the boldface in this article). Another primarily social but sometimes activist group is GBLOCQ, an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning students of color. And, finally, every Monday night the cafe on the top floor of the Campus Center is mystically, if unofficially, transformed into Gay Cafe.
These are just a few of the more institutionalized components of queer student life at Wesleyan. Ultimately, however, queer student life at Wesleyan is what students make of it. As cliched as that may sound, some of the greatest aspects of queer life at Wesleyan over the past few years have resulted from the ad hoc efforts of students. The now very successful FDA letter-writing campaign was started only a few semesters ago by an outraged frosh. GLASS and GBQ had been dormant for many years before last year, but have since been energized by a few committed students. Reaching out to Middletown youth had been discussed for many years, but only last semester did a few students efforts make it a reality. If you've got your own ideas or are interested in any of the groups, activities, or places mentioned above, show up at a Queer Alliance meeting--Wednesday nights, 10 PM, PAC 002. Besides, how else are you gonna know who on campus plays on our team?