Message from trainings I have learned throughout the years:

When it comes to people that differ from you in lifestyles, orientations, faith, etc., many might say to tolerate them. Tolerance is not enough…to tolerate someone is to merely put up with someone. The idea behind tolerance is that you allow someone to do something you do not agree with. If tolerance is our goal in matters of diversity I feel that the world is in a bad place…in my mind tolerance is only a step above hate and that is not where we want to be on issues like these.

When it comes to diversity and being accepting of one another no matter what the differences…I feel that tolerance is merely a starting place to what we should be doing. I feel that an attitude of love and acceptance is what we should be reaching for in our lives and interactions with those that differ from you. Aiming to love and be accepting will help us to open our minds and be more understanding to those around us rather than to just tolerate.

I have recently been presented with the opportunity to work as a Co-Advisor for our campus LGBTQA student organization, Freedom Rings.  I've had a wonderful experience thus far working with these students and was extremely impressed with their biggest accomplishment this year: Freedom Week.  The organization only has around a dozen active members, so what they were able to achieve in that week to bring advocacy and education to our campus pertaining to LGBT issues was quite admirable.  The group started the week by "Coloring the Campus” with streamers and signs around the academic and social quads, as well as coordinating with our Facilities department to have a rainbow flag flown on one of the flag poles near our student center.

On Tuesday of Freedom Week, they worked to raise awareness of LGBT suicides by posting statistics all around campus.  That evening they also had a screening of the film Jim in Bold, a documentary about a local teen who identified as part of the LGBT community that committed suicide in 1997 after constant harassment in school.

Thursday was the day of the Color Walk.  This activity was intended to have tables throughout campus with paints the various colors of the rainbow flag and students would go from table to table and sponge paint a t shirt to show their support.  Unfortunately the weather was not the greatest for the event, but a handful of students still came and made shirts, so the group considered it a success.  That evening they held a poetry slam.

On Friday, they held a Drag Show.  This was the first time they had such an event and are very much looking forward to making it bigger and better for next year. 

Saturday was the culminating event, where they held an Alumni Brunch.  The members learned at that time that next year will be the 20^th anniversary for Freedom Rings here at LVC.  The wheels are already turning and brainstorming has begun on how to make next year’s Freedom Week bigger and better…I for one, cannot wait to see what they come up with. 

I’ve had the opportunity of advising the student group, In The Life, at Towson University. Their predominant goal is to bring together LGBT students of color, understanding that the intersections of their identity means that they encounter different issues than our ‘mainstream’ LGBT groups.

On the surface, it appears a fracturing of the LGBT community. The mainstream group, the Queer Student Union (QSU), has separate meetings and rarely has people of color at their meetings. Conversely, In The Life (ITL), has a mixture of racial identities, though only a few ‘white students.’

Both groups discuss issues related to their sexuality and how being a minority group on campus affects their academics, residential living, and social interactions. Both are ridiculed for their LGBTQIA identities and both have had their fair share of horror stories on and off campus.

Once a semester, the groups co-host our widely-popular ‘Drag Show,’ where Kings and Queens from the student body AND from the Baltimore Area strut and dance and generally, entertain about 200-300 students.

But what about real solidarity, you ask? It’s a challenge, to be sure. On the one hand, it is understandable that each of these groups encounter different issues based on their identities. However, in fighting over the last few years hasn’t proved helpful for the overall support of our LGBT students on campus. What has brought them together have been initiatives such as Gender Neutral Housing and Restrooms, PRIDE month (usually June, but we make it April), and bias incidents in the residence halls. Their common denominator, identifying along the LGBTQIA spectrum, allows them to connect in ways that most other groups simply wouldn’t understand.

I share as an observer of their interactions, taking note of the ways my own identities don’t easily mesh with the mainstream or minority groups. I am the son of a Mexican father and a white (German/Dutch/English) mother. I identify as genderqueer, though most see me as a man. I am a staff member, but relate to the students in the LGBTQIA community as an equal, not an administrator. Most of my life I have been seen as really conservative, but my leanings toward social justice, embracing the ‘other,’ preventing and responding to sexual assault, and other passions have bent me toward liberalism in many ways. When I ask anyone outside of my close friend group, they often don’t know how to define my politics (for the record, I disdain the 2-party dominated system we currently have in the U.S.).

All is to ask each of you to reflect on your own experiences, whether within a certain community or not – what are the factors that divide you from others? Where could there be reconciliation or at least, better connections built, with those who don’t identify as you do? When groups exist on our campuses that are divided, what is our role in supporting their mutual support?

Ok, I can't tell you how much I hate Barbie. I mean I really really do-and I know we all have talked about Mattell's horrible message about body image that is sent to young girls. But now they have gone from merely giving girls unreachable ideals for their body to now creating an overly sexualized and somewhat offensive doll. I won't continue to bore you with my opinions but will merely show you the image for you to judge for yourself. 

I came across this video online a few days ago and have watched it several times since then.  For me, students like the ones mentioned in the video are what drives me to challenge societal norms and the systems that allow for cruelty and such pain.  In case you have not seen it, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ltun92DfnPY

May we (and our students) always take the time to think and look through the eyes of others, to meet them where they are and communicate how wonderful and valuable they are, just as they are.  This world needs more and more love for each person - love that empowers and frees them to live, thrive and flourish!