2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 1/23/06 Section: Forum
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Programming responds to students
My name is Mike Javorsky, coordinator of LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] Programs & Services, a division of the Student Life Office at UMKC. I would like to respond to Mr. Samir Patel's recent opinion piece concerning LGBT-related programming ["Queer theory" Jan. 17, 2006].
As LGBT program coordinator, I set out to serve our large and diverse community. I aim to make LGBT people and their allies feel comfortable, as though they have a home at UMKC. I also work to educate uninformed individuals so they can move toward realizing that "gay," "lesbian" or "queer" are simply an aspects of an individual-not a complete summary of everything that person is.
Sexuality alone is no reason to pass judgment.
Mr. Patel does have the right idea about a world without labels and without a need for labels, and that is precisely what I am working toward in my job. He is also correct in saying that using words like "queer" and "gay" in the titles of programs may exclude certain people, but on the flipside of the same coin is my answer to his question.
Just as there are straight individuals who may choose not to come to a gay-themed program, there are many LGBT people who feel that heterosexuals have the whole rest of the world in which to be welcome. To those LGBT people, a "gay trivia night" may be the only place they feel truly comfortable being themselves.
To see how I aim to meet the needs of all students, take a look at the winter 2006 schedule of programs online at http://www.umkc.edu/lgbt. In the schedule, you can see that I balance out LGBT-specific programs like "Reel Queer Cinema Night" and "Gay Trivia Challenge" with programs like "Boxes and Walls," a program which includes issues of diversity such as race and religion alongside LGBT issues. Another program is "Loveline Live," which discusses issues of sexuality for people who are straight, gay or anything in between.
In partnership with our education goals, LGBT Programs & Services will soon offer a new revision of Safe Space training, a program designed for non-LGBT people to learn what it means for an individual to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual and how to be respectful of the people who choose to identify themselves in that way.
My name is Mike Javorsky, coordinator of LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] Programs & Services, a division of the Student Life Office at UMKC. I would like to respond to Mr. Samir Patel's recent opinion piece concerning LGBT-related programming ["Queer theory" Jan. 17, 2006].
As LGBT program coordinator, I set out to serve our large and diverse community. I aim to make LGBT people and their allies feel comfortable, as though they have a home at UMKC. I also work to educate uninformed individuals so they can move toward realizing that "gay," "lesbian" or "queer" are simply an aspects of an individual-not a complete summary of everything that person is.
Sexuality alone is no reason to pass judgment.
Mr. Patel does have the right idea about a world without labels and without a need for labels, and that is precisely what I am working toward in my job. He is also correct in saying that using words like "queer" and "gay" in the titles of programs may exclude certain people, but on the flipside of the same coin is my answer to his question.
Just as there are straight individuals who may choose not to come to a gay-themed program, there are many LGBT people who feel that heterosexuals have the whole rest of the world in which to be welcome. To those LGBT people, a "gay trivia night" may be the only place they feel truly comfortable being themselves.
To see how I aim to meet the needs of all students, take a look at the winter 2006 schedule of programs online at http://www.umkc.edu/lgbt. In the schedule, you can see that I balance out LGBT-specific programs like "Reel Queer Cinema Night" and "Gay Trivia Challenge" with programs like "Boxes and Walls," a program which includes issues of diversity such as race and religion alongside LGBT issues. Another program is "Loveline Live," which discusses issues of sexuality for people who are straight, gay or anything in between.
In partnership with our education goals, LGBT Programs & Services will soon offer a new revision of Safe Space training, a program designed for non-LGBT people to learn what it means for an individual to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual and how to be respectful of the people who choose to identify themselves in that way.
