GLBTA Programs Office E-Newsletter

November 2009

It's hard to believe the semester has flown by so quickly! Here in the GLBTA Programs Office, we're involved in some exciting new initiatives that have taken lots of our time and energy. Now that those initiatives are safely underway, we can slow down a little and let you know what we've been up to!

First, we'd like to acknowledge that Nov 20 was the 11th Annual Trans Day of Remembrance. On Nov 20, members of the U of M Transgender Commission set up at a high-traffic table on the ground floor of Coffman Union and spoke out against gender violence and for gender diversity, asked people to critically think about their own gendered lives by filling out surveys (for which they received delicious homemade treats), honored trans pioneers with a photo/bio display, wrote about what is GREAT about being trans, distributed information about being a trans ally, and celebrated the wholeness and joy of trans and gender non-conforming lives. Nov 20 at 7:00 PM at Spirit of the Lakes UCC was the annual Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil, which serves as a memorial service recalling the lives of those killed in the past 12 months due to anti-transgender violence.

GLBTA Leadership Year: This fall, we launched one of our most exciting programs to date, the GLBTA Leadership Year. 35 students have signed on to be part of this new initiative, involving a course in the fall (GLBT 3610), a course in the spring (GLBT 3301), and concluding with the Summer Leadership Institute, a May term study away opportunity, introducing students to GLBTA activism and organizing on a national level via intensive study and dialogue with GLBTA leaders in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. As well as studying about GLBTA history, culture and politics this semester, every student will have completed a 35-hour service learning component working on GLBTA issues within the University of Minnesota. In spring, their service learning component will shift to a community-based agency, before they learn about queer activism at the national level during our May Term trip. Within the space of 9 months, our students will have experienced what it means to be part of GLBTAQ communities... from their own back yard here at the U all the way to the centers of power inside the DC beltway. It's a one-of-a-kind opportunity for them, and we hope to be able to continue the Leadership Year as an on-going program of our office.

Beyond the Boxes: We've also been hard at work on Beyond the Boxes: Emerging Trends in LGBTQ Mental Health, our day-long conference planned for Friday, March 26, 2010 in Coffman Union. This important conference is a collaboration between the GLBTA Programs Office, the Queer Student Cultural Center, and the Minnesota LGBT Therapists' Network, and promises to serve an important educational need for mental health providers, medical professionals, K-12 and higher education professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as interested community members. We're excited to bring Kit Rachlin, Ph.D., in from New York to keynote our conference by addressing mental health issues within transgender and genderqueer individuals and communities.

Education & Training: We continue to offer our Ally Training and (Trans)Gender 101 Training, and we are excited to be adding both (Bi)Sexuality 101 and Ally Training II to our training program this year. We are looking forward to all the new & varied conversations we'll be having across campus, as departments, units and colleges invite us into their spaces to talk about gender and sexuality.

GLBTA Mentor Program: The 2009-10 GLBTA Mentor Program has gotten off to a terrific start under the watchful eyes of our new Augsburg College MSW intern, Christy Rushfeldt.

St. Paul Campus: We premiered a very successful GLBTA Art Show on Nov 5, and we continue to offer a small but powerful presence from our little satellite office in the middle of the St. Paul Student Center cafeteria, thanks to our new St. Paul MSW intern Ivory Taylor.

As always, there's much more to share than we have room for, so please continue to check our website to find out how to get involved in some of the many programs, events and services that make up the GLBTAQ community here at the U of M! Thank you for your support!

Anne Phibbs, Director
GLBTA Programs Office

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