Place
for lesbians, gays to discuss issues
By Joyce Kelly
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource
Center at Cal State Long Beach held its
open house Wednesday for the members of
the campus community to meet, eat food and
learn about the services it has to offer.
Erin Butler, a program and volunteer coordinator
in her fourth year with the center, planned
the event to welcome those who wanted to
learn what the center provides.
“The center provides a place for students,
faculty and staff to relax, meet others,
read and use the computers,” Butler said.
The mission of the center is to provide
services and support to the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender students, staff
and faculty at CSULB. It promotes events
to create a campus community that has an
environment that is free of homophobia,
heterosexism, racism and sexism.
The center was established several years
ago by the students at CSULB, and continues
to be operated by student volunteers. Under
the leadership of Butler, the center has
qualified to fall under the umbrella of
Student Life and Development.
Brett Waterfield, assistant director of
Student Life and Development, said his department
helps with the planning of events for organizations
that are recognized by the university.
“We have oversight of any student event
on campus. We help to navigate them through
the process and program,” he said. “We oversee
program coordinators and student assistants.”
The center continues to be operated without
having a budget or funding. It recently
received a student assistant to help with
the center.
“The only money is a 20-hour a week student
assistant position,” Butler said. “Student
Services pays the electric and phone bills.”
Butler said money from a previously held
fund-raiser helped to buy the refreshments
that were served at the open house.
She said she believes the center could better
serve the members of the campus community
and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
community if it had a full-time employee.
“We just want one full-time employee to
help with the center,” Butler said.
The center provides services for organizations
whose members need a place to meet.
One of those organizations is the Rainbow
Alliance, also known as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
and Transgender Students United, which discusses
current issues and voices the opinions and
concerns of its members on campus.
Speaker’s Bureau is another organization
that is housed in the center. Panels
are formed to reach out to classes at CSULB.
Its volunteers are invited into various
classrooms to answer questions about anything
students want to know.
“Some of the questions are really explicit,”
Butler said. “But we want to inform the
community, so we welcome the questions and
answer the best we can.”
The center also hosts the Women’s Rap and
the Men’s Rap. They are groups for women
or men to come together to talk. Each group
invites others to come meet and talk about
issues that concern the community, such
as love, the lesbian and gay life, and the
world.
|
