SPEECH!

Okay! My speech is TODAY. Now. It’s going to be livestreamed on Facebook here. I can’t make this post too long, but oh man, I am so excited and nervous and kind of tense all wrapped up into one big ball of anxiousness. Anyway, wish me luck! (Oh, and I hope your exam week is going well! Be sure to get a good amount of sleep!)

LGBTQIA update, less of a “news” post…

The drag show was last night.

Wow. Next year, I am SO doing my own act. The whole thing was hilarious and fun and totally wacky. The Notorious OMG–who you can find on Facebook, just search the name–was the MC for the night, and we had a whole nightful of acts including Teen Titans, Beyoncé, the Joker, and Doctor Who and more! We’ll have pictures up sooner or later–the event only just happened, so the photographer will likely be uploading them soon. You can bet I’ll be posting plenty of links! I even took part in an act–the Teen Titans one. I was Beast Boy. (I’m still cleaning green face paint out of my ears, by the way. It almost didn’t come out of my hair.)

So, other things. Remember, the LGBTQIA mixer is today at 5PM in Lamberton. And no, you do not have to be gay or involved in the LGBTQIA groups to come. It’s a chance to get out of your social bubble and meet real people and put a face to that ginormous acronym. (Did you know? Some people are starting to use “GSRM” intead of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet-soup acronym. GSRM stands for Gender, Sexual, and Romantic Minorities.) Oh, and also, there’s going to be a lot of food. So come get free food, people.

So! What other interesting stuff do you have planned for this weekend, apart from, of course, going to the Lehigh Valley LGBTQIA Conference in the UC on Saturday? And studying, let’s not forget that. Exams are coming up. Or, for some people, already here.

Good luck to everyone on those. May the academic Force be with you.

And as a bonus, me dressed up yesterday while promoting the drag show:

LGBTQIA news! + Activism + Drag show + Mixer

If you’ve read any of my earlier blog posts, you’ve probably seen me mention the LGBTQIA conference–the third annual Lehigh Valley Intercollegiate LGBTQIA conference, actually–coming up this weekend. Kye Allums, the first openly transgender Division 1 NCAA athlete, is the keynote speaker, and there’s going to be all sorts of workshops and sessions, including ones on how to be an ally, how to find your voice in the bedroom, trans allyship, marriage equality, and workplace conditions. For a full list of sessions, see here. People are also asking attendees to register, which is here. It’ll be in the UC this Saturday; the first sessions start at 10AM. I’m planning on attending a whole bunch of them.

Here at Lehigh and elsewhere, being a member of any sexual, romantic, or gender minority can be (and in most cases, is) extremely difficult. Or, no, scratch that–being a part of any minority is difficult. I suggest everyone go to at least one session at the conference this weekend. If you don’t know what to go to, I’d suggest the Intersex to Interaction one at 11:15–intersex isn’t a topic that gets discussed too often.

And activism. Has anyone heard of #itooamharvard? “A photo campaign highlighting the faces and voices of black students at Harvard College. Our voices often go unheard on this campus, our experiences are devalued, our presence is questioned– this project is our way of speaking back, of claiming this campus, of standing up to say: We are here. This place is ours. We, TOO, are Harvard,” as says the description on a webpage dedicated to the campaign. You can take a look at that here. Now, a couple of Lehigh’s students have made an #itooamlehigh campaign inspired by Harvard’s movement aiming to get more visibility for minorities and more awareness of the bias and micro-aggressions that occur on campus. Lehigh’s page for that is here. For more information on it, and to get involved (it’s really easy–think of a quote or message to say, and you’ll write it on a whiteboard and have your picture taken to be featured in the campaign!) I’d suggest talking to Eryne Boyle or Elizabeth Pines; look them up on Facebook or something, or if you have the Lehigh LIVE app, you can search their names to find their emails. They’ll likely have more information than I do, considering I only heard about it yesterday. I’ve already done a photo for it, though.

And, the drag show! Spectrum is holding their annual drag show this Thursday. And it’s going to be pretty awesome. Music, professional performances, etcetera, plus, there’ll be some student (and maybe even faculty) performances–I’ll upload photos after the event! There also might be a prize for best drag costume in the audience, so don’t feel like you can’t dress up if you aren’t performing! It’s in Lamberton this Thursday at 9PM. COME FORTH AND HAVE FUN WITH US!

One more thing, too: There’s a social mixer this Friday in Lamberton at 5PM, specifically open to all LGBTQIA people as well as allies. There’ll be plenty of snacks and drinks, too, so if you’re looking for something to do this Friday, head over!

All right, I think that’s about all the news I have. See ya!

Lehigh Valley 3rd Annual Intercollegiate LGBTQIA Conference

So! March 29th. Mark your calendars. Lehigh Valley’s LGBTQIA Intercollegiate Conference returns! More information as it’s given, but for right now, just know that it’s happening, and it’s going to have all sorts of events and panels and information sessions and even a keynote speaker–Kye Allums, the first openly transgender NCAA Division 1 college athlete.

Registration is here, site facebook page is here, official site is here. The official site has links to all that if you don’t feel like poking through my carefully-arranged hyperlinks. ;D

Other topics include intersex conditions, transgender issues, ally sessions, LGBT+ in media, finding your voice in the bedroom, workplace equality, and marriage equality–full list of topics/events here.

I’m definitely going. Lehigh is becoming a much more welcoming place to people of various minorities, and it is a glorious thing.

Let’s see, other things. Today and tomorrow are the last days to fill out my survey! (At least, to win a gift card, that is. I’m leaving the survey open for personal research.) I’ll be picking someone to win the gift card/Paypal money at 3:30PM EST on Sunday and notifying the winner by email. People, come on, please take the survey. It’s as long or short as you want it to be. You can write me an essay or one-word answers. I don’t care. I NEED MORE DATA BEFORE MY SPEECH. (To those who have already taken it, THANK YOU!)

Ah yes, I’ve also gotten more information on the speech event! I can’t find it on any of the school calendars, though. Anyway, it’s called Lehigh Speaks, and the theme is “Challenging Global Concepts.” April 4th from 2PM-6PM in Linderman Library Rm. 200! Come watch me give a speech in front of people and a camera. Oh, and if you come, prepare to have your mind blown. I guarantee that you will never think of gender in the same way. (And, if you miss it, I’ll have videos.)

And on a more academic note–major declaration day is coming up. Hoo, boy. I know I want to do mechanical engineering, but… I also want to minor in three different things. Aerospace engineering, electrical engineering (robotics, specifically), and technical theater. I mean, no one’s going to forbid me from just… minoring in all three.

Ay. Big decisions must be made. Hope your own decision-making goes nice and smoothly. Good luck!

This wasn’t exactly on my to-do list this year, but…

Giving a speech wasn’t exactly on my to-do list for this year. However…

I go to Spectrum (Lehigh’s LGBTQIA+ group) meetings on a regular basis (Wednesdays at 5:30 if anyone wants to come; it’s open to anyone! You should drop by!), and I frequently visit the Rainbow Room, the center for all things LGBTQIA+. Now, there’s a speaker event going on in April, featuring several speakers from all sorts of diverse backgrounds, which is pretty awesome–and they invited Spectrum to speak at the event too! I actually volunteered to help write and present the speech, which… is simultaneously terrifying and really, REALLY exciting. I’ve never given a speech like this before, ever, so it’ll be a totally new experience. See? Opportunities can pop up even when you least expect them to.

The theme of the event is deconstructing concepts, so Spectrum’s topic will be deconstructing the gender binary. Needless to say, it’s a hefty topic to squash into ten minutes. There’s all sorts of things–different gender systems, intersex conditions, transgender people, the speculated causes of being transgender… of course, if you don’t feel like clicking on all of those links, you could just come and watch the speech! It’s on April 4th in the Linderman Library at 2pm. I’ll also get a copy of the video and upload my own speech, and I’ll be sure to post a link on this blog.

Now, one last thing before I run off. I’ve set up a survey to help with my speech. It isn’t ridiculously long, although there are a lot of open-ended questions. It’s open to anyone, even non-Lehigh students. Anyway, you can put as much or as little as you like! The survey will stay completely anonymous, too. I’ll only be referencing statistics in my speech. Also, if you take the survey, you’ve got the option to be entered into a drawing for a $20 Amazon or PayPal card! I’ll need your email address for the drawing, but your email won’t be associated with your survey responses, so feel free to answer however you like.

Hope everyone is staying safe this week! One more week until spring break. You can do it! (And be sure to take the survey! :D)

LGBTQIA History Month

A lot has gone on at Lehigh and in Pennsylvania overall this month. Have you heard about the marriage equality cases and debates raging on? If not, here’s a few links for you: Google news feed, new lawsuit, and new bill proposal.

Now then! October is the LGBTQIA History Month! So head on over to the Rainbow Room on the second floor of the UC–they’ve got free pamphlets, buttons, and condoms, and they’ve also got several bookcases’ worth of books and magazines to peruse. There’s also weekly Spectrum meetings on Tuesdays at 4:30, and they also host several events throughout the year–last Friday was National Coming Out Day, and the Rainbow Room moved out into the main corridor to show some pride, raise awareness, and celebrate by giving out shirts, buttons, and candy. (By the way–they give out free buttons and condoms anytime; just stop by the Rainbow Room!)

Last Spectrum meeting, I also met up with a couple fellow members of the LGBTQIA community and we got onto the topic of gender-neutral restrooms. I found a supposed list of them on the Rainbow Room page and went out in search of a few last week, but they’re pretty difficult to find (except for maybe one on the first floor of Christmas-Saucon, which isn’t even on the list), or were locked, or couldn’t be found altogether. Also, I don’t believe there’s a single gender-neutral restroom with SHOWERS, except for maybe one in the gym. Bit of a situation for any non-cisgendered students out there (cisgender means your gender identity matches gender assigned at birth, kind of like the opposite of transgender).

Anyway, if you’re a Lehigh student, you should check out this survey by Elizabeth Pines. It seriously won’t take more than two minutes, and it’d seriously help.

(And while we’re on the subject, I’m just going to put a shout-out for this little beauty here.)

I’ll also put a disclaimer here: the social scene here isn’t always the most friendly towards the LGBTQIA community, but despite that, it does get better, and is getting better. Quick reference to the amazing Founders’ Day speech (transcript here) by Brenda Martinez, ’15: “We are here because injustice is here but so is opportunity, an opportunity to move forward and progress […].” The LGBTQIA resources here are excellent, and the movement From Beneath the Rug (twitter feed here) is working to combat ALL kinds of discrimination, based on class, race, orientation, identity, background, everything; and despite the apparent fearful reaction from many of the student body, a civil rights movement is not a threat. Please, read Brenda Martinez’s speech transcript.

Anyway! On a lighter note! There’s plenty more stuff planned for LGBTQIA History Month. Drop by the Rainbow Room or take a look at one of the bulletin boards in the second-floor corridor–I’ve heard mentions of a queer slam poetry event soon. Don’t know when, but I’m definitely going to it. The Rainbow Room is also a great place to just stop by and hang out–there’s plenty of comfortable couches to flop on, books to read, people to chat with, so on.

Meanwhile! Everyone’s back from pacing break and getting right back into the routines of classes and homework (oh, joy!) and all that it entails. I hope everyone had a good break!