Survey of LGBT Individuals and Public Libraries

Posted on October 21, 2008 by kyle

Libraries strive to serve the needs of ALL of their constituencies, including the LGBT community. One of the ways that libraries and organizations in general gather information is through surveys. Dr. John Pruitt, a professor at UW-Rock County, has received research money to investigate how public libraries can better serve LGBT individuals. He included this information about the survey:

The American Library Association has provided me with a Diversity Research Grant to determine how public libraries and the LGBT community can come together to better accommodate each other’s needs.

With that in mind, please take about ten minutes to answer the following questions regarding your relationship with public libraries. After I receive your input, I will be in a position to advise public libraries about concrete means of improving or initiating communications with their local LGBT communities. Hopefully, in the end, public libraries will increase the diversity of their patrons and help to establish that the library is a welcoming site for everyone in the community. Of course, you don’t have to answer every question, and you’re welcome to stop responding at any point.

If you have questions about the project or the survey, feel free to contact me.

Dr. John Pruitt
Assistant Professor of English
University of Wisconsin-Rock County
2909 Kellogg Avenue
Janesville, WI 53546
john.pruitt@uwc.edu
http://rock.uwc.edu/facultypages/jpruitt/

Please help out by taking the survey! http://tinyurl.com/5c6tpx

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Kate Clinton’s Coming HERE?!

Posted on October 20, 2008 by kyle

That’s right, people. One of the pioneers of queer comedy is coming to Whitewater! She’ll be performing her newest show, uniquely titled Hilarity Clinton ‘08 on Thursday (October 23) at 7:30 PM at the Young Auditorium. Whitewater students get in for FREE and students of other schools get half price! Tickets are available through the Ticket Services website.

Don’t know much about Kate Clinton? Don’t worry – she has a website and a blog! You can also find videos of her past performances on YouTube. For your convenience, I’ve posted the Young Auditorium’s promo below.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xjnUXVgDJw[/youtube]

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Are Schools Safe for LGBT Students?

Posted on October 18, 2008 by kyle

We all remember what being in high school was like. I can’t say that I know a lot of people that have incredibly fond memories. It’s a rough time, having to deal with parental oversight, teacher expectations, peer pressure and let’s not forget – hormonal imbalances. Put that all together and it probably leads to embarrassing stories or being the target of endless jokes. For LGBT students, throw in the confusion of budding sexuality and its not-so-‘normal’ feelings and you’re got yourself the recipe for disaster. That meant that LGBT students got picked on or worse when we were going to school. But society’s changed, right?

It appears that things haven’t. GLSEN just released its annual National School Climate Survey and they found that almost NINE out of ten LGBT students have experienced some sort of harassment. While the majority of harassment took the verbal route, that doesn’t make it OK – especially at that age. You can read the full report (PDF – 1 MB) on their website.

GLSEN isn’t standing on the sidelines – they’re using the media to get out the news of hurtful speech towards LGBT individuals. Think B4 You Speak, the new GLSEN public service announcements, take aim at the more subtle verbal abuse in schools and in our society. Although geared for the younger generation, the message still resonates with people of all ages.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS0GVOQPs0[/youtube]

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October 2008 Meeting

Posted on October 13, 2008 by kyle

We met last Wednesday (8 October) – here are the highlights:

  • The September Safe Zone training was a success gauging from the feedback Chris and Kyle received from the evaluations. There were suggestions to make a Powerpoint presentation and to include information about how to handle various scenarios, such as when a student comes to speak with you.
  • Next Safe Zone training – 29 October with Melissa.
  • The 4th Annual LGBTQ Conference (in conjunction with the 33rd Annual Women’s Studies Conference) will be 3-4 April 2009 in Madison.
  • Kate Clinton is coming on 23 October at 7:30 PM. Fair Wisconsin will be holding a discussion before her performance from 6-7 PM.

You can also read the full minutes (PDF) if you’d like.

Thanks to Susie for the minutes!

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Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones…

Posted on September 28, 2008 by kyle

… but words will never hurt me.

Wouldn’t that be great if it were actually true? The fact of the matter is that our words have more impact than we may acknowledge. Some people have developed a thick skin, while others take comments to heart. Part of the Task Force’s charge is to ensure that students, faculty and staff feel safe and welcome on the UWW campus and in Whitewater.

One of the manners in which we seek to achieve this goal is through the SafeZone program. You may have seen the placards in office windows and wondered what exactly that means. The people with the signs have gone through our training, and the placard serves as a public declaration that anyone can feel comfortable approaching the owner to talk to you in confidence. Whether a student comes to you distressed about their changing world or a colleague informs you about possible discrimination, they will know that you will listen without judging them.

Although it is called SafeZone ‘training,’ it is more of an open dialogue about issues that face the LGBT community. We discuss how the words we use in our everyday conversations may inadvertently exclude LGBT individuals, what you can do to make sure that you are being inclusive, as well as a chance to learn about common scenarios in which you can positively display yourself as an open-minded person.

If interested, please come to UC 261 on either October 29 or December 4 from 12-1 PM to participate in the training. No sign-up is necessary. If you would like more information, please contact any member of the LGBT Task Force.

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