Queer Affairs

Meeting Time {TBA}

Letter Writing

Guides to for letter writing

• Writing Letters To Legislators
• Writing Letters to the Editor
• Sample Letter

Trans Awareness Week 2007: November 9 ^th, November 12 ^th - November 17^th, November 19 ^th

 

Ways to Get involved

• Come to Task Force meetings
• Become an intern and volunteer with the task force and earn up to 3 academic credits per term! (ALS 410)
• Email Angi at: queer.affairs@oregonstate.edu
• Become an OSERA board member: In 2001, OSA was joined by the Oregon Student Equal Rights Alliance (OSERA). Mobilizing students at the grassroots level, OSSERA is striving to achieve equal access to education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people within Oregon’s educational communities. Through advocacy, the strengthening of community relationships and the development of leaders, OSSERA is working to lead Oregon’s universities and community colleges toward safe, diverse and enriching environments for all students.
• Join the listserve: queeraffairs@lists.oregonstate.edu

What’s Important To You?

You have the ability to help create a more inclusive, welcoming and supportive environment for all LGBTQQIA students at Oregon State University! You are pivotal to the Queer Affairs Task Force. We work for you! Therefore, if you have any ideas, campaigns, or suggestions for issues that you want the task force to focus on, send them to us. Better yet, drop by the Queer Affairs Office in Snell Hall, Associated Student Center.

Let us know

Please type any ideas, campaigns, suggestions, questions or comments here and then hit the SUBMIT button to send it to the Director.

OSU LGBT Campus Resources

Links

• Pride Center
• Rainbow Continuum
• LGBT Services Office
• SOL: LGBTQQIA People of Color Support Network

Groups & Meeting Times

• Circle of Friends meetings Mondays 5:30pm @ Women's Center
• Rainbow Continuum { Every Monday @ 7pm, Women's Center

Job Opportunities

Sub Committee Coordinator

Arrange and facilitate sub-committee meetings
Provide updates to QATF director
Arrange meetings w/ targets, allies & collaborators

Library Coordinator

Research books, journals, articles, chronicles and zines the OSU currently has, subscribes to
Research current publications and books needed to be purchased by the OSU library
Write and submit proposal for purchases

Conference Coordinator

Research Queer conferences
Create conference list- with website, contact info, dates and location, estimated costs
Provide list to QATF director, Pride Center, and LGBT Outreach and Services

OSU OSERA Board Campus Coordinator

In 2001, OSA was joined by the Oregon Student Equal Rights Alliance (OSERA). Mobilizing students at the grassroots level, OSSERA is striving to achieve equal access to education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people within Oregon's educational communities. Through advocacy, the strengthening of community relationships and the development of leaders, OSSERA is working to lead Oregon's universities and community colleges toward safe, diverse and enriching environments for all students.
This requires attending monthly meetings and interacting with large scale social organizations such as BRO (Basic Rights Oregon) as well as establishing an OSERA chapter at OSU.

Victories

Bias Response Network

The Bias Response Network was created in 1997 to respond to bias incidents at OSU. As our community grows, so does the bias that needs to be responded to. We are currently updating the Bias Response Policy and revamping the procedures to reflect the growth of the OSU community. If you are interested in getting involved with bias response, feel free to drop by my desk in ASOSU of send me an email. We have successfully finished revising the Bias Response Policy and it is became a working policy on Sept 26th 2005. Way to go OSU inclusion of OSU’s diverse student body needs!!!

Gender Inclusive Restrooms & Locker rooms

The Queer Affairs Task Force in collaboration with the Accessibility Affairs Task Force, LGBT Services, and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity has been meeting with Facilities Services in order to create more accessible gender inclusive restrooms on campus. After examining the single stall restrooms we have come up with a list of restrooms that simply need signage changes for them to be inclusive. With this knowledge, Facilities Services has agreed to change the signage on eight single stall restrooms. The restrooms that will soon be accessible and gender inclusive include Strand Hall 141, Withycombe 123, Education 106, Hovland 7 and 27, Gilbert 121, Moreland 148 and 146. Please keep your eyes open for these gender inclusive restrooms!!

Campus Forms & Documents

We met with Admissions to talk about the admissions form becoming more inclusive of gender identity and they have agreed to provide space for individuals to self identify. The new forms will in clued a box to check which states to “Specify below”. The next line will have space available for individuals to write in their gender identity.

Student Health Services Inclusive & Support

Student Health Services has been great to work with! We have created a strong relationship and progress has been made. In particular, LaDonna Johnson D.O. has been pivotal in assisting with creating a safe space for this community.

Counseling and Psychological Services Inclusion & Support

CAPS has brought trans trainers to campus in order to enhance their abilities to serve the gender variant community. This is the next step towards writing support letters of recommendation. They have also posted the Gender Identity at OSU pamphlet in their waiting room for students, faculty and staff to pick up should they want more information and resources regarding gender variance. We will continue work with CAPS in creating a safe, welcoming environment for gender variant individuals as well as the rest of the LGBTQQIA community.

Campaigns

Campus Forms & Documents

Most forms and documents currently in existence do not provide an additional option when asking for gender. A good example is the question asking if one is male or female, directing you to check one option. This does not provide an option for someone who does not live within the traditional gender binary of male/female, for example someone going through a gender transition such as identifying oneself as queer, or trans. It is a goal of the task force to create more inclusive campus documents.

Update { We have finished assessing forms and documents on campus. Our next step is writing a proposal outlining the recommendations to create more inclusive forms and documents throughout campus.

Victory!!! { We met with Admissions to talk about the admissions form becoming more inclusive of gender identity and they have agreed to provide space for individuals to self identify. The new forms will in clued a box to check which states to “Specify below”. The next line will have space available for individuals to write in their gender identity.

3/7/2006 Next Step { We are now going to work with admissions in order to allow students to opt into their information being sent to other departments on campus thereby protecting student privacy and decreasing the amount of unwanted mail they receive.

Blood Drive Inclusion Act

The importance of the American Red Cross Blood Drive is irrefutable. The overall success of this campaign for life however is hampered by the limitations set forth by the FDA plasma and blood donation regulations. As the Queer Affairs Task Force we set forth a mission to help include all individuals and not unduly deny them their right to assist in the sustaining of life. Therefore looking to remove regulations that deny people who are gay or bisexual the chance to help save and support persons receiving this gift. In an attempt to attain this right, the task force is focused on building relationships with the American Red Cross to support us in campaigning the FDA to change such regulations that have no basis other than to discriminate and alienate an entire community.

3/9/2006 Update { Our next step in this campaign includes presenting to the OSU Blood Drive Association. This will take place the first week in April. We will be actively campaign the Blood Products Advisory Committee for them to recommend changing the FDA regulations on who can donate blood based on current research.

Student Health Services Inclusive & Support

Student Health Services caters to a large community at OSU. Due to the high volume of student use, sometimes certain services are overlooked. The LGBTQQIA community is working with Student Health to update and improve the services provide to our community. If you are interested in health care and providing the best quality care for all persons, this is the perfect campaign for you.

Victory { Student Health Services has been great to work with! We have created a strong relationship and progress has been made. In particular, LaDonna Johnson D.O. has been pivotal in assisting with creating a safe space for this community.

1/25/2007 Update { SHS has sent in a request to enhance the program which is currently used for checking individuals in and pulling up records in order to use preferred names. We are working with a few key individuals on the SHS Advisory Board with insurance coverage as well. We are hoping to get an insurance company that covers basic trans needs.

Counseling and Psychological Services Inclusion & Support

University Counseling and Psychological Services has been a leader in becoming more gender inclusive for students at OSU. We are working closely with this department to continue to advance their services and assist in creating a more welcoming environment to persons from gender variant communities.

Victory { CAPS has brought trans trainers to campus in order to enhance their abilities to serve the gender variant community. This is the next step towards writing support letters of recommendation. They have also posted the Gender Identity at OSU pamphlet in their waiting room for students, faculty and staff to pick up should they want more information and resources regarding gender variance. We will continue work with CAPS in creating a safe, welcoming environment for gender variant individuals as well as the rest of the LGBTQQIA community.

Queer & Racial Course Selection Accessibility

Although there are many courses offered at OSU that discuss racial and queer issues, interested students often have difficulty deciding which course to register for using course descriptions primarily. Therefore, in order to provide the best possible academic success, the most accessible and clear descriptions dealing with these issues, we will be collaborating with the department of Difference, Power, and Discrimination and SOL to document all courses that discuss racial and queer issues.

1/25/2007 Update { We have created the survey for instructors and are currently adding all the information onto survey monkey, a website created specifically as a tool to conduct surveys. We are hoping to have the link to the survey sent out be the end of next we. Once the instructors have taken the survey, survey monkey will keep the results secure and we will compile the responses. Upon completion of that step, we will create a list of course with descriptions for students to access when deciding which courses to take that deal with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, ally and racial/ethnic topics.

Gender Variance at OSU website

The Gender Variance at OSU website is coming along nicely! It will continue to grow as more resources and information become available.

Syllabus Diversity Statement Initiative

1/25/2007 Update { A diverse group of students came together to find a way that would assist in creating an environment that would provide the space for respectful dialogue regarding diversity and all that diversity encompasses. After discussing our goals, vision and values, we created a statement which we believe is the most comprehensive and respectful. Currently, we are meeting with instructors about implementing this statement on their course syllabi.

Research Projects

ASOSU Queer History

The history of the ASOSU Queer Affairs Task Force is important to the queer community. In order to enhance our ability to access this important information, we need to have all the information in an accessible place. Your job is to compile the history of the Queer Affairs Task Force.

Trans/Gender Variant/ Gender Queer Research

In our campaigns to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment at OSU for individuals who identify with the trans/gender variant/gender queer communities; there is a tremendous amount of research that needs to be tackled! If you are interested in assisting with this project, please contact me.

Queer Resources Research

There are many aspects to the queer community that are marginalized and need addressing. There are opportunities to research many of these issues/topics and to assist in providing more resources on campus. Issues/topics include creating a list of web based resources for Queers of color. Documenting movies, books, journals, and magazines that are out there in queer space to bring to OSU is also a great way to support the Queer community. There are a number of different research opportunities, just stop by the office and we’ll put you to work!