A new campus event will welcome LGBTQ+ students and allies on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018.
The event, titled “Being Me at CofC: Welcoming & Affirming Our LGBTQ+ Students” will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in room 116 of the Education Center. The event is sponsored by the Sustainability Literacy Institute, the Gender and Sexuality Equity Center, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Special Collections.
“LGBTQ+ students are still stigmatized and suffer discrimination and prejudice, and we want CofC to be a welcoming place where such discrimination and prejudice does not occur,” says Todd LeVasseur, director of the Sustainability Literacy Institute and a professor of religious studies and environmental and sustainability studies.
The event aligns with the College of Charleston’s 2018-19 “CofC Sustains/Solves” Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) theme of social justice and fair distribution. The QEP focuses on the triple bottom line of sustainability, which is built around interactions between social, economic and environmental systems. LeVasseur explains that recognizing the social and economic discrimination of the LBGTQ+ community – and how to dismantle such practices – is key to sustainability.
“I want to help build a culture of acceptance and allieship at CofC, and this event will hopefully add to such a culture, letting our students, and all community members, know we support them in all their beauty,” says LeVasseur.
The event will include a panel discussion featuring LGBTQ+ students, alumni, faculty and staff who will share stories of empowerment. The panel will also include a discussion of queer history at the College. Information about courses and other learning opportunities will be available for students who want to learn more about LGBTQ+ issues across various disciplines.
Students will learn about on campus resources such as Health Services, Victim Services and Student Affairs. Information for off campus support from organizations such as We are Family, the Ryan White Program at Roper St. Francis Hospital and Palmetto Community Care will also be available.
