Given their mission to elevate the human condition, colleges and universities often are at the forefront of championing issues of social justice and progressive political and social movements. The constant striving of students, staffers, administrators and faculty members toward understanding our biological and historical origins, our intellectual and physical capabilities and perhaps even our purpose in life produces an ever-evolving understanding of what it means to be human. Along with this evolving understanding comes an evolving collective conscience, one that invites us all to reexamine our relationship with one another.
It is in large part because of this integral link between academic institutions and social progressivism that the establishment of the LGBT office (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) on campus is so significant.
Pro-LGBT presences in the Safe Places program and Spectrum already exist at UT, but the official expression of sensitivity to LGBT issues by the university administration poses a number of notable advantages for the group. Though the fine details haven't been worked out, the LGBT office will probably have a healthier budget than what Spectrum possesses. With this increased funding will come a greater ability to reach out to the LGBT community through sponsored events and advertising, promote community-building initiatives and provide supportive services needed by LGBT persons on campus.
Though the importance of these measures for the support it gives to LGBT persons is immeasurable, the significant benefits they pose for non-LGBT students, staffers, faculty members and administrators are as well worth mentioning. An entrenched and dynamic LGBT organization equipped with financial resources will be capable of educating the rest of the UT community on issues of importance to them, allowing UT to truly embrace its core value of diversity.
There are many people deserving of accolades for this accomplishment, including Interim Dean of Students Michele Martinez, former Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Policies Carol Bresnahan and UT President Lloyd Jacobs. Martinez has been supportive of this initiative, Bresnahan offered guidance for the proposal that led to the creation of this office as it developed and Jacobs has publicly defended this and other LGBT interests in the past.
Standing out from these figures, though, is the student who authored the proposal and presented it to Jacobs and the President's Diversity Council. Taking note of a glaring absence in representation of LGBT interests in a program or office at UT, Noah Gillespie took it upon himself to make such a thing a reality. Even though it wasn't immediately successful, the initiative ultimately took and now stands capable of helping a whole sector of the UT community combat abuse in its many possible forms and achieve healthier and easier social integration.
Kudos to Mr. Gillespie and to UT administrators for supporting the creation of this office.
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