As a part of LGBTQ history month, the Center of Intercultural Engagement held an LGBTQ townhall meeting Wednesday, intended to foster awareness of the LGBTQ community and its presence on Marquette’s campus.
An estimated 25 students discussed misconceptions about media stereotypes of LGBTQ individuals. They identified a lack of sexual identity communication as the root of most LGBTQ issues.
Alexandria Taylor, a graduate student in the College of Education and graduate assistant in the Center of Intercultural Engagement, facilitated the meeting.
“The point of the Townhall series is to enhance learning, have students walk away thinking and get them to interact with someone that they may not interact (with) on a normal basis,” Taylor said.
The students said they also gained a better understanding of stigmatized or commonly misunderstood terms such as sex, gender and metrosexual.
Ryan Pawlowski, a sophomore in the college of Business and president of the Gender & Sexuality Alliance, said he thinks Marquette’s transsexual community is too often overlooked.
“I think the trans community is smaller than the gay community, but it is here, and I think there needs to be a larger dialogue with people who identify as trans before the university would consider making changes,” Pawlowski said.
Margo Clark, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said Marquette students are stereotyped as more socially conservative than they are in reality, which can lead to difficulty for the LGBTQ community at Marquette.
“I know a few people who are extremely scared to come on (Marquette’s) campus and be openly gay,” Clark said.
In an effort to address the challenges LGBTQ students face at Marquette, the attendees brainstormed ways the university can effectively support non-heteronormative communities. Eliminating rules that do not allow sorority members to attend dances with same-sex dates was mentioned.
While discussing the limited civil rights offered to LGBTQ individuals across the country, attendees looked at workplace discrimination. Erin McKay, a senior in the college of Arts & Sciences, said that some employers have started helping to relieve the financial burdens same-sex couples face while having children.
“I think it’s a big step to recognize the family dynamics behind being gay,” McKay said.
The attendees emphasized the importance of continuing civil discussion of gender and sexuality issues going forward.
“When it comes to overall (sexual) identity, conversations aren’t being had,” Taylor said. “Sometimes no one wants to speak on those subjects because they may stir something or it may be too controversial.”
Pawlowski said the meeting was successful in its mission to broaden the range of sexual identity discourse among Marquette students.
“This was completely new faces I had never seen before, and it was conversations with people I had never had the conversation with,” Pawlowski said. “That’s always good to have the conversation with new people and expand the conversation as wide as it can go.”
