1) The Post; Pride graduation celebrates seniors, center’s anniversary
2) State News; University set to offer two new degree options
3) Huffington Post; The sports world needs to get with the times
4) Dallas Voice; Trans player’s hoops career cut short by injuries
1) Pride Graduation celebrates seniors, center's anniversary
Mallory Long May 4,
Last night, the Ohio University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center concluded its 10th anniversary celebration with the eighth annual Pride Graduation.
More than 90 people attended the ceremony to recognize 13 students graduating this spring, both undergraduate and graduate, who have had some involvement with the LGBT community.
Pride Graduation is open to all students at OU, as long as they are graduating seniors, said Mickey Hart, director of the LGBT Center.
If you are an LGBT or ally student you are welcome to be recognized. There is no criteria. For some students this might be the first LGBT event they come to and I'm very fine with that
More than 90 people attended the ceremony to recognize 13 students graduating this spring, both undergraduate and graduate, who have had some involvement with the LGBT community.
Pride Graduation is open to all students at OU, as long as they are graduating seniors, said Mickey Hart, director of the LGBT Center.
If you are an LGBT or ally student you are welcome to be recognized. There is no criteria. For some students this might be the first LGBT event they come to and I'm very fine with that
Hart said.Pride Graduation began in 2001 as a small dinner for seniors in the basement of United Campus Ministry on College Street. Since then, Hart said it has become a formal tradition. Hart began the evening with a short welcome speech followed by dinner and a slide show of photos from the LGBT Center's last 10 years. Hart listed the top 10 achievements of the center's lifetime, such as the Faces of Pride posters, the SafeZone program and OU's ranking as one of the top 100 gay friendly college campuses in the Advocate College Guide. Logan Waldie, a senior studying graphic design and animation, participated in graduation to show his support for LGBT students. I've been involved in a bunch of LGBT events on campus since my sophomore year
said Waldie, co-chair of Open Doors. It's a great way for a bunch of the LGBT people who don't normally come out to our big events to come to this so it's a great way to meet them.
2) University set to offer two new degree options
Beau Hayhoe; 5/17/11
MSU students will have the opportunity to choose from two new majors starting this fall and might have the chance to add one new specialization in the coming years if the proposed program goes forward as planned.
This coming fall semester, students can enroll in either world politics or advanced mathematics for the first time.
In addition to the new degree programs, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LBGT, studies specialization currently is in the planning process.
The LBGT specialization will draw from current courses across the university that deal with issues of sexuality, said Michael Craw, a professor in James Madison College who also serves as vice president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Faculty, Staff and Graduate Student Association, or GLFSA.
Craw said it currently is unclear where the specialization would be housed, but said potential possibilities include the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, or RCAH, the College of Social Science, or the College of Arts and Letters.
In addition to the specialization, students also will be able to participate in a study abroad program related to LBGTstudies in Amsterdam, which Craw estimated will be ready in about a year.
He said the initial response to the proposed introduction of the specialization has been positive.
“We’ve also conducted a climate study on LGBT on campus to assess generally how well faculty gave feedback, and secondly to investigate whether students would be interested in this,” he said. “The study indicated there is significant demand for this specialization.”
The curriculum still remains in the planning process, and it’s unlikely the specialization will be ready this school year, Craw said.
Both of the new degree programs most likely will be available this fall, however.
Jeanne Wald, the associate chair and the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics, said the advanced mathematics degree program recently received approval in the appropriate areas.
The program is designed to work with students pursuing multiple majors, and of the 12 courses required for graduation, three can be completed by taking high-level elective courses in the student’s other area of study, Wald said.
Pilot courses in the advanced mathematics program were offered beginning in 2009, and Wald said the response from students remains enthusiastic.
“We’ve already had quite a few people contact us about taking the new courses,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of people who are interested in it.”
She estimates about 60 people will enroll in courses related to the advanced mathematics degree, but of those people, she thinks only half will continue on to the second semester. On average, the program most likely will graduate 10 to 12 students per year.
The world politics degree program most likely will be ready for this coming fall semester, said Richard Hula, a professor and the chair of the Department of Political Science.
Hospitality business junior Spring Eisenzimmer said she would consider taking courses in the world politics program when given the choice between the two new programs.
“I think (the world politics courses) would be more fun for me,” she said.
Eisenzimmer added that the new programs help the university “stay on top of their game” in terms of competition with other schools across the country.
Hula said the department’s other international courses consistently draw high enrollment, which leads him to believe this program also will be successful.
“We have about 800 (students) now total across the department — I suppose we might start (this new program) with 50 or 100 (students),” he said. “My guess is that this is something that will grow over time.”
3) The sports world needs to get with the times
Jim Neal; 05/19/11
The recent revelation by the president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns that he is gay is another step toward cracking the door to one of the last vestiges of homophobia: the sports world. More athletes, coaches, front office leaders and fans need to step forward and put on a game face for gay athletes and young fans -- instead of defending offensive comments like those made last month by NBA All-Star cum diva Kobe Bryant. Another NBA heavyweight has weighed in on the side of tolerance, none other than "Sir Charles" Barkley. Any dissenters feel free to take a shot at that HRH.Then there's the athletic staff at NC State University. Last week, men's basketball star forward C.J. Leslie made quite the twitter of himself with anti-gay slurs. One would think that the adults in a house of higher education (that graduates 45% of its men's basketball team) would take a stand against this sort of intolerance?
Think again. According to the News & Observer head basketball coach Mark Gottfried opted to speakprivately with the rising sophomore while assistant athletic director Annabelle Myers responded: "Any student has the right to express his or her personal opinion, but those comments certainly don't reflect the diverse and welcoming atmosphere at N.C. State. Our student-athletes are reminded and encouraged to be circumspect in what they say, post or tweet."
Coach goes mum and the assistant AD suggests that athletes be circumspect. Circumspect? Welcoming atmosphere? The circumlocution from that limp duo sent a charged message to gay athletes past, present and prospective. I wonder what the reaction would have been to a similar incident by beloved Kay Yow, the former NC State women's basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Fame winner?
More principled are the efforts by another duo: a decorated collegiate wrestler and world-class English rugby star who have teamed up to combat bullying and homophobia in sports. And last season the Indiana Hoosiers Athletics Department declared a home game vs. Northwestern as LGBT Appreciation Day.
As a diehard UNC Tar Heel fan I don't have to wonder what our legendary basketball coach Dean Smithwould have to say about tolerance and gay athletes. Though recently-turned 80 and struggling with memory loss- he's already had his say.
4) Trans player’s hoops career cut short by injuries
May 20, 2011
Kye Allums, the George Washington University junior who made headlines last fall by coming out as a transgender person while remaining on the school’s women’s basketball team, announced this week that he would not be returning to the team for his senior year because of injuries, according to several published reports, including this one at FoxNews.com.
Allums said in a prepared statement that he came to the decision on his own that it is “no longer in my best interests” to play basketball, and he thanked the school’s athletic department for respecting his wishes.
When he came out as transgender last November, Allums explained that he was postponing hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery so that he could remain eligible to play on the women’s basketball team. However, Allums said this week that after suffering two concussions in the 2010-11 season, he has decided not to continue to play basketball.
Although Alllums started 20 games in his sophomore year at George Washington, he played in only eight games this season because of the concussions. He told the Associated Press in March that he has suffered a total of eight concussions overall and that he has been experiencing memory loss, a common symptom of multiple concussions. He said doctors told him that if he were a football player rather than a basketball player, his career would have ended even sooner.
A post by Eammon Brenna on ESPN’s College Basketball Nation Blog praised Allum’s courage in coming out as transgender, saying: “In essence, Allums’ change was about identity, about helping the external match the internal, and it raised awareness of transgender identity issues in an arena where even homosexuality remains a hotly debated subject. … It’s sad to see any player’s career cut short by injuries. But I’d argue it’s even sadder to see Allums — whose public bravery no doubt served as inspiration to even a (presumably) small number of athletes with transgender identities — unable to live out his final season with his teammates.”
No comments:
Post a Comment