LGBTA resource center to open
Wednesday, July 30, 2008; 4:41 PM
This August, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center will be opening, providing Virginia Tech,and the surrounding area with the means to gain more information about the LGBT community.
Matt Boone/SPPSPaul Deyerle, senior psychology major and director of LGBTA's new resource center, answers e-mail on July 28 in the office's new location.

The grand opening for the resource center will take place on Aug. 29, the first Friday of the fall semester. The opening will include university administrators, faculty, staff and students.

"The resource center itself as a space is not a new conception," said Mary Grace Campos, assistant director of multicultural programs and services. "The notion of the center has always been on the radar screen."

Paul Deyerle, a senior psychology major from Roanoke and director of the LGBT resource center, said the idea for the creation of the resource center came up at a Board of Visitors' gathering two years ago.

A task force was created, in a year-long process to review the need for a LGBT resource center, and, said Deyerle, "it concluded that there needed to be a resource center."

Because of budget cutbacks, however, it took a long time for the center to come to fruition. Currently the funding for the center comes from surplus funds from last year's LGBTA budget.

Currently, LGBTA is in charge of administering the center.

"The vision of what it should be has been a student initiative, entirely," Campos said.

The new resource center will be located on the third floor of Squires Student Center. The space has been a constant project over the summer for Deyerle and for Jacob Vuiller, a senior economics and Spanish major from Richmond, and public relations officer for the LGBT Resource Center.

"There have been lots of late nights," Vuiller said.

Part of the difficulties will be getting the word out about the center, and also making people realize that the center is there for educational purposes and open to student, staff, faculty and members of the surrounding community, Deyerle said.

The center will be student-run, with a majority of the staffing provided by board members of the LGBTA, said Deyerle. There are plans for the center to make key partnerships with other student organizations.

"We still have our hardest obstacle yet to face," Deyerle said.

The resource center is already starting to work with VT Engage to become involved in the community, but is also getting volunteers from VT Engage to work in the resource center.  The main task of these volunteers would be to manage the library resources in the center.

According to a press release from the LGBT Resource Center, this is the first center of its type in the New River Valley, and "will help to promote the Principles of Community at Virginia Tech, as well as, support the Board of Visitor's 1998 decision regarding the establishment of Safe Zones."

The primary focus of the center will be to provide a space for gay and lesbian students to study and socialize as a community, but it will also contain a resource library, with pamphlets, books, DVDs and other materials on important LGBT topics, such as coming out, safe sex and HIV/AIDS, according to the press release.

The resource center has partnered with Newman Library to make the resource library searchable from the library's main page. There are hopes to partner with departments across the university.

Campos said the center could also serve as a meeting space, and ideally, a space that can be used by all, regardless of sexual orientation.

"Need not be one of the letters in the center to enter," Campos said.

Another challenge for the future, according to Deyerle, is taking on the resource center after the founding board leaves.

"It is time consuming, and a labor of love," Deyerle said.

Another concern was people not being educated about the issues that the center raises, and "not understanding what it means to be a gay Hokie," Deyerle said.

The center, overall, is about overcoming stereotypes, Deyerle said.

Campos echoed this concern, citing the need to prove the usefulness of the center on campus and garner support for the maintenance of the center.

"We are cautiously optimistic. With the right people, great things will happen," Deyerle said.

You might be interested in... Related Topics: gay, resource center, lgbta
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 20 I love it when parts of the thread disappear, making any comments in response seem like complete non sequiturs. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 17 Steve, thanks for the slightly-better-than-mediocre zinger, but you've missed the point. Regardless of whether you're gay or straight, or any combination of the two, or none of the above or whatever, student fees should not be used to support organizations that do not have the potential to serve the interests of all students. That means that if there were a straight people alliance, it shouldn't get funding from the student activity fee either. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 15 As Kyle mentioned, certain services, like health services, are like insurance. Nobody knows when they might need them. Until the case occurs that I may suddenly turn gay or black, the issue is that the average student's funds should not be diverted to interests which serve only a specific niche in the VT population. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Aug 13 No, Steve, I don't hate gay people. That's an unsubstantiated conclusion that can't really be drawn from my previous posts - which is unfortunate, because you raise some interesting points. Health services is a tricky issue - but health services is covered under a separate fee and has a distinctly different purpose. Your health services fee is actually more like a mini-insurance policy that the school requires you to have when you show up (so that if you get, say, a highly infections disease they can treat you without having to wonder if they're ever going to get paid to do so). So while I don't necessarily agree that it should be mandatory, I don't think it can be successfully lumped into the same category as student activity fees because the purpose is more legally-oriented. Regarding the BT, the gyms, and sports fees, I would say that these services all ought to be paid for by user fees. I love the BT, and most everyone in Blacksburg uses it, but it simply isn't fair to the people who DON'T use it that they should have to pay for it as well. And for the record, my logic DOES extend towards the government. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Andy at Aug 13 How about we fund a pro firearms issues group on campus? Some folks would not like that, and would probably raise the same issues seen in posts below. The fact is, that sometimes some people look at all these groups being funded with their money and say enough is enough. What is with the special treatment. Hurting a gay person is a hate crime? If a criminal hurts anyone, the crime should be classified the same way, not given extra special attention and differnent punishment. I know these issues don't go exceptionally well together, but you get the point. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Steve at Aug 13 Not all students use Health services but they have to pay for them. Much like the BT, the gyms, and even sports tickets by your logic students should pay market value for all services that tech provides because not all students use these benefits. Of course this can go further with the federal government and taxes. Just admit it you hate Gay people and just don't want them to receive money from the school! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 6 Fine, like Kyle said, let them raise their own money. My point remains valid: there are plenty of people who are ambitious enough to raise funds by other means. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Aug 6 But, M, the point I'm getting at is that the fact that the organizations hold events which are available to all students doesn't necessarily mean that they ought to be able to extort money from all students to fund them. I mean, when bands come to play at Nissan Pavillion, for instance, they don't charge all citizens of the surrounding jurisdictions for tickets - only the people who show up to hear the concert. Student organizations ought to be held to the same standard - why should I be responsible for paying for programs that I firmly intend never to use? I mean, lots of people attend VTU functionsbecause they bring 'high quality performers' to campus. Can VTU function without funding from mandatory student fees? I'd say yes - though it might initially be more challenging. The point is that student fees are a de facto tax on students for services that only a small portion of the student body ever really utilize. It's unjustifiable to have such fees funneled into so narrowly-interested groups. Flag Abuse
Posted by: M at Aug 6 Umm... VTU, BSA, and LGBTA are all chartered, student-run organizations. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 6 M, that may be, but the point is that VTU is a university organization. Their funds SHOULD come from the VT budget. BSA, LGBTA, and other student organizations should not be drawing from the school's funds. As I said, there are plenty of folks who are very capable of raising funds and putting on events. Flag Abuse
Posted by: M at Aug 6 But the events the Black Student Alliance and the LGBTA put on are open to all students as well. In fact, the organization that receives the most money is VTU. You'd be hard pressed to make an argument that their events aren't meant for all students. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 6 As for student legal services, I have no problem with that allocation of money, because again, that is a service that VT makes available to all students. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Aug 6 M, I've made this argument on a previous forum before, so let me rehash it briefly here. As I understand it, procuring funds from SGA is quite a process, and BSA and LGBTA are quite good at that process. To say that the members of these organizations would not be industrious enough to raise money elsewhere in the absence of the student activity fee money is belittling to their efforts and empassioned service. The fee results in a redistribution of student money that is unwarranted. While it is certainly not the only fee (I believe I recall being charged technology fees, transportation fees, etc.), it is different in that these other fees fund campus functions that VT provides for the entire campus community. The activity fee ultimately funds many niche events and organizations, and those who don't ever reap the benefits of these expenditures have a right to feel slighted. Flag Abuse
Posted by: M at Aug 6 There are major, well-attended events on this campus every year that would not be possible simply by collecting membership dues. The Black Student Alliance's concert series or the SGA-hired lawyer that works to protect students facing legal trouble, for example, would not be possible without student activity fees. Almost every college and university in the United States has some form of the fees to put on these types of events, which have become part of the experience of going to college. I can't imagine what my four years as an undergraduate would have been like if there were no big-name speakers or concerts at Tech brought by student organizations. If you're not targeting LGBTA specifically, then why are you using an article about a $700 resource center as your forum for complaining? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Aug 5 But, M, it is a mandatory fee - holds and such get placed on your account (as a student) if you don't pay the student activity fee. I never bought into the idea of a student activity fee in the first place - if these clubs were really as valuable and well-attended as people claim they are, it doesn't seem like they'd just stop functioning if people had to pay out of their own pockets to be in them. I mean, if you want to be an adult, learn to pay for your own hobbies - don't depend on other people to finance them for you. Like I said previously, LBGTA isn't the particular target of my displeasure - it's activist groups in general which are funded in some way or another by de-facto taxes (whether state-mandated or, in this case, school mandated). Flag Abuse
Posted by: M at Aug 5 In regards to the LGBT Resource Center, we're talking about $700 total. The money came from the Student Budget Board, which redistributes money collected from student activity fees. Although it's considered public money, it did not come from your taxes or tuition. The decision of who or what gets the money comes from students; this only make sense because it it using their fees. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bradford S at Aug 5 Real mature Matt. Thats a real childish, ignorant, and intollerant thing to say. Flag Abuse
Posted by: matt at Aug 4 ass Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Aug 4 Now, I don't contend that resource centers are 'evil' places, or that people shouldn't have the opportunity to mingle with people who share analogous beliefs, histories, and ideologies. The overarching point I was getting at before is that Virginia Tech (and other public universities) ought not sponsor such centers, because they inherently elevate certain segments of society over others. The support VT lends to such centers is implicit support from the taxpayer and tuition-payers - without any real say-so from those involved parties. I'd rather see public funding pulled from such endeavors anyway - if they are really so popular as everyone seems to claim, it is unlikely that they would cease functioning without the extra stipend from the government. At any rate, if they were self-funded they would be far more free to reach out in a fairly unlimited number of ways. But does society really need places like these? I'd say no. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Aug 4 Your first statement is rather dubious, Anna - there isn't a whole lot of proof to back that up. But even so, history isn't something that should be taught from such an egalitarian standpoint anyway - it isn't a question of 'factual quotas' (ie, how many black events are listed in history books versus how many white events), it's a question of historical relevance. And again, that isn't to say that minorities didn't do anything noteworthy in history - but what you're asking for is a totalist history text and course, and such a course is simply impossible to create. History isn't so much the study of facts, dates, and names, but the study of context - and many noteworthy achievements are left out of history texts because they simply lack the appropriate context. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anna at Aug 4 We study male studies, heterose_xual studies, and white studies every time we open our history books. There is a reason that minority groups, no matter what the minority, need resoutce centers. They provide a place where individuals of a particular group can find help with issues that pertain to them and not necessarily the population as a whole. For example, the women's center provides help with se_xual assault and eating disorders among other things, issues that affect women more often than men. The centers don't strive to point out and exacerbate the differences between a minority and the public at large, but how to handle issues that affect each minority while living in a society of people that may not experience, understand, or even be aware of the issues being faced. These centers are about maintaining your identity as part of a minority, while coexisting in the majority. As a white woman, I realize there are tons of things I take for granted every day without a second thought, but there are at times issues that men don't even recognize as problems because they don't face them. VT would not be a better place without resource centers for various groups. These resource centers are an important part of maintaining diversity at VT by providing a support group and community, which as a mostly white school in a mostly white area, could be intimidating to any minority group, including the LGTB communty. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bradford S at Aug 1 All Kyle is saying is that by creating a 'center' where these specific special interest groups can get together in peace, or where the general public can go for more education are fundamentally contradictive to their established creed. To further the cause of LBGT, African-American, or Women by singuling out these individuals in 'centers' is only further segregating the causes from assimilating into the American society. The bottom line is that one can not preach for equality in every facet of life while at the same time plan centers that inherently focus on pointing out the cultural differences. My pursuit of happiness is guranteed to be different from my neighbor's, not everyone will have the same priveledges or road blocks; however, all we can do as a society is try our best to make sure the same laws and policies are applied to everyone. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Jul 31 My issue regarding money isn't so much with this particular center as it is for other centers at Virginia Tech and elsewhere. Virginia Tech would be much better served not officially recognizing any center with a specific aim of advancing the 'needs' of a singular group of people. In my opinion, if you want to help one group of people (Women, LBGT, African-American) you need to help EVERYONE (so we should establish a center for Male studies, for heterose_xual studies, for white studies, etc.). The issue I have with this particular center has to do with the founder's comment regarding what it means to be a 'gay Hokie.' Like I said originally, there ought to be no distinction between a 'gay Hokie' and a 'Hokie.' Se_xual orientation is unrelated to your ability to learn, master, and achieve - the danger with centers like this is that they compel people to focus on the perceived deviancy rather than on the person as a whole. They really tend to create more, rather than less, bigotry. . . Flag Abuse
Posted by: Crysta at Jul 31 Being hetero- or homose_xual isn’t fundamental to your understanding of a person’s worth, but it IS fundamental to a lot of other people’s understanding of a person’s worth. People are refused jobs over it (it’s not a universally protected class like race, religion, or se_x), not allowed to have publicly recognized unions because of it, have their wills disputed over it, are harassed, beaten and killed over it… If it weren’t fundamental in so many people’s eyes it wouldn’t be such a big issue. You being a relatively tolerant person can’t be expanded to the population as a whole. And again with the public money thing… I’d really like to hear a declaration of whether all the people contesting the funding have a problem with funding all causes or just the LGBTA’s cause. There are lots of causes being advanced that some people agree with and others don’t. Are you arguing that no non-hateful non-discriminatory cause should have any support, or just that the LGBTA shouldn’t? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Jul 31 I'm not entirely sure what your point is here. . . it seems like you're saying that white, middle class, heterose_xual males aren't entitled to opinions because they are 'privileged' somehow - and I don't buy it. Each person is born into his own individual situation, and each situation has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Privilege is always noted in the eyes of those who feel short changed by their own situation - and is generally highlighted as an excuse as to why they don't do as well as 'those privileged people.' The fact of the matter is, there are an awful lot of white, middle class, heterose_xual males who do absolutely nothing with there lives, just as there are a lot of people of other backgrounds who do a lot of positive things with their lives. The key is that it is the individual, and not his 'defining physical characteristics,' which determine his efficacy in life. Being gay isn't relevant to anything at all, and really, neither is being straight. It isn't fundamental to my understanding of a person's worth - so why is public money always used to advance these causes? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 31 Kyle, I'd warrant a guess that you are white and probably from a family with a comfortable amount of money. As a white, middle-class, heterose_xual male are you aware of the privileges you were born with? or even if you are not white and middle-class? I am not trying to attack you, but the views you have expressed tell me that you need to look at the privileges you take advantage of everyday that you may not even think of. There are lots of things you probably take for granted (as I know I do, as a white person) that other people can't have. These resource centers are a way for people, who don't have some of the luxuries you may have, to be understood and to express themselves in a way that would otherwise be blown off as irrelevant to the white, middle/upper-class, heterose_xual male population that makes most of the decisions in this country. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Crysta at Jul 31 On the funding issue, I feel like if we offer any group funding, then the LGBTA is equally entitled to funds and the resource center is a fine way to spend it. If people feel like the university shouldn't fund any groups or clubs (like maybe Kyle feels?) then fine - that can be a valid point of view. But if anyone is suggesting that the LGBTA is less deserving of funds than a women's group, a racial group, a religious group, a hobby group, or a sports club, then I have an issue with it. There are a lot of groups on campus with a lot more funding than the LGBTA. If you want to argue for all of them to have their funding cut, ok, we can talk about the merits of having university supported extracurriculars, but this was an LGBTA specific article. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Jul 31 I guess the point that I ultimately wanted to get at is that most people don't define themselves through their se_xuality. I'd hazard a guess that this is consistent for both straight and gay individuals - se_xuality is part of who we are, but in many ways not even a particularly large part. Where I take issue is the idea of some sort of need to 'protect' LBGT persons more than the need to protect other people. The point of all this isn't that 'the issue is irrelevant' or anything like that - I hold this stance for things like the women's resource center and most culture-specific resource centers. All these places do is create a de-facto segregation of the student population, and implicitly require people to assess each other by qualities other than those which are purely individual. Hatred and bigotry aren't ever going to go away, but you really only propagate them more by contriving centers like these which hoist specific segments of the population higher than others. It doesn't matter that such isn't the point of the center - it's what the center represents anyway. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 31 I'm really excited about this center. I hope that it can attract those people who don't fully understand the issues that members of the LGBT community deal with everyday. Unfortunately, as a gay woman, I often find out that even the people I would expect to understand certain things about these issues are rather ignorant. This is because most people don't even think of educating themselves on issues such as coming out, heteronormativity, and the horrors faced by out men and women all over the world. I encourage everyone to check out some of the resources and educate yourselves about what other people around you might be going through. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 31 Considering that the LGBTA has funded this LGBT Resource Center with little to no budget (around 700 dollars) while other organizations waste their money on pointless events, I'd say you aren't paying for anything. Chill out- things can happen without you spending a dime. If you are that concerned with how the University spends its money, then perhaps you should be on Budget Board and help decide who gets what money. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 31 Well fine Crysta, then you can pay for it. The rest of us do not feel it is an issue and thus do not want to pay for the center. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Crysta at Jul 31 "Not understanding what it means to be a gay Hokie" can mean not understanding that gay Hokies are just normal people too. Sometimes it takes education to help people realize that our differences aren't that big and don't have to be issues. I'm a "woman engineer" and to me that just means and engineer, but I know it wouldn't have been that way a few decades ago. My freshman year I corresponded with a woman (who was funding one of my scholarships) who told me she was amazed and proud that I could make it in such a traditionally male field. It's true that the people who hold extreme and hateful views on the subject will never visit the center, but maybe their friends will. Maybe friends of their friends will. It can't be denied that opinions change over time and I don't think anyone would disagree with me when I say expanding knowledge, understanding, and familiarity are a huge part of that. Would our grandparents even have had this conversation? It'll be great when we don't need women's resource centers, centers representing different races and religions, or LGBT centers... but for right I think we still do Flag Abuse
Posted by: John H. at Jul 31 And as it's been mentioned, the folks who continue these behaviors toward people different from themselves, whether its because of orientation, race, religion, or something else, are not the types of folks who will self-educate in any place such as this...even though they really ought to. Flag Abuse
Posted by: John H. at Jul 31 You might be surprised Jason. Blacksburg may seem like a somewhat utopian place nestled into the mountains, but in reality there is rampant racism and bigotry in this region, sadly. I live in a historically black community, where crosses have been burned in the not so distant past. The Klan has marched in Christmas parades in the region in recent years. My wife has been called a n-lover for being friends with her neighbors. Some friends of mine who are gay have endured vandalism to their cars and houses, along with taunting and other verbal/emotional abuse. Other friends who are not Christian have also endured bigoted and hateful things directed at them. Blacksburg may see less of it, but it's sadly still too common here. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Jul 31 Linda, I understand your point, but the catch is that the people who are willing to abuse, beat up, or make fun of people in the LGBT community are never going to use the center to learn anything. These are just vile people. I'm quite sure that you'll find that they are intolerant of a lot of other people, too. I wonder how prevalent these people are in Blacksburg. I wouldn't expect that they represent a large portion of the population. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Linda at Jul 31 Kyle says that he does not go around and tell people of his choice to be straight, but in reality he does. He tells people he is straight everytime he walks down the street holding hands with a girl or everytime he goes to a movie and puts his arm around a girl. Or how about when he goes out to dinner and can hold the hand of his date. All of these things tell us he is straight. GLBT people do not have that luxury without being abused, made fun of, beat up, losing their job or even killed. So to have a place where they can feel safe and get some information and even educate others is a great thing to have. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bradford S at Jul 31 I think Kyle and Jason hit the key points. The center doesnt encourage assimilation into oure society which is the end goal of the LGBT correct? It attempts to knock down stereotypes about the LGBT while educating the public about 'what it means to be a gay hokie', this concept is very contradictive in that it essentially is destroying stereotypes just to replace them with more stereotypes which will create an endless loop. If the LGBT did truely want their se_xual oreintation to not be a factor then they need to stop making it a factor, it shouldnt matter what your preference is. Just like it was said before, tolerance is not the same as acceptance... so stop being intolerant of our view points on this matter. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Jul 30 The point is actually more broad than that, Jason. I don't care if you are straight or gay - just like, I would assume, you don't care whether I am straight or gay. My se_xual preference isn't really relevant to much of anything at all - and there is no reason for me to inform other people of such a personal choice. Quite frankly, if you are gay, I don't want you to tell me. It doesn't lend any particular insight into anything, it doesn't qualify you to speak on any topic, and, to be blunt, it calls attention to yourself when none is necessarily due. Discussions of se_xuality tend to be heinously narcissistic, and centers like these merely propagate such narcissism. It's a real shame that public funds are being used for this. Flag Abuse
Posted by: katie at Jul 30 i see it as there are books and stuff there and it is up to the person to decide if they want to make that step towards learning more. its a good idea to at least have it available Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at Jul 30 To the most recent anonymous poster: Kyle's point is that homos_xuality is not something that everyone should have to "accept." Tolerance is different than acceptance, and the problem here is that, inevitably, only those in the LGBT community (and a scant few others) will ever visit this center, thus it will do more to differentiate the LGBT community from the rest of us, rather than blend everyone. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 30 Kyle Minor, until being homose_xuality is entirely accepted by everyone, it will be a public issue. Everyone is so caught up in who is ga_y and how that affects the people around them, so centers like these could possibly help show people what it means to be ga_y. Maybe they will learn something and see that there is no real big issue with s_exual preference. Only then will it not be public. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at Jul 30 What is the major difference between a 'gay Hokie' and a 'Hokie?' The answer from the university ought to be that there is no fundamental distinction - se_xual orientation isn't particularly relevant to anything outside of one's personal decisions. The thing that irritates me about centers like this is that public funds are being siphoned off to advocate something that shouldn't be a public issue in the first place. I'm straight, but I don't walk around telling people how proud I am of it. Why should homose_xuals be encouraged, with anyone else's money, to proclaim their pride in their se_xual orientation? Honestly, they shouldn't - se_xuality is a personal choice, and ought to remain a piece of personal information. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at Jul 30 Which principles of the community will this help promote? Flag Abuse
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