New LGBTQ Resource Center offers information, meeting space

"The opening of a resource center is an important step in improving the support we provide the LGBTQ students," says one Brown administrator. "It will also increase the students' capacity for developing programs that enrich the cultural and intellectual life of the campus."

by Kristen Cole

In the past, Brown students dealing with matters of sexual orientation and gender identity sought direction from a thin brochure that listed telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for campus resources.

Now resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students are centralized on the top floor of one of Brown's most visited buildings, under the direction of a newly appointed coordinator.

The old paper brochure, "LGBTQ Resources at Brown," has been revamped to reflect the Faunce House location and include a mission statement. It is tucked in an informational slot outside rooms 321 and 323, where a grand opening celebration was held March 2 (left).

The center "is a demonstration that diversity is respected and celebrated," said Angela Mazaris, who serves as LGBTQ Resource Center part-time coordinator. "Brown has a lot to offer, and this center will provide a way to make all of those resources accessible to students in a central way."

The University dedicated resources for the center at the suggestion of a committee of faculty, students and administrators to affirm the existence and development of LGBTQ individuals at Brown and to support the LGBTQ community within the larger institution.

"The opening of a resource center is an important step in improving the support we provide the LGBTQ students," said David A. Green, interim vice president for campus life and student services. "It will also increase the students' capacity for developing programs that enrich the cultural and intellectual life of the campus."

The LGBTQ Resource Center is designed to function as the clearinghouse for information and resources, said Mazaris. For example, students will be able to get advice on how to talk to a roommate about sexual orientation; information about health services; and support and referrals if they are the victim of anti-LGBTQ harassment or violence.

Students can also go to the resource center to borrow a book or magazine from its library. Fluorescent-colored slips of paper identify the contents of the bookshelves that line the resource center walls. Penned on each paper are categories that direct readers to such offerings as "Theory & Analysis," "Spirituality" and "Memoir."

Further, the resource center will provide a meeting space for student groups that have leapfrogged around the University for years, and serve as the home of the student organization Queer Alliance.

Mazaris, who is a graduate student in the Department of American Civilization, plans to implement educational programming including lunchtime discussion groups and study breaks.

At issue is "how do we create a society in which everyone has equal rights, equal protection?" said Mazaris. "These are meaningful questions."

And, said Mazaris, these types of questions are being debated at the national level as people discuss the issue of same-sex unions. Closer to home, they are the questions that must be explored in light of homophobic-related incidents on campus.

"We are a minority group," said Jason Lambrese '06, coordinator of Queer Alliance. "As an oppressed group we need a common place for support, activism and a place to foster dialogue."

Lambrese and others who supported the effort to establish the LGBTQ Resource Center hope the University will continue its backing. Among supporters' long-term goals is a full-time coordinator and location that can also house the academic program Sexuality and Society, said Lambrese.

A number of other colleges and universities, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell, have similar resource centers, said Mazaris.

"This is a really important service, but in some ways it's not groundbreaking," Mazaris said. "We are fortunate to have an administration supportive of diversity. As a university, we have a responsibility for the quality of life for our students, and for making a commitment to meeting the needs of all our students."