Promising Practices Conference- LGBTQ

 Oh my God, I dont even know where to begin with this. I wasnt able to stay for the entire conference and go to the booths, but I stayed for my session, and it was one of the most empowering things I have ever seen. I have a really deep tie into the LGBTQ community i feel because my best friend happens to be gay. Seeing the video that they had to present at the session, honestly made me cry. It destroys me to see people hurting each other the way that they do. The group began their session by showing the documentary they made, in which they interviewed people from URI and the surrounding community who are part of the LGBTQ community, and who are activists on their campus. They interviewed everyone from professors, to students, to random people in the surrounding area, and I have to say it was one of the most empowering things. 

One of the students they interviewed in the movie talked about how hard it was for him to come out to his parents, and the constant bullying he endured while he was at school. Yet he had one of the most beautiful stories because he talked about how much he confided in his best friend, his sister. 

 Ive been through so many things in my life, making it through sexual abuse, gaining a residence, and bullying when I was younger. Even though its not because Im gay, I have only come out this year about being sexually abused, and I know how it feels to not be able to talk to anyone about how you feel. The only person I ever confided in was my cousin, so I related heavily to what this man had to say because it made me think of my own situation. I absolutely loved this session, and if they have it again next year I plan on attending again. The whole seminar made me relate to kind of what we talked about when we were reading Christensen. Even though its not oppresing culture, it does oppress how people feel and how they act in their everyday lives (this is what I talked about in an earlier post in which I stated that culture and how people identify are essentially one in the same).


  You should really use the video in your class Dr. Bogad. It was an amazing time afterwards as well, taking questions and having people share their own experiances. Everyone should seriously attend this seminar if you are serious about teaching, or just want to be a better human being. It will help people move on from feeling like this. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D891v5YiJU