“Homophobia is deadly.” That’s what first-year Ashley Mellinger said in an educational definition video played during SGA’s LGBTQ+ Matters event. 

On Tue. 23 at 8 p.m., SGA sponsored a virtual LGBTQ+ Matters event. It was planned and coordinated by SGA’s Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CODEI) with support from EMU’s Safe Space organization. 

According to sophomore CODEI and Safe Space member Ani Beitzel, the event was held to educate members of the EMU community about the LGBTQ+ community, on and off-campus, and to “foster a better environment on campus.” 

The event began with a set of guidelines to cultivate a welcoming environment among attendees. SGA co-president, senior Allison Shelly, encouraged attendants to “come with a posture of curiosity.” 

Shelly said that the event came about after senior Brandon Higgins completed a survey assessing “campus climate.” According to Shelly, “a lot of people indicated that it would be helpful to have a session…to get people on the same page with language and acknowledging this amazing community we have on EMU’s campus, that we want to welcome.” During the event, several definition videos were shown to educate students on LGBTQ+ words they may not have known before.

History and Political Science Professor and Honors Program Director Mark Sawin discussed the history of inclusion and lack thereof at EMU. Much of his research included past Weather Vane articles, including a count on how many times certain words were used in the paper as well as a Weather Vane poll and other forms of student engagement with the LGBTQ+ community, negative or positive.  

He acknowledged the many past occurrences at EMU that have been harmful to the campus’s LGBTQ+ community and the LGBTQ+ community at large. Sawin concluded with 2015, the year EMU changed its hiring policy to end sexual-orientation-based discrimination and the year EMU voluntarily left the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

After Higgins briefly discussed the findings from his survey, Assistant Director for Housing and Residence Life and Elmwood Residence Director Lindy Magness presented EMU’s new housing policy, which gives students an all-gender inclusive housing option on campus. It can be found at EMU’s website under “Housing Options.” Before the policy, situations were addressed case by case as they came up. 

Students were encouraged to join one of many breakout rooms as the event came to a close. These included conversations on being an ally, dealing with faith alongside sexuality, intersectionality, and being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

After attending the event, Mellinger said, “I really liked it…it was way more than I was expecting, but it was better than I was expecting.” She appreciated the clarity that Sawin’s history presentation provided and the educational video shown by SGA that defined all of the letters in “LGBTQ+”, acknowledging that even members of the LGBTQ+ community continue to learn about it. 

Beitzel encourages fellow students to stay active in the conversation and speak up about “the importance of pronouns and the importance of validating someone even if you’re not sure how to handle it.” She said, “We’re all human and we all deserve respect.” Contacting EMU’s Safe Space organization is another way to continue your engagement in this conversation. 

To access the recording of the event, contact senior Allison Shelly at allison.shelly@emu.edu.