Inter/intra Group Tensions

Helping Students Deas With Anti-Gay Experiences Inside and Outside the Classroom

By George Ganges and Cheryl Clarke

This short essay on helping students deal with anti-gay experiences has been excerpted from the longer GUIDE BOOK FOR LIAISONS FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL CONCERNS AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICK CAMPUS. In February of 1988, the late President Edward J. Bloustein established the President's Select Committee for Lesbian-Gay Concerns. At the same time, he directed the New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden Provosts 'to identify a member of each dean's or dean of students' staff to assume responsibility for lesbian-gay concerns? (In Every Classroom, 1989, 95). These 'contact persons' were charged with giving 'visible focus' in each college, school, or unit to the issues of lesbian-gay undergraduates by assisting students in resolving problems, promoting general awareness, sponsoring programs to reduce homophobia and heterosexism, and making appropriate referrals for services and any special help. The Select Committee dubbed these contact persons 'Liaisons for Lesbian-Gay Concerns.' Since 1988, the network of Liaisons has expanded to include faculty persons, persons from the religious communities, and staff in areas other than student affairs. As the issues of bisexual people become more public, Liaisons have also extended themselves to students who choose to identify as bisexual. (Jan Meehan)

Often the general campus public is less 'polite' in the expression anti-gay sentiments than in its expression of some other prejudices. Anti-gay and anti-lesbian epithets and discussions of Biblical prohibitions come tripping lightly and loudly off the tongue in many public contexts. As a Liaison, you may have the experience of a lesbian, gay, bisexual student recounting to you an incident of anti-gay bias--in the classroom or in campus life experiences. The bias might also take the form of personal verbal attack, ongoing harassment, negative comments about the group's sexual orientation, graffiti, hate messages, and frequently physical threat or even attack. All of the aforementioned are antithetical to the University's educational mission, violate the University's Policy Against Verbal Assault, Defamation, and Harassment, and should be reported to the appropriate parties (e.g. Dean of Students Office, the Provost's Office, the Department of Student Affairs, the University Police, et. al.). Often, the anti-gay behavior falls into a gray area of incivility, insult, insensitivity, and ignorance on the part of fellow-students, staff members, or faculty persons. If a student reports any such experience to you, please do the following:

• Believe the student's experience (because we have more than enough data to know that all forms of bias occur on our campus). Affirm confidentiality.
• Assess student's well-being and safety;
• Ask the student to recount the experience (Who.? What? Where? When? );
• Ask the student what he/she would like to do about it? (e.g. Report it to the University Police? Be referred to the Dean of Students Office? Report it to a Department Chair? Report it to the Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian-Gay Concerns? Be referred to Counseling?);
• If the anti-gay experience involves a faculty or staff person as the transgressor, seek out the assistance of the Dean of Student's Office or the Office of Diverse Community Affairs;
• If the experience occurs in a residence hall or other area of campus co-curricular life, help the student make contact with the member of the Bias Prevention Steering Committee of his/her college of affiliation (See Brochure).
• If the experience occurs in an off-campus residence, seek out the assistance of the Assistant Director of Off-Campus Housing;
• If the student wishes to report it to University Police or if you feel the student should do so, the contact should be made directly to the Bias Crimes Unit; . Try to refer the student in such a way that he/she does not have to recount the incident repeatedly;

Often when students have been targets of ongoing bias harassment or repeated incidents of bias, they isolate, can become depressed (functional or non-functional), express their anger and frustration inappropriately, or deny the impact on their social, emotional, academic lives. Be sensitive to these actions and let the student know there are alternatives. If a student does not want to report the incident further and seems to be satisfied with talking it through, accept the decision. In the event of ongoing harassment, the student should be advised that some intervention must occur. Follow-up on all recommended courses of action. Continue to assess student's well-being emotionally and academically. When in doubt or in need of support yourself, do not hesitate to contact other resources for help and assistance, e.g. , other Liaisons, Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian-Gay Concerns, members of the Bias Prevention Steering Committee, et. al.)

Excerpted From:

THE PRO-GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL GUIDE BOOK FOR LIAISONS FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL CONCERNS AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICK CAMPUS

PREPARED BY THE EDUCATING LIAISONS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE CAMPUS-WIDE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL STUDENT CONCERNS