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Rylee Barnsdale's Feature Article: EMU LGBT Resource Center celebrates 30th anniversary with look back at center's historical impact
Transcription:
Rylee Barnsdale: You're listening to 89 one WEMU. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. This past October marked the 30th anniversary of the Eastern Michigan University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center, where the LGBTRC and staff have been celebrating by reflecting on the center's historical impact on both the EMU and greater Ypsilanti communities. With me today to talk about this milestone and how the center has evolved over time since its early days is EMU Professor of History and Philosophy, Kate Mehuron. Hi, Kate! Thanks so much for being here!
Dr. Kate Mehuron: Hello! I'm so glad to join you today!

Rylee Barnsdale: So, Kate, you actually started working with EMU shortly before the RC was founded, and you were one of the members of the group of openly LGBTQ-plus faculty, which preceded the official RC. So, can you tell us a little bit about how that group came together?
Dr. Kate Mehuron: Yes. That group was formed probably in about 1990. I had just arrived at EMU in 1989, and I was aware that there wasn't any faculty/staff group representing us. And I saw a notice in the Echo that was posted by two faculty members in the College of Health and Human Services, Myrna Yeakel and JoAnn Shourd. And these two folks posted that they wanted to organize a group. So, I really have to credit them for organizing this faculty/staff group. The idea was that we would all get together and try to figure out what EMU needed to become a more open and welcoming community.
Rylee Barnsdale: What did those goals kind of look like, as far as kind of increasing awareness, as well as accessibility to resources on campus?
Dr. Kate Mehuron: Yeah. Some of the earliest goals were, first of all, to launch what we called a "rainbow sticker" campaign. And the rainbow sticker campaign just involved a rainbow-colored sticker that we mailed out to all of the faculty and staff and with a letter requesting that if they wanted to be open about being a safe space for any LGBT student, that they should just post that rainbow sticker on their door. And so, that obviously received some negative responses. But overall, we were really happy because it seemed to really have a major impact for students to feel more positive about their faculty and staff. And many, many faculty and staff did post the rainbow stickers, and we made it clear from the beginning that, even if the faculty or staff member was did not themselves self-identify as LGBT, the whole important point was the notion that they were allies of LGBT students and obviously other faculty and other peers. So, that was a really significant first goal. But we began to develop bigger ones, too. Another one that we thought was really important was we wanted the university to adopt a nondiscrimination policy by the Board of Regents, which would outline also sexual orientation and identity as a protected class at EMU. And so, we got to work on that. And that took quite a while longer. We realized that we needed to collaborate with somebody in the Board of Regents, and we needed to collaborate with higher administration too. And our hero in that regard was a Board of Regents member named Anthony Derezinsky. And he became our liaison with the Board of Regents. So, he would meet with us and talk about why this was a priority. And he was in complete agreement. So, he was really an ally. And then, he would also meet with members of the higher administration, including, of course, the president and other members of the Board of Regents. That was really important. And he helped us to develop a consensus with the Board of Regents. And finally, we did get that policy passed.

Rylee Barnsdale: This is WEMU's On the Ground Ypsi. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, chatting with EMU Women's and Gender Studies philosophy professor Kate Mehuron. Kate, you spoke about some of the faculty group's goals prior to the RC's opening. But what did that process of actually getting a resource center for or directed at LGBT students look like? How did opening up the center actually look like?
Dr. Kate Mehuron: Yeah. So then, we realized that we really did need a good infrastructure here at EMU where students and faculty and staff would have a place to go, and it could be a place of education and training, awareness and support. And so, our faculty/staff group began to brainstorm how this could look. And back in the day, the Division of Academic Affairs was different from Student Affairs, and they had their own separate budgets. And so, we realized, for an LGBT resource center to be supported, we needed to go to the AVP--the Vice President of Student Affairs--and begin to really collaborate with whoever that person was. So, there were a couple of really important VP's: first, Larry Smith, who was very supportive. And then, the superpower ally was Glenna Frank Miller, who was the VP of student affairs during the time that the new student center was being planned and built. But the LGBT Resource Center received funds from the Division of Academic Affairs. And first, it started as a part-time office. And there were a number of early coordinators then. One who I remember clearly was called Ken Papineau. And then eventually, it became staffed by a full-time staff member. We have two, in that time period, very, very memorable coordinators of the LGBT Resource Center, which made the center grow phenomenally, in terms of its influence and support. And the first was Kathleen Russell, who was a clinical social worker, who was also a community activist and community organizer, a very, very eloquent, committed, powerful individual. And under her leadership, the center expanded immensely. And then, our second after her, who was enormously influential, was Mary Larkin, which many people on campus do remember her. And she's now a diversity coordinator for Trinity Health. But anyway, the LGBT Resource Center began to really expand during this time period.
Rylee Barnsdale: And to celebrate this milestone, the current coordinator of the RC, Emma Wuetrich, worked to create an exhibition of photos and news clippings and recorded interviews all about the center's history, which you are also a part of. What was it like to revisit some of these stories?

Dr. Kate Mehuron: Oh my gosh! It was so heartwarming and amazing and also kind of nostalgic and kind of sad because, given recent political events, many of these issues that we were fighting for are might come back to haunt us. We don't want a backlash. But during that time, that wonderful presentation in the archives is so significant because it shows so many community/university collaborations for nondiscrimination at this time, too. And it reminded me of incredible, early initiatives by the LGBT Resource Center, like the panels that were very organized and in which faculty could bring into their classes to talk about various LGBT issues, which had an amazing effect on campus climate. And so, it reminded me of things that were done by the LGBT Resource Center back in the day that were so significant.

Rylee Barnsdale: And it only makes sense to me to wrap up a conversation about history by talking about the future. What do you hope to see for the future of LGBT resources and visibility on campus? What do you hope to see from the resource center in the next coming years?
Dr. Kate Mehuron: I hope to see the Resource Center not only do what it's doing, which is everything from training residence advisors to supporting LGBTQ students in all kinds of ways on campus. But I think there may be a social need for the LGBT Resource Center to reach into the community more and to develop more community collaborations for nondiscrimination and even to have its outreach extend to Detroit to some of the established Detroit institutions, like Affirmations and the Ruth Ellis Center, to develop a stronger corridor of support.
Rylee Barnsdale: Well, thank you so much for being here today, Kate, and shining a light on some of the LGBT RC's storied history. And here's to another 30 years and maybe even more!

Dr. Kate Mehuron: Thank you so much for your invitation! I'm very proud to be here to talk about it, and I really appreciate it!
Rylee Barnsdale: For more information on today's topic and links to the full article, visit our website at wemu.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Rylee Barnsdale, and this is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM Ypsilanti.
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