LGBTQ Center Magazine Spring 2013

March 13, 2013
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Letter from the Director

Happy New Year and Greetings from the LGBTQ Center! The LGBTQ Center was founded in the spring of 2003. As we begin preparing to celebrate 10 years of working to foster a safe and welcoming community for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions we thought it was time to launch an LGBTQ Center newsletter. Our plan for this newsletter is that it will be a way for us to keep graduates informed about our work, to keep us connected to the accomplishments of graduates, and begin to build a network of people with whom future Tar Heels can connect after graduation. In order to create a title for the newsletter, we are hosting a “Name the Newsletter Contest” (see details on pg 11). We also welcome feedback and ideas about the content, features, and structure. We want to create something that you find informative, interesting, and valuable.

I have been privileged to serve in multiple capacities at the LGBTQ Center for eight years and I have seen much positive change in that time:

  • Creation of a policy that any new building or major renovation must include the creation of at least one gender non-specific restroom
  • Inauguration of the annual Lavender Graduation Ceremony
  • The addition of gender identity and gender expression to the UNC-Chapel Hill policy on nondiscrimination
  • UNC system-wide equity for student purchase of health insurance for a same-sex partner in the student health insurance plan
  • Creation of an inclusive language policy
  • Creation of gender non-specific housing option in campus housing
  • Increased advocacy by Human Resources and General Administration for benefits equity for staff and faculty with same-sex partners
  • Over 2,000 active (i.e., still on UNC-CH campus) Safe Zone Allies

While the LGBTQ Center and its staff played important roles in each of these accomplishments, they could only have happened in partnership and with the support of many people, organizations, and departments. Many of you reading this right now played instrumental roles.

The LGBTQ Center still has many things to address and accomplish. We will continue to push for benefits equity (i.e., the ability of employees with same sex spouses to purchase health insurance for their spouse); the purchase of health insurance that does not exclude coverage for transition-related medical care; increased inclusion in the curriculum of LGBTQ, intersex, Two Spirit, and Same Gender Loving communities; and improvements in campus climate for LGBTQ, intersex, Two Spirit, and Same Gender Loving communities and their allies. We hope that former Tar Heels will stay in touch and support us as we continue to work toward full equality and inclusion of people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

We hope that Tar Heel Graduates who value this continuing work will support us with donations of time, talent, energy, and finances. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Terri L. Phoenix

What's Inside

In this first edition of the LGBTQ Center's semi-annual newsletter:

  • Gender Non-Specific Housing
  • Center Highlights
  • Safe Zone
  • Impact of Center
  • Programming
  • Featured Alumna Spotlight: Maggie Carlin
  • Graduate and Professional Student Programs
  • Contest: Name Our Newsletter!

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