It's Time to Play GLB Jeopardy

Scott King

Discussing sexual orientation issues with a student group is always difficult. Keeping participants open to a very touchy and controversial subject, while creating an atmosphere where information is shared can be a challenge. For the past two years, I have been asked to do a training session on gay, lesbian and bisexual concerns for the residence hall staff at Old Dominion. The way I have been successful in getting students to open up, listen, and respond has been by developing a jeopardy game with GLB categories.

I have used a combination of serious and lighthearted categories. The game is played much like the games you see on television. However, to allow a large number of participants, we had 3 teams of 4 players each, and this past year designated the teams with the name of a famous gay or lesbian individual. The categories used for the games have been: Famous Gay Men & Lesbians; The Numbers Game (statistics on GLB people); AIDS (not solely a GLB issue, of course, and the answers emphasized that fact); The Gay and Lesbian World (international facts); The Real Meaning of Slang Terms (defusing language a bit); Symbols; Dates in GLB History; Facts & Figures; Coming Out; Potpourri (it's jeopardy--we have to have this category!)

Both years the students who participated were enthusiastic participants--even the men who often tend to shy away from any discussion of sexual orientation. The topics used in the game were discussed later, and encouraged a great deal of insightful conversation.

If you don't have Web access, contact me at (757)683-4756 or Sking@odu.edu and I'll be glad to share the information.