Five Years of the Lesbigay SIG - A Personal View

When I started to write the history of NAFSA’s Lesbigay Special Interest Group, telling it as a factual story seemed dry and uninteresting. Perhaps more than any other involvement I’ve had in NAFSA, the SIG story is one of people--people who were prou d of who they are and who have been willing to work to make our association more open to all. So, this has turned into a more personal view of how the gay and lesbian movement--and the SIG--have become part of the NAFSA culture.

Like many, I was excited when the Portland, Oregon conference in 1990 included a program on advising gay and lesbian international students. Less than thrilling were the time and place for the session. Not only was it scheduled for the first session o f the last day of the conference--a morning when many of us wanted to sleep in just a little bit from all the social events of the prior week--but the room assignment was so isolated that you had to go through a construction area to get to it! Neverthele ss, a packed room of NAFSA members were excited that sexual orientation was even being discussed at a national conference.

The next year’s national meeting was held in Boston, and we were in for a week of GLB social events, coordinated by Paul Kreuger of Northeastern University. A small announcement in a preconference newsletter let us know that “special events” would be taking place, although lack of official recognition meant that nothing could be published in the conference materials. However, there were many great memories--especially the closing brunch that Paul and his partner hosted to support a local AIDS service organization.

The following year our conference was in Chicago, and Mark Thackerberry of Northern Illinois University again made sure that there were activities for GLB members to enjoy. What stays with me most from this conference was that in Chicago we had master ed the art of unofficial communication, and thus we had quite a few of the newer, younger members of NAFSA come to the events as well as a sprinkling of international students. Both groups were affirmed by our existence and growing visibility within NAFSA .

Without recognition from NAFSA, however, the GLB community was hindered in promoting our events in any official way. The logical step was to from a Special Interest Group, and this was a task I decided to undertake for the next conference--convenientl y located in San Francisco. An inquiry of interest was put out over Inter-L, NAFSA’s electronic discussion board, and with very few exceptions the response was overwhelmingly supportive. As I look through the messages I received at the time, I am amazed a t the number of heterosexual leaders of NAFSA who encouraged the development of the SIG, several of whom signed our official petition. When presented to the NAFSA Board of Directors in 1993, the SIG was approved with little controversy. We weren’t “in the closet” any more!

The first official meeting of the Lesbigay SIG was held that May in San Francisco, and we almost immediately started the tradition of suspending our bylaws to allow more flexibility in our leadership. A SIG coordinator and advisory board were elected, however, so we did keep a bit of structure. Included in SIG activities that week was a trip to the AIDS Quilt offices, where we viewed panels of friends and colleagues, and I was able to leave a panel I had completed for my partner who had passed away th e prior year.

Well, it wasn’t long before the SIG was called on for action. In September, 1993, an ad-hoc committee was formed to look at how NAFSA chooses conference sites and how we would deal with discriminatory laws in these decisions. Of immediate concern was the possibility that Arizona, site of the 1996 conference, would pass a provision forbidding the inclusion of sexual orientation in any anti-discrimination statement. Contracts had already been signed for this site, so a financial penalty for NAFSA was a real factor in the decision. The Board of Directors of NAFSA did pass a resolution that issues of inclusion would be considered in the selection of sites for national conferences, and fortunately Arizona failed to even put an initiative on the ballot so t he question of moving out of Phoenix was never necessary. (I would like to note that it is up to the various interests of NAFSA to make the Board of Directors aware of conference sites that are not in compliance with the resolution.)

The Lesbigay SIG has developed over the years into a very important group within NAFSA. We were one of the first SIG’s to get up a Web page. We are one of very few that publishes regular newsletters.

Many regional and national leaders have developed from the SIG membership. Perhaps our greatest accomplishment was the moving display of AIDS quilt panels in Phoenix, along with the preparation of a NAFSA quilt panel. I sincerely feel that the Lesbiga y SIG is now viewed within NAFSA as a source of education and information, as well as support for gay, lesbian, biseuxal and transgendered colleagues who may not always receive affirmation in their professional lives. Many students and new professionals w ho attend NAFSA conferences are amazed at the open display of the rainbow flag on name tags and the almost matter-of-fact acceptance of various sexual orientations. We are not all the way there--we still have a lot to do at the regional levels, for exampl e--but was are far closer to an accepting society in NAFSA than we were five years ago.