The vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community resources are nothing but a shadow hidden behind tons of other resources on campus.
That shadow is cast as early as New Student Orientation. Orientation begins the moment students check in. From there, they are dragged around campus for three days and two nights. They spend the majority of the third day listening to important presentations about consent, alcohol and the multiple services available on campus such as UCPD, Counseling and Psychological Services and other emergency contacts. Then, they’re off to their on-campus tour and to become a True Bruin.
Although these presentations touch upon many helpful issues, LGBT resources are severely underrepresented. Even though there are more than 20 LGBT student organizations on campus, the LGBT Campus Resource Center is excluded from reaching the general population of incoming students during orientation.
New Student Orientation presentations are long, but the program must add a session that is entirely dedicated to LGBT services and support. More students should be informed of the LGBT Campus Resource Center’s underutilized resources such as the CAPS counselors-in-residence.
Adding a mandatory presentation for the third day based primarily on the LGBT community wouldn’t have to take more than 30 minutes to get the most crucial point across: There are people out there who are there to help. The presentation could summarize the struggles that the LGBT community encounters and how the LGBT Campus Resource Center, located in the Student Activities Center, is there to help. An extra 30 minutes can’t be extremely detrimental to the never-ending schedule of orientation.
Another possible solution would be to have an optional presentation with detailed information on the LGBT community, services and support on campus during the third day of orientation, but that should only be a last-ditch option. An optional presentation on the LGBT Campus Resource Center would be outing people who might not be ready to be out. Making it mandatory would allow them to listen to the presentation without feeling judged for doing so.
As of now, the LGBT Campus Resource Center has the option to register for a table for the activities fair held during orientation. However, a table with a cute poster with bubbly letters isn’t going to bring many people in who want to talk about their sexual orientation and identity issues in front of tons of other students going around from table to table.
Instead of holding an activities fair that most students only roam around to waste time, they should use this time for an extra presentation. Cutting the activities fair from orientation to make room for the presentation wouldn’t be a problem because during the first week of fall quarter there’s the Enormous Activities Fair.
“Summer isn’t the ideal time to look for clubs, but the Enormous Activities Fair turns out to be a much better way to be involved in these organizations,” said Roxanne Neal, Director of UCLA New Student and Transition Programs.
UCLA students battling identity issues need a safe and secure place. Although orientation isn’t that place, it at least gives the students information of where they can find such places.
Although making a LGBT presentation won’t be the most effective way to solve the lack of information, making it optional would give students who do want to learn more about the various resources on campus the opportunity to do so without having to look too far. However, a mandatory presentation is the most reasonable way of handling the lack of information given to UCLA students on the LGBT Campus Resource Center.
Orientation draws attention to sexual harassment, consent, alcohol education and various academic-related topics. The most New Student Orientation even included was satirical skits.
This means there should be enough time to insert another presentation. Although it can be tiresome to sit through another presentation, adding a new segment of training would be better in the long run. UCLA students would be more comfortable with themselves and the people around them. The positive outcomes would be greater than the negatives of extending your time in a chair to endure an extra presentation.
The Williams Institute found that the highest percentage of the LGBT residents in California live in Los Angeles County. With such a large population of the LGBT community in Los Angeles County, it is irrational for a university as well-known and liberal as UCLA to not have a presentation for all incoming students on the LGBT Campus Resource Center’s services.
It’s time for the LGBT Campus Resource Center to have the spotlight on campus for once.