Students working on a proposal for a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender resource center have not gained the support of the University, though administrators have suggested that the creation of the center is unlikely at this point, students are still working to gather support.
On Tuesday, Georgetown University Student Association representatives unanimously passed a resolution proposed by junior class representatives Mary D’Ariano (CAS ‘03) and Trey Street (SFS ‘03) endorsing a GLBT resource center. Two students working on the proposal for the center, Anthony House (CAS ‘03) and Voice staff member Rob Anderson (CAS ‘05), made a presentation to the assembly, asking the association for its support in showing the administration that “there is broad-based student support” for the center.
According to Anderson, there are some programs on campus such as GU Pride and Safe Zone currently available to students, but no central location exists where students can learn about the sexual identity resources available to them at Georgetown.
“Just learning about these resources would help kids a lot,” Anderson said.
Students working on the proposal said the center would be a comfortable place where all students could go to get information on sexual identity. According to House, the University has acknowledged since 1988 that GLBT students have unique needs. House said GLBT students are nine times more likely to commit suicide, and they often experience difficulty in informing others of their sexuality and struggle to feel acclimated in a heterosexist community.
“First and foremost, it would be a safe place for students,” House said.
According to Juan Gonzalez, vice president of Student Affairs, the creation of the resource center is “not likely” at this point. Gonzalez said he does not think Church teaching would allow for the center and Georgetown’s identity as a Catholic and Jesuit university must affect his decision on the Center.
“We have to make certain that programs are in concert with Church teaching,” he said.
Gonzalez will make the final decision on the existence of the resource center. He said he has spoken with University President John J. DeGioia about the students’ proposal, and will make his decision “in concert with the University’s wish and intent.”
In addition to gathering more than 800 student signatures in support of the center, students working on the proposal met with Gonzalez in September to discuss issues facing GLBT students at Georgetown. At this meeting, Gonzalez suggested that students become familiar with Church teachings, theological and social review and the Gay People of Georgetown University court settlement of 1987 to learn about the framework by which the University makes decisions such as the implementation of the resource center.
Gonzalez said that though the students may think times have changed since the 1987 settlement, the University is still governed by the policy set in that decision. In a US appeals Court ruling, Georgetown was held to be in violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act which forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation. Georgetown funded GPGU as part of the settlement.
Although Gonzalez is “interested in taking care of our students, all our students,” he said he does not equate the center with an improvement in the quality of life for GLBT Georgetown students and is worried that it may isolate them more.
“I don’t necessarily believe that the creation of the center is the solution,” Gonzalez said.
According to Gonzalez, it would be more appropriate to “harness currently existing institutional resources to attend to the needs of GLBT students.”
Gonzalez said he is still involved in discussions with the students writing the Center’s proposal, but has tried to be honest about the likelihood of its success.
“I didn’t want the [students working on the proposal] to leave our meeting with a false hope we would approve the resource center,”he said
