The Center for Minority Educational Affairs and the Women’s Center have cemented their place on Georgetown’s campus for a number of years now. Although the presence of both of these centers have been challenged at one time or another, it seems that the majority of Georgetown students understand and accept the need for such spaces on campus. The needs of one group on campus, however, have been overlooked by administrators for much too long. These individuals are the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students of Georgetown.
For the past couple of weeks, students working on a proposal for the creation of a GLBT resource center on campus have been circulating a petition. To date, they have collected approximately 1,000 signatures and aim for 500 more. Last night, members of the Georgetown University Student Association unanimously passed a resolution in support of the resource center, pledging their support to help see its creation to the best of their ability.
If students are in support of a GLBT center, what is holding the University back from okaying it? For starters, the first thing which pops into most people’s heads is the question of Georgetown’s Catholic identity. Does non-heterosexual orientation conflict with Catholic doctrines?
Supporters assert that their research has shown that Catholic teaching makes a clear division between sexual orientation and sexual activity. Granted that Catholic practices may at times project different ideas from Catholic doctrines, no Catholic teaching explicitly condemns non-heterosexual orientation. In fact, the National Council of Catholic Bishops have historically supported the need for special care for homosexuals.
With this in mind, it is important to note that the proposed GLBT resource center is focused solely on the social and psychological issues that surround sexual orientation. Center advocates are not asking for a condom distribution center, they are asking for a safe space on campus that will address the issues that most non-heterosexual University students inevitably face during their time here.
A seemingly large number of GLBT students at Georgetown face issues of depression, suicide and rape. One of the main goals for the resource center is to have an administrator hired specifically to address such issues. Currently, these issues fall under the watch of Vice President of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez ? an administrator who claims he already has too much on his plate to handle. Right now, issues are addressed at the individual level, and only after they have already occurred. With the resource center, the root of these problems can be addressed before they develop, hopefully preventing future students from having to go through the same experience.
The resource center would also provide an opportunity to collect official statistics relating to GLBT students at Georgetown. The University presently holds and collects annual statistics concerning other minority group on campus. If a student wanted to find the number of sexual harassment cases filed by women in 2000, those statistics would be quick at hand. For GLBT students, no such official statistics currently exist.
Twenty-six out of the top 50 schools in U.S. News and World Report have a GLBT resource center. Sixteen out of the 30 Consortium on Financing Higher Education schools that Georgetown compares itself to have GLBT resource centers. The problems that GLBT students face in college are real and need to be addressed immediately. Schools such as Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania have recognized their needs, isn’t it time that Georgetown does too?
