More than two years after agreeing to provide a coordinator for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students on campus, the University finally permanently filled the position over the summer. Bill McCoy joined the Georgetown staff on Aug. 2, with the duel role of Assistant Director of Student Organizations and LGBTQ Community Resources. McCoy is a welcome addition to the campus, but his hiring alone does not solve the problems facing Georgetown’s LGBTQ students.
McCoy joins a campus that has experienced several demonstrations of homophobic behavior, as well as an administration that denied LGBTQ students a resource center three years ago primarily because it would allegedly advocating homosexual intercourse. Needless to say, he has his work cut out for him. The University must do everything in its power to help McCoy make Georgetown LGBTQ-friendly.
Coming to Georgetown from a position as Coordinator of Student Club Development at New York University, McCoy said he plans not only to expand service for gay and lesbian students, but also bring awareness of gay, lesbian and especially transgender issues, as well as identity politics, to an often ignorant campus.
“I think [Georgetown] is an interesting place to do this work, and there is an obvious need,” he said.
His educational vision is encouraging, but McCoy must not forget basic resources in his quest to expand understanding.
McCoy hosted a well-attended open house for LGBTQ students on Monday similar to those put on by the Office of International Programs and the Women’s Center. But unlike sophomores interested in studying abroad, LGBTQ students are not always willing or able to seek help in such a public forum. Anonymity is essential in the provision of services to gay and lesbian students. The first order of business for McCoy must be the creation of an LGBTQ resources website, maintained regularly and linked to Georgetown’s student living website be.georgetown.edu.
Ultimately, however, a website will not be enough. LGBTQ students on this campus need a resource center where they can get information about local services, a space that can act as a safe haven, and an administrator dedicated solely to serving their interests. As hard as McCoy might try to provide the necessary resources, his other job advising student clubs that detracts from his ability to help LGBTQ students. And while he may push for a resource center, the University continues to argue that there is no space.
Over the past two years, new buildings like the Southwest Quadrangle have been opened new office space on Georgetown’s cramped campus. The University easily could have provided for an LGBTQ resource center in the plans for the Southwest Quad, but it squandered that opportunity. Now, it should provide for one in the plans for the New South space or the Leavey Center. The administration needs to stop making excuses and start providing real services to LGBTQ students.
