In 1968, black students at Northwestern received their own Office of Student Affairs, now based in the Black House. In 2000, 14 cultural student groups left Norris University Center and found a haven at the Multicultural Center. Now, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students at NU are again aiming to establish their own resource center on the Evanston Campus.
Rainbow Alliance and the Associated Student Government are looking for a space to provide LGBT students with a trained full-time staff, space for social events and a library. Although both groups favor increasing resources for LGBT students and support the merit of a bill that will come before senators Wednesday, some Rainbow Alliance members say ASG’s proposal to place a resource center in Norris may fall short of their goals.
In addition to LGBT students’ demands, an center was the third most pertinent project cited in late February by the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee, which asks the university to allocate funding to a number of projects.
“Everyone in Rainbow Alliance is in favor of ASG’s efforts to get a resource center,” said John Hughes, ASG senator for Rainbow Alliance and a former Daily forum editor. “But at this point, there are a lot of different perspectives about what’s best for the group.”
ASG senators and members of the LGBT community all know that some efforts have to be made — NU and Purdue University are the only two Big Ten universities without any type of resource center, according to the Web site of the National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Higher Education. Every past proposal dealing with the prospect of a LGBT center has included hiring a staff person to work 10 hours a week to provide support and counseling at a cost of $5,400. But the new ASG bill differs by specifically calling for the center to be housed in Norris — while other proposals have mentioned the MCC or a small house near Sheridan Road.
Hughes said the Norris space poses several problems for LGBT students. The proposed office on Norris’ third floor, currently occupied by Student Legal Services, is 11.5 by 11 feet — smaller than most dorm rooms — and cannot provide all the resources students need, he said.
“We want a space serving a function similar to the Black House,” Hughes said, “at least a room big enough for 30 people.”
William Banis, vice president for student affairs declined to comment on the feasibility of converting a university house into such a center.
Banis has said in 2002, when students met with University President Henry Bienen to push for a resource center, that such a project is financially unfeasible in the current economic climate. This year’s announcement of a universitywide budget cut put on hold the idea to hire a staff member.
Students also might feel intimidated to use a resource center in Norris because the space could be too visible, said Justin Lipper, co-president of the Rainbow Alliance. The point of the resource center is to give students who are having trouble dealing with their sexuality a comfort zone — but these students might not feel comfortable discussing their issues as their peers and administrators roam the hallways, he said.
Lipper, a Weinberg sophomore, said another problem is the proposed room’s proximity to the Rainbow Alliance office, a politically-oriented student group that supports all sexualities.
“There’s a lot of pressure put on the Rainbow Alliance to provide the LGBT community the voice it requires,” Lipper said. “A resource center would appeal to a broader group of people who can be non-activist.”
Lipper said a house off Sheridan would provide an ideal location for the resource center. This option would grant the LGBT community the ability to take full advantage of the programming the center would provide, he said.
But proximity to other student groups and space issues should not be the focus, said Mehak Sethi, the senator who wrote the ASG’s bill.
“We’re just trying to make the administration realize that something is wrong,” said Sethi, a Weinberg freshman. “By not spending money and not creating a resource center, we’re telling NU that students needs aren’t being met. If it’s just a room in Norris, something’s better than nothing. I know it’s not ideal.”
Even a room in Norris could help NU catch up with some of the LGBT resource efforts taking place at other universities across the nation.
Saralyn Chesnut, director of the Office of LGBT Life at Emory University in Atlanta, said the university provides an estimated $130,000 each year. Emory established its center in 1991.
Pennsylvania State University’s resource center is equipped with more than 800 books and has a full-time director, a part-time graduate assistant and eight interns, said Allison Subasic, director of the school’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Student Resource Center.
The LGBT community at NU does not have any of those resources, according to Hughes.
“We have faculty,” Hughes said, “but they have other full-time jobs.”
Whether in a house, Norris or MCC, Lipper said the Rainbow Alliance will back any proposal benefitting the LGBT community.
“This year, we’ll just have to accept (whatever happens),” Lipper said. “Hopefully, next year we can get together to reinforce the fact that there’s a large community at Northwestern who needs resources.”
