By Carrie PorterThe Daily Northwestern
Professor Nick Davis can’t believe his good luck.
As a first-time professor at Northwestern, his Introducing Queer Cinemas course has proven to be an instant success, with 39 students enrolled and engaged.
“I think the enthusiasm is really high,” Davis said. “From the first week, students have been connecting and talking about issues. It’s been a really gratifying experience.”
Since taking the place of Women’s Studies in 2000, Gender Studies has provided an outlet for students interested in gender, feminism and sexuality studies. The adjunct major and minor fill the need for a queer studies program, with classes that touch on volatile issues for the gay community. But although the program’s popularity has steadily risen, both professors and campus activists say transforming classroom energy into political action has proven daunting.
“Our courses draw a lot of students, which is an indication of how excited students are to learn about the subject,” said Jeffrey Masten, director of Gender Studies. The curriculum hits on a wide array of topics, he said, describing the “electricity” the subjects generate with the students. But routing that energy outside the ivory tower still poses a challenge.
“The struggle rests in tying the work that students and professors are doing academically in the classroom with their work in the world,” Masten said.
Among NU’s Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender activists, the consensus is that this struggle is an uphill battle. As outreach for Rainbow Alliance, Weinberg sophomore Jason Eby said he faces the challenge of a complacent student body. Ironically, he said, the problem may be NU’s gay-friendly atmosphere.
“Being in a tolerant environment becomes comfortable,” he said. But most of the world, he added, is not like NU.
“You need to have people critically analyze the utopia they want to live in and realize the true reality they live in,” he said.
But it may be misleading to single out NU for apathy, said Greg Jones, a SESP graduate student.
“When you see that the campus is less politically active, it can be a larger reflection of a less politically active society,” said Jones, a member of Queer Pride, a graduate student organization. “When was the last time you picked up a Chicago Tribune that dealt with LGBT issues?”
Even politically involved members of the LGBT community can be difficult to organize on campus, activists said.
“We can’t assume everyone has the same views on political issues,” said Leslie Gittings, co-president of Rainbow Alliance. Unlike generations past, today’s gay students don’t necessarily fit the traditional liberal mold, she said. Particularly at NU, where many students come from a wealthy, sometimes conservative upbringing, sexual identity can take a back seat to other issues.
“Today the threat is not life-threatening as it could have been 20 years ago,” Gittings, a McCormick senior, said. “So we can ask: is it more important that I have gender rights or a tax break?”
Jumpstarting political activism on campus will start with student initiative, Jones said. Student groups may provide an outlet for activists, he said.
“Getting students to vocalize and support LGBT issues is the first step toward change,” Jones said.
Reach Carrie Porter at [email protected].
