As I reflect on my first semester at LMU, my first tweet of #JoinThePride is taking on multiple meanings in wonderful ways.
As many of you know, my B.A. is in ethnic studies. I’ve spent much of my adult life in women’s organizations. I was a first-generation student from a working-class background. I’ve also engaged in many forms of advocacy work for LGBTQIA+ students, partly because it was the area of social justice activism I knew the least about as a student, and when I started professional work in diversity issues I firmly believed that ending one oppression required ending all oppressions.
My master’s thesis examined resident advisor attitudes on LGBT issues and how they affect living climate for queer students. My first project at Harvard College was to establish the Office of BGLTQ Student Life. At WashU, I created an assistant director for LGBT and Gender Justice position at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. My ability to immerse myself in race, class, gender, and sexuality justice was the cornerstone of my first role as a campus diversity officer and director of the Women’s Center at UC San Diego, where the directors of the LGBT Center, Cross-Cultural Center, and I first created our combined identity as Campus Community Centers in 2001.
Being a person of faith, it’s been important to me that my spiritual practice be one that professes love, acceptance, and affirmation for all persons. I’ve often witnessed the harm felt by members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the name of others’ faith. This was something I seriously considered when weighing the offer to join the LMU community. Would I be able to be my authentic self in my justice work? Could I be true to my conviction that ending one oppression requires ending all oppressions? My first sign came when I checked out the LMU website and discovered LGBT Student Services and the LGBT Faculty and Staff Network. Then, during my first campus visit, I encountered out folk as part of my interview. This place was looking promising.
Fast forward toward the end of my first semester as I sat on stage at commencement, and any apprehension I had about my ability to advocate for all social justice issues was drowned out by the thunderous applause for Abby Wambach. The university leadership had invited an out queer woman to be the speaker at one of the most important events for the campus community. The leaders I’d be working with knew she would be speaking her truth. And then Camille Orozco ’22 sang “we are all persons” in place of “men and women” for our alma mater. Finally, President Snyder reminded us of how far we’d come from “men for others” to “persons for and with others.”
I went home from commencement and watched the speech again on YouTube. I shared it in my social networks. Yes, I was proud of my new university! This Pride Month feels different than any other I’ve experienced at all the other universities I’ve worked because when the stakes are high, that’s when the conviction and commitment of leadership is really tested.
I’m honored to work alongside the folks on the President’s Cabinet and all those who had a hand in taking this bold step. This doesn’t mean we’re perfect or that we don’t have a lot of work to do. But it’s important to celebrate the things we do get right.
Happy Pride Month Lion Family!
#ProudToJoinThePride #LionPride
DEI Buzz
- Celebrate Pride Month with LMU’s new LGBTQIA+ community hub.
- Share your artistic expressions to celebrate Pride by submitting your creative pieces. Complete this form to share your visual art, written works, musical contributions, or videos with the LMU community.
