Saturday’s 2014 Louisiana Queer Conference mark the beginning of a new era of LGBT equality awareness in Louisiana.
Micah Caswell, graduate assistant in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and coordinator of the LGBTQ Project and the Safe Space Campaign, said the theme for this year’s conference is “From Pride to Power,” which is not only fitting, but significant because the conference is scheduled so close to the start of the legislative session.
Michael Beyer, panel coordinator for Spectrum, the University’s primary LGBT organization, said the theme takes on multiple meanings. One interpretation is how the LGBT movement is represented in politics, and another is how the movement started as pride but is now getting more notice in the legislative realm.
The conference will gather LGBT advocacy organizations from across the state and is sponsored by the University organization Spectrum, Equality Louisiana, Louisiana Trans Advocates, Capital City Alliance, the LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs and LSU Student Government, Caswell said.
Sarah Munshi, public policy associate for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, is the keynote speaker for the conference, Caswell said.
GLSEN is a national organization that actively works to counter anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools.
According to GLSEN’s 2011 National School Climate Survey “the vast majority of LGBT students in Louisiana regularly heard homophobic remarks, sexist remarks and negative remarks about gender expression.”
In a guest blog post for Equality Louisiana, Munshi said GLSEN is also dedicated to eliminating “school pushout.” The term describes the cycle many LGBT students fall into resulting in a school-to-prison pipeline.
Many schools, because of a lack of resources, force harsh discipline like suspensions and expulsions, and LGBT students are often disengaged and more likely to drop out, Munshi said.
Beyer said Munshi’s appearance at the conference should add perspective on the important work she does with bullying and discipline of LGBT youth in schools.
“The issue is LGBT students in high school or grammar school are getting in trouble for bullying or are the bullied,” Beyer said. “They often go from the school system to the legal system.”
Meyer said Mushi has relevant things to say about LGBT rights in Louisiana and the LGBT movement.
The conference will feature three different workshop sessions, each containing five to six workshops covering various topics, Caswell said.
The workshop session will touch on subjects including general leadership skills in LGBT organizations, LGBT media coverage, effective LGBT event planning, as well as various fun workshops, such as using humor to diffuse homophobic interactions, Caswell said.
“The overall theme of the conference mirrors every person’s coming out story and the journey it takes in admitting to yourself that you are queer and taking power in that,” Beyer said.
Beyer said the sense of community at the conference has heightened over the past few years.
“I remember going to the conference for the first time and feeling isolated, but now I look forward to seeing people again and being a part of the biggest [LGBT] conference in Louisiana,” Beyer said.
Caswell said the conference has attracted attendees from Louisiana Tech University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans, Loyola and Tulane. There were also attendees from Alabama at last year’s conference, he said.
“The overall theme of the conference mirrors every person’s coming out story and the journey it takes in admitting to yourself that you are queer and taking power in that.”
Saturday March 22
Location: Coates Hall (registration in lobby)
Time: Registration- 9 a.m.
Event- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Keynote: Sarah Munshi- 4:30 p.m