Insults were thrown, derogatory terms were dished out and those attending last December’s town-hall-style meeting about an LGBT center left those in the Student Senate chamber with bad tastes in their mouths.
Students and faculty alike claim there is a low tolerance for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender students. They said it was obvious last December and it was obvious this summer.
Visitors to the college attending the Campaign to End AIDs event held at N.C. State complained of harassment from students in the dining room as well as while walking around campus.
But this week the announcement came from Tom Stafford, vice chancellor of student affairs, that the LGBT Center will become a reality.
According to Stafford, the need arose based on the results of a number of surveys and committees that studied the treatment of LGBT students.
“There have been a number of instances when [LGBT] students report some kind of harassment — not necessarily physical assault, but some level of harassment,” Stafford said.
Opposition to the Center arose last year, as many students said they wouldn’t pay for a Center that supports an act they disapprove of.
“Some people thought this was a proposal to go out and build a building somewhere and have a full staff,” Stafford said. “But it’s really going to be an office and a program that we have for the whole campus.”
Though it is confirmed that the office will be housed in Talley Student Center, the exact location of the LGBT center is still in the air.
According to Stafford and Jose Picart, the vice provost of diversity and African-American affairs, funding is coming half from student affairs and half from the Provost’s office. Both groups have matched each other’s startup cost of $30,000.
An additional $30,000 to 40,000 has already been set aside from the two offices as a resource center budget specifically for the LGBT Center, Stafford said.
The amount given from student affairs is split between unallocated student fees and student center fees, though Stafford said he is hoping to use primarily state appropriated funds.
“We’re going to look at the whole thing after the state’s budget cuts,” Stafford said.
For those working to establish the Center for the last five years, it has been a long process.
“Sometimes people don’t realize how long this has been worked on,” Deb Luckadoo, director of activities for Talley, said. “And it’s such a national issue as well, so you’re always going to have the two different sides.”
