Anti-gay harassment program is Wednesday
March 12, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- The WMU student group OUTspoken and the Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Student Services office will sponsor a program on "How to Respond to Anti-Gay Harassment" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, in room 210, Bernhard Center.
The program is designed to teach lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered students, along with their faculty and staff allies, how to respond should they be harassed while on campus. It will be presented by Mary Brundage, Residence Life; David Parrott, Division of Student Affairs; and Sgt. Ronald Ware, public safety.
John Martin, vice president of OUTspoken, says a 1999 survey found that 39 percent of WMU's LBGT students said they had been harassed at some point during their college career, but only 1 percent officially reported the harassment.
"LBGT students are becoming less willing to suffer harassment in silence. They want their voices heard," he says.
Media contact: Jeanne Baron, 616 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu