Posted by Colin on February 17th, 2011 | Comments Off
After a long day of workshops, there are a number of appropriate responses including wanting to get more fired up, relax and watch a movie, or even dance the night away. Lucky for you, we have planned for all of these options. For more details, check out our Entertainment page! However, today, I want to highlight the dance party, because I know many of you are looking forward to it 
Looking for a fun way to network at the conference? Look no further than the amazing party we have planned for Saturday night. One room will be inspired by the classic dance club for a non-stop high energy party. The other room will have drag performances throughout the night by both regional and nationally known drag kings and queens. In between performances there will be a video bar for your enjoyment.
What’s a video bar you ask? Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzbAiXIhMc for an idea of the amazing experience you will have. New video mixes will be posted regularly, so check back often. Also we want to know the music YOU want to hear. So use this link, http://www.djdanterocksme.com/request.html , and request songs you want played at the party.
So be sure to bring your dancing shoes and business cards!
Posted by Mitch on February 8th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
[ note: We had previously invited PJ Serrano as a keynote presenter but he unfortunately had to decline for health reasons. Our thoughts are with him and we greatly respect his work. Kris Hayashi has graciously agreed to serve as our third keynote presenter. We believe he will make important contributions to the conference experience.]
We are excited to feature Kris Hayashi as one of our keynote presenters at the conference! His talk will focus on his current and previous work in social justice organizing, especially work with queer immigrants of color.
After growing up in Seattle, Kris Hayashi worked on multiple social and economic justice issues in California. He especially focused on environmental justice and served as the executive director of an organization run by young people of color. Now, he is the Executive Director for the Audre Lorde Project, based in Brooklyn, NY. The Audre Lorde project brings together Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Gender Non-Conforming (LGBTSTGNC) people of color in New York City to “work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice” through “mobilization, education and capacity-building.”
The organization is working on a campaign to create safe, violence-free neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn as well as an Immigrant Rights project that has pushed for queer immigrants of color to be a part of broader social justice movements. The project is a community-organizing effort meant to bring together those in the community who are queer immigrants of color. The organization also focuses on discrimination that occurs when Trans people try to access welfare and other services.
Despite their widespread oppression, Hayashi feels that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Gender Non-Conforming people of color “continue to face underrepresentation and a clear lack of visibility across multiple movements including LGBT, racial justice, gender justice, immigrant rights and even within progressive, grassroots organizing movements. Furthermore, our communities our highly under-resourced, receiving little foundation funding and support.”
In keeping with our conference theme, Justice or Just Us?, Hayashi will discuss these issues at the conference. His own experience in multiple different social justice movements will make for a rich keynote presentation.
Sources:
Audre Lorde Project: http://alp.org/about
Racial Equity Perspectives Interview: http://www.lgbtracialequity.org/perspectives/perspective.cfm?id=5
Posted by Colin on February 4th, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The following is my dream, and I encourage you to make your own because, in addition to learning and networking, MBLGTACC 2011 is a place to share your dreams and to imagine the future.
College conferences rock. They are exciting, relevant, educational, modern, and, above all, tons of fun. What’s more, they often occur at different places every year, which makes them ever more exciting. On the other hand, this changing location has the potential to be problematic. For example, the content, happenings, and speakers of the conference one year may not be remembered after a few year have passed. This effect isn’t specific to conferences of course. On more than one occasion, I have heard my mom say, “I can’t believe you don’t remember that!” in response to something that happened when I was five. Obviously, this is one of the banes of history and, until we install computers in our brains, there isn’t much we can do.
Should college conferences be resigned to the same fate? I don’t think so.
Despite the high turnover rate of students involved in such conferences, I think it is totally possible to continue to make great conferences that build upon the successes of the past. To do so, would require an in depth knowledge of the history of the conference including conference details, speakers, and a general feel for what happened.
This is no easy task. It would require awesome record keeping, lots of space, and perhaps a kind of online encyclopedia (see the note below about Wikipedia). Some of this has already been done. For example, there is a great list of past conference topics and speakers on the LGBTwiki. Additionally, with technology become so integrated into everyone’s lives, pictures, blogs, newpaper articles, and all kinds of other materials about the conference are added to the web (which has practically unlimited space) all the time. So what would it take to bring all of these resources together into one big conference info site?
Time and effort. Seriously. There is a lot of info out there about past conferences, and all it would take are those two very precious commodities (and maybe a few bucks every year for web space).
Why does it even matter if people remember the conferences of years past? For one, I bet it would make organizing the conference a little easier. I know from a tiny bit of experience that there are mistakes to be learned from and best practices I can pass along, but that certainly isn’t the only reason. Think about it. Every year, thousands of students get together to learn and talk about how they want to create change in the world in which they live. How do we keep track of it all? Right now, we see the change in the news and by word of mouth, but what if there a place on the web that could host all of this info: what happened at these conferences, what has happened since, what has yet to happen?
After all that, I wish I could say that I am unavailing such a website, but I’m not. This is my dream, and I encourage you to make your own. In addition to learning and networking, MBLGTACC 2011 is a place to share your dreams and create the future.
* * *
A quick note about Wikipedia.
Why isn’t MBLGTACC on Wikipedia, you ask? My limited knowledge on Wikipedia tells me that there are some particular rules pertaining to articles that should be written and maintained. For example, here are some of the critera about what makes an event notable:
- Events are probably notable if they have enduring historical significance and meet the general notability guideline, or if they have a significant lasting effect.
- Events are also very likely to be notable if they have widespread (national or international) impact and were very widely covered in diverse sources, especially if also re-analyzed afterwards (as described below).
- Events having lesser coverage or more limited scope may or may not be notable; the descriptions below provide guidance to assess the event.
- Routine kinds of news events (including most crimes, accidents, deaths, celebrity or political news, “shock” news, stories lacking lasting value such as “water cooler stories,” and viral phenomena) – whether or not tragic or widely reported at the time – are usually not notable unless something further gives them additional enduring significance.
This is to say that anything, including events, that are to be on Wikipedia should be “notable.” Different subjects have different notability guidelines; below are some selections from the notability guidelines for organizations:
An organization is generally considered notable if it has been the subject of significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources. Notable means “worthy of being noted” or “attracting notice.” Wikipedia bases its decision about whether an organization is notable enough to justify a separate article on the verifiable evidence that the organization or product has attracted the notice of reliable sources unrelated to the organization or product. Notability requires only that these necessary sources exist, not that the sources have already been named in the article.
Do you see what I am getting at? If we, as conference planners, attendees, and supporters, want to truly establish ourselves as an influential conference, perhaps we could make it notable. And that is a job for everyone.
Posted by Mitch on February 1st, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I know what you’re thinking. This conference sounds like the best thing since sliced bread. Or maybe the best thing since Stonewall. I agree. It’s going to be Out. Of. Control.
But I know what else you might be thinking: How am I going to afford the $65 registration fee? I feel your pain…it’s not cheap. I can assure you that every dollar is going towards important aspects of the conference. The speakers we are bringing in are top-notch and our entertainers are going to inspire you. What’s more, we’ve been hard at work raising money so that you don’t have to pay any more than $65.
But telling you why the conference costs $65 doesn’t help you pay for it. So let’s talk about how you can make the conference more affordable for yourself and others from your school. Here are a few tips direct from me to you. If you have questions on any of these or want more ideas, shoot me an email and we’ll discuss: mitchc@umich.edu.
1. Do Ask, Do Tell Departments on Campus
I know it can be uncomfortable, but the first step is to tell others you are attending the conference and ask for their support. Start by thinking about which organizations or departments on your campus would be the most likely to be interested in your attendance at our conference. Who promotes student development, diversity, social change, or LGBT issues on campus? They might have some funds that you could apply to receive.
As an example, here at Michigan, we’ve received support from the Spectrum Center, Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, and the Ginsberg Center (for community service). Look at the websites of departments similar to these on your campus for words like “sponsorship,” “funding,” or “partnership.”
If you can’t find information on the website, you may want to just email someone from the organization to ask for more information about funding possibilities. Explain who you are, what MBLGTACC is, and why it will benefit you and your campus for you to attend. This is key! Departments on your campus are usually interested in contributing to the campus environment; if you can show the benefits that your participation in MBLGTACC will have for your own campus (students will return with skills for promoting inclusion, new ideas for programming, new knowledge to make existing programming more inclusive, etc.) you’re more likely to get funding.
Even departments who don’t have an already-established funding structure might be interested in supporting you. But they can’t fund you unless you request funding! So do tell them about the conference and do ask them for support!
2. “Mom, can I have $5?”
Your family and friends may also want to support your attendance at the conference. Telling them why it’s important to you, what you’re going to get out of it, and how big of a deal it is (biggest queer college conference!) could help them whip out the checkbook. Even $5 or $10 from a few people could really help – tell them that! And be sure to write them a thank-you note J
3. DIVA Extraordinaire
If you can’t find any monies at your school or in your network, we’ve got another option for you. The DIVA Internship program allows a limited number of conference participants to work at the conference in lieu of the $50 conference fee (you’ll still have to pay the $15 registration fee). It’s a great way to learn about how to put on a conference by working with our team (which is pretty fun) for eight hours. We also can provide housing to those selected as DIVAs if needed. DIVA Apps are due February 4th – act fast!
So. Search around your campus for funding possibilities; ask your network for support; and check out our DIVA program. It is our hope that financial need won’t prevent anyone who really wants to be at the conference from attending. Good luck and we’ll see you soon! Go queers!
Post by: Mitch Crispell (Senior majoring in Organizational Studies with a minor in Community Action and Social Change. He is a member of the planning team.)
Posted by Colin on January 26th, 2011 | Comments Off
At the conference I mean! “What is he talking about?” I hear you ask! I’ll explain.
We have been spending the past year reaching out to sponsors to help cover the costs of the conference. Like any event, the sponsors receive advertising space in return for their generous donations. Unlike relatively short sponsored events like concerts or marathons, the conference provides an amazing space where students can speak with representatives from sponsor companies to learn more about them. What’s more, it is an excellent place for sponsors to showcase their presence and activism in the queer community. This showcase event is called the exhibitor fair.
One of the coolest parts of the exhibitor fair is that some companies will be accepting resumes! We already have information from Progressive and Accenture about job openings (information you can find on our exhibitor fair page), and we hope to be accepting more. To help you prepare for as many opportunities at the conference, we have put together a few simple suggestions!
Bring a resume
Many of our company sponsors will be accepting resumes at their table at the Exhibitors Fair. Additionally, the MBLGTACC 2011 will be collecting resumes in a drop-box (ask at registration).
Network with company representatives
Company representatives will be on hand at the Exhibitors Fair all day on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The fair will run from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM in the Michigan Union.
Attend the Workplace Panel Discussion/Q&A
Join OUT for Work and many of our sponsors for a panel discussion by company representatives. Bring questions on topics such as workplace equality, diversity policies and practices, or particular details of the professional opportunities offered by our corporate partners.
Apply for a job or internship!
What can it hurt? While you are learning and enjoying yourself at the conference, why not get a job too!
