Committee plans to make LGBTQ life more comfortable at UNC

The Provost’s Committee on LGBTQ Life met Friday afternoon to discuss their budget for the upcoming school year, plan a luncheon and discuss ways they can assist LGBTQ people at UNC.

What happened?

The committee discussed having a day or week when academic departments are invited to display LGBTQ flags in support of UNC’s LGBTQ community. However, there were concerns about obtaining permission to hang the flags and potential political backlash of such an event. 

Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, was discussed as a possibility for the LGBTQ flag day.

Student organizations including the Sexuality and Gender Alliance asked the committee for grants to assist them financially as they promote the agenda of the Provost’s Committee. 

The committee also discussed what else it can do to support transgender students, as well as how UNC can make their website more diverse and inclusive.

Who spoke?

The committee talked about recent developments on LGBTQ issues, including House Bill 2 and its effect on North Carolina and the state's institutions of higher education.

Judith Webb, a professor in the School of Nursing who recently moved here from Boston, said she knew colleagues in Boston who would not move to North Carolina due to HB2. 

“The state of North Carolina has become the proxy for a bigoted state to live in,” Webb said. “We live in North Carolina, and I think we need to buff our image.”

Law professor Barbara Fedders said UNC needs to do a better job of denouncing HB2.

“HB2 is a crisis. It is a disaster, and it is probably unconstitutional. I don’t think that the University administration has been very good about saying ‘This is a terrible law, and it’s hurting our students and faculty,'” Fedders said.

After describing the last few years as “volatile” for the LGBTQ community, committee chairperson Roger Kaplan said the time is right for the committee to increase their visibility on campus.

“The scene is set, and right, for us to be out there and make our presence known,” he said. “It’s very important, in my opinion, because we want students to know that we have their back.”

The committee will have a luncheon with Provost Jim Dean on Sept. 20 in which they are hoping to get their yearly budget raised from $11,500 to $23,000. 

“We are asking for a drop in the bucket,” communication studies professor Rich Cante said about the money.

Why was this meeting important?

The committee is planning how to ask the Provost for double the funding they usually receive at the upcoming luncheon.

The Provost's committee has plans to make the LGBTQ community feel more at home at UNC during a time of unrest in the LGBTQ community in North Carolina.

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