Meetings: 2011 (3.14) | The President’s Commission for LGBT Issues

PCLGBTI Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2011

Location: Marie Mount Hall

Reaction to town hall meetings & themes presented:

• Community, resources, visibility, training, housing

• President Loh

o Was engaged

o Made comments about financial resources

• Student resources needed, particularly rooms – limited access to rooms as an umbrella group (PRIDE). Now required to pay for room space.

o Told “we can’t do ‘special cases’ for them” o Forming a “shadow group” to up their number of rooms

• Difference in tone and attendance for each town hall meeting

• Some came to the early one and not the later student one. Almost seemed like they were paying dues by showing up to early one, and not staying later one.

• Support from visible people – Bob Gold, Ann Wylie, Deb Grandner from housing, who was nicely non-defensive.

• Every administrator says “no resources” are available – impressed by Loh’s non-defensive stance, impressed by his staying, by his willingness to show audience he was moved by what he heard. He was deferring to all of us – it is our job. He took a consultative approach. Acknowledged our (Tanner, Luke, Marilee) prior meeting with him.

• The Commission should follow up with Loh

• The Commission set a good tone for future town halls in terms of listening How do we handle the town hall issues now?

• Add initiatives to our workload

• Hand it off to the appropriate people and departments

• Make recommendations to President

• Consider “partnering” vs. “assigning tasks to responsible directors”

• Review of town hall compiled notes not necessarily now, but want comments on:

o Section headings

o Things missed or misstated

• Add summary – what is this, what does it represent – “this” is what was said, based on community member perceptions.

• Small group will meet to do suggestions/action items

• Everyone send comments to Laura by Friday, April 8.

• Mark will send out notes from town hall meetings to everyone.

Update on Marriage, DP Benefits, Gender Identity, etc.

• Tanner asked Dale Anderson to put info on web on domestic partners and marriage recognition

• EDI committee – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

o Weren’t going to push until marriage was decided. Will now “take different stance” (not a lot of energy on committee for this)

• Is this the time to ask for system-wide DP Benefits for same- and opposite-sex partners?

• Should this be pursued through EDI, or directly through a letter from Dr. Loh?