NU Pride’s Spring Dragstravaganza is tonight!
Drag-strav-a-gan-za
noun. an elaborate hot mess: the dragstravaganza left trail of sweat and glitter from on the stage to the dressing room.
Check it out at Northeastern in afterHOURS from 7pm on.
There’s a Speak-out this Thursday at 7pm at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England located at 514 Parker St. for everyone to hear the powerful stories of our dining hall and cafe workers. Come show your support and stand in solidarity with our workers in fighting for respect, dignity, and a fair workplace!
Hosted by Huskies Organizing with Labor (HOWL), a coalition of student groups united to support NU’s dining hall workers.
Jessica Valenti, founder of Feministing, is coming to Northeastern!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in 103 Churchill 7pm
She is the author of Full Frontal Feminism, He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut, and The Purity Myth. Valenti was named in March 2011 as one of The Guardian’s top 100 women, for what the newspaper described as her pioneering work in bringing the feminist movement online and into the 21st century.
It’s a public event so any non-NU friends that want to join me, shoot me a message.
SGA voted against bringing a Chick-fil-A to NU’s campus!
Take that! #faith in student government #I never thought I’d say that
Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, is responsible for donating millions to anti-LGBTQ rights organizations. We do not agree with Northeastern’s choice to support Chick-fil-A as a vendor in the Curry Student Center using our tuition and Student Center Fee dollars when this fast food corporation’s values do not align with Northeastern’s commitment to providing a safe, inclusive campus. We want a local, fresh option and not a multi-national corporation with questionable ethics.
We demand that Northeastern put people before profits! Sign the Change petition today!
Re: Queer Activism on NU’s campus
I’m ready to kick up an advocacy storm. It’s about time that we see a few more queer inclusive policies pushed onto the administration’s agenda. After all, Northeastern prides itself on being home to a diverse community, let’s make it safer for everyone. Still, as a queer, trans* activist on campus, I’ve regularly felt like I’m tied up in red tape, and this is by no means consensual.
Let’s go over some queer resources we already have in place or are coming soon:
- LGBTQA Resource Room through NU Pride (328 Curry)
- Gender-Neutral Housing (Available for Upperclassmen and Freshman)
- Gender-Neutral Bathroom Map
- Preferred Name and Gender Change Form (In progress, link to come soon!)
- “Sexual Orientation” is included in our Equal Opportunity Policy. If you need to report an incident, feel empowered to do so! (“Gender Identity and Expression” will be added to NU’s EOP in 2012 thanks to the passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill.)
- OUT @ NU Speakers Bureau
- Queer Caucus (NU School of Law Graduate Student Group)
- Matthew Shepard-Morris S. Kay Scholarship Application
- GLBT Studies Research at NU’s Libraries
- Safe Zone Training for Residential Life (Is this still running?)
Alright, now let’s go over a few things that we need:
- Trans* inclusive healthcare
- Queer Studies courses (Including dedicated professors to teach them!)
- Private changing and showering facilities at the Marino Center and Squashbusters to protect the privacy of trans* individuals
- Full-time staff and an annual budget for the LGBTQA Resource Room
- Forms that allow students to self-identify gender
- A better distribution of student activity funds for social justice and cultural student groups
- LGBTQA Alumni group
- Lavender or Rainbow graduation
- LGBTQA mentoring program for new students
- Meetings between NU public safety and LGBTQA campus organizations to better understand safety concerns
So what is it going to take to see some more change? Visibility and leadership! Stand in solidarity with the queer community and speak out! With that being said, if you need any help starting a queer activism campaign, please feel free to contact me. I’m always down for some good old-fashioned community/student organizing.
- Dylan
Hey fellow feminists!
My friend, Hannah, helped to start the Feminist Because tumblr as a class project at the College of Charleston to foster a greater understanding of why people identify as feminists. They are looking for more people to participate to get a better representation of diverse backgrounds from across the country. If you want to join in on the project, check out the submission guidelines and send in a photo today!
Andrea Gibson - “How It Ends” at Capturing Fire, Washington DC March 2010
Andrea is going to be at Northeastern tonight! 200 Richards, 8pm. Free admission, which means you have no reason not to be there.
NU’s Gender Neutral Bathroom Map
We need your help in mapping the gender neutral bathrooms on NU’s campus! This will serve as a tool for students, faculty, and staff to locate single-stall gender neutral bathrooms that allow them to use the restroom without feeling uncomfortable or threatened by having to choose between the men’s or women’s rooms. If you know of any locations to add, please comment on this link or email nupride.info@gmail.com. Thanks! -NU Pride
Green locations are public access; Red locations require swipe access.
Preferred Name and Pronoun Update
So red tape is always a mess, but the NU Registrar is looking into what would need to happen to implement the Preferred Name and Pronoun software! This software was developed by UVM to patch the SunGard Banner System so that students can indicate a preferred name and/or pronoun through their self-service student portal that could then be used on their student ID cards, class rosters, grade reports, unofficial transcripts, etc.
In the meantime, the Registrar is offering a short-term fix to adjust the names of individuals on a case-by-case basis. PROGRESS! This is definitely a step in the right direction, but we still need to continue pushing forward to make this a long-term change at Northeastern. Thank you for all of your support thus far! I’ll keep everyone updated as the project moves forward.
-Dylan
Comedian Ian Harvie is coming to afterHOURS tonight as a part of Transgender Day of Remembrance (official day was yesterday). So if you’re in the Boston area, come check it out. Show starts at 5pm.
Click through for “Passing as Gay”
Dear Northeastern University Community:
Help improve safety for transgender students on NU’s campus! Sign this petition in support of the Preferred Name and Pronoun Software Initiative for NU’s Banner System!
CLICK THROUGH TO SIGN THE PETITION
This software, developed by the University of Vermont, would allow Northeastern students to substitute a preferred name for their legal name and indicate a preferred pronoun on various internal university documents and student-information systems including class rosters and student identification cards through myNEU Self-Service. This will significantly reduce the risk of harassment for transgender students during daily routines on campus.
Please share the link with anyone in the NU community including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Thanks for your support!
Peace and Rainbows,
Dylan
I’m really proud of the way this ad turned out. The Pride Committee is thinking of calling it OUTober next year.
