A door that is always open

As the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Center, I want to take the opportunity to respond to the negative characterizations and criticism of our programming that has unfolded over the past few weeks.

My sense is that these responses were sparked by two recent programs, "Putting the Sex Back in Sexuality: Have We Lost Our Roots?" and "The Religious Right's Obsession with Gay Sex." Had the LGBT Center not sponsored these programs — which made people "uncomfortable"­­— we would not be having this discussion now. These programs represent only the second time we have offered programming around the topic of sex in five years. We will continue to have programming on LGBT sexual topics, as this is an important subject about which there is great misunderstanding and misinformation.

A glance at the LGBT Center calendar reveals the wide array of programming the LGBT Center offers annually, with about two programs per week. There are programs that addresses religion ("Chattin' with the Chaplain" and "Religion and the Queer Community" series), race and ethnicity ("Queering the Color Line" and "International Perspectives on Being LGBT"), the intersection of identities (Monroe France, Ingrid Rivera and Cheryl Clarke), politics ("Courting the Queer Vote," with representatives from Log Cabin Republicans and Stonewall Democrats, and "The State of Gay Marriage"), academic talks (Karen Krahulik, Leila Rupp and "Gays in the Military Revisited"), bisexuality (Dr. Fritz Klein), transgender topics (Transgender Day of Remembrance and Mara Keisling) and identity and health related topics (coming out, being out in the job search, body image, dating/healthy relationships, safer sex and substance abuse).What is "liberal" or "radical" about these issues? Let me add that our community should not be afraid of the labels "liberal" or "radical." In fact, although I attempt to represent an array of viewpoints on a variety of subjects, I receive criticism from some students who feel the LGBT Center is "too mainstream" and needs to project more leftist politics.

For those who would like to see more "conservative" or religious programming, Mel White, an evangelical Christian leader, spoke last week, an event that was cosponsored by the LGBT Center. If students expect the LGBT Center to invite speakers who will espouse hatred, this will never happen under my watch. If students desire to have an array of LGBT perspectives, this has been happening for the past five years and will continue to happen. The LGBT Center's chief mission is to offer programming, advising and support to LGBT students, to help enrich their experience, and to work to make students' lives on campus free of homophobia, gender bias and heterosexism. Our goal is to serve the entire campus community by offering programming that is open to everyone and training for University offices (e.g., University Health Services, Athletics, the Office of Religious Life, the Residential Colleges and Public Safety).

I welcome conversations with anyone who has concerns about our programming to come to the LGBT Center and meet with me. It is easy to make negative or inaccurate generalizations about the work of the LGBT Center. However, if your goal is to go beyond criticism and actually create change, dialogue and civic engagement are far more productive ways to address these issues. My door is always open.

Lastly, there seems to be confusion about the difference between the LGBT Center and the various LGBT organizations on campus. The LGBT coordinator position began in 1989 out of the Office of Religious Life and was the sixth such position in the country. In August 2005, LGBT Student Services transformed into the LGBT Center. We joined the ranks of many of our peer institutions, including Brown, Cornell, Duke, Penn and Stanford, who have had LGBT Centers for years.

Though students play a critical role in the center, it is not a student organization or student run. However, Princeton has numerous active LGBT organizations that work in conjunction with the center. Several of these groups are the Pride Alliance, Queer Graduate Caucus, LGBT Task Force, and LGBT Staff and Faculty Group.

The LGBT community at Princeton is very diverse and multifaceted. I am unclear as to why people choose not to distinguish between the LGBT Center and the various campus organizations. If you have not been to the LGBT Center, I encourage you to visit our space in Frist 246, and if you are interested in learning more about us or the other LGBT facets on campus, please visit us at www.princeton.edu/lgbt. Again, my door is always open. Debbie Bazarsky is the Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center. She can be reached at bazarsky@princeton.edu.