Meetings - History

MEETINGS - HISTORY

Here is a quick history about our 'Safe Place' meetings. In the fall of 1999, a few members of a certain religious group on Michigan Tech's campus sat in on Keweenaw Pride's meetings. This particular campus religious group held the opinion that being gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender is a sin.

The fact of them being at our meetings caused quite a bit of controversy. Some members felt that anyone who wasn't GLBT, and who believed that being GLBT was a sin, shouldn't be affiliated with our group--which was partially intended to be a support group for GLBT folks. Other members wanted to build bridges between the GLBT community and non-GLBT friendly religious groups; they saw these visitations as an opportunity to do so.

After much intense and heated debate, a compromise solution was worked out among the members of Keweenaw Pride. It was agreed that there would be two kinds or styles of meeting: open and closed. Open meetings would be open to anyone and everyone, regardless of their perspective or orientation. The purpose of the open meetings would be to educate and/or expose people from other groups about GLBT issues and outlooks. Closed meetings would be open only to GLBT people and their allies. Anyone who did not fit those categories would be respectfully asked to come back for the open meeting.

In the Spring of 2003, we changed all of our meetings into 'Safe Place' areas. This was done because there was confusion as to who can attend which meetings and the creation of a new GLBT support group will facilitate the need for a completely supportive atmosphere. Now that our meetings are officially deemed a Safe Place, any unfriendly speech or actions at our meetings will not be tolerated and those people who are demonstrating these actions will be asked to leave. If problems persist, offenders will be removed by Public Safety and be reported to the Deans Office. For more information on the campus-wide Safe Place Program, click here.

Dealing with these difficult issues is an ongoing process, as any GLBT person knows. We're still working to find the best way--if there is indeed such a thing--for dealing with unsupportive, unaccepting people, while at the same time being inclusive and welcoming to all.