Out in the Mountains

National Teleconference
Held at UVM and Castleton

Pat Noll

. “Understanding and Meeting the Needs

of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students”
was the title of a national teleconference
presented February 6th, by the National
Association of Student Personnel Ad-
ministrators and National University Tel-
econference Network and hosted by
UVM and Castleton State College. The
program focused on assisting campuses
to deal with homophobia and harassment
and to provide a supportive environment
for gay, lesbian and bisexual students.
Students, faculty and staff from area col-
leges and universities attended, providing
an opportunity to network and compare
experiences and programs.

The teleconference panel, responding to
prepared and live phone—in questions, in-
cluded Rosalind Andreas, V.P. for Stu-
dent Affairs at UVM, Kevin Berrill, Di-
rector of the Campus and Anti-Violence
Projects of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force, L. Lee Knefelkarnp, Pro-
fessor at Teachers College/Columbia
University, Kathy Obear, President of the
Human Advantage and Jamie Washing-
ton, a doctoral intern and former Assist-
ant Director of Residential Life at the
University of Maryland-Baltimore
County.

Speaking from personal as well as pro-
fessional experience, panelists responded
to a broad spectrum of questions high-
lighting the particular needs of college

students and their campuses——Does cur-
riculum include gay/lesbian/bisexual
studies or integrate those life experiences
in other subject areas, and if not how can
they make that happen?, the importance
of relationships and the difficulty for
gay, lesbian and bisexual students in
finding, socializing with and developing
open loving relationships with one an-
other, questions of free speech and dis-
tinguishing between the legally per-
missible and the morally offensive,
acknowledging, as individuals and as in-
stitutions, gays, lesbians and bisexuals as
one aspect of diversity in the college
community.

A strong position was taken that the gay,
lesbian and bisexual population needs
“allies”, people who identify as hetero-
sexual and are willing to actively support
gay, lesbian and bisexual concerns. Too
frequently, the task of educating others
falls to the oppressed group rather than
leadership and initiative coming from ad-
ministrations and other people in posi-
tions of power and privilege.

Comparisons were made between ra-
cism, sexism and heterosexism. The pan-
elists acknowledged that gay, lesbian and
bisexual issues remain a primary place
where lack of knowledge and myths fuel
harassment and homophobia. The need
for campus-wide education was under-
scored as was the imperative to create a

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