At last weekend’s IvyQ conference, featured workshops ranged from “Oscar Wilde” to “Trans 101”—but a modern role model may have gotten the most attention.
Columbia hosted the second IvyQ conference for LGBTQ students and their straight allies at Ivy League schools, who heard from speakers like Amanda Simpson, senior technical adviser to the United States undersecretary of commerce and the first openly transgender female presidential appointee.
“Her address truly set the tone in terms of the high level of trans advocacy and awareness that this year’s conference promoted,” Sean Udell, CC ’11, senior class president, and co-founder of the IvyQ network, said.
“She even kept the attention of hundreds of college students at nine in the morning—no easy feat,” said Ben Bernard, an IvyQ leader from Yale University.
About 300 students attended the conference, and organizers raised nearly $30,000 in corporate sponsorships for the event, which brought together a number of campus leaders.
Although the 43 workshops spanned a variety of issues and interests, the event focused on issues of health, queer studies, and education, said J.T. Ramseur, CC ’13 and the conference’s hospitality director.
“Our mission is to empower campus LGBTQA leaders,” Udell said.
The workshops were also a starting point for conversations about campus life and student activism, said Avi Edelman, CC ’11 and president of Everyone Allied Against Homophobia, who led four workshops.
“It led to productive conversations,” Edelman said of the workshops. He added that ROTC, a hot topic on Columbia’s campus, played a role in many discussions.
Some LGBTQ groups have been involved in the debates about ROTC’s potential recognition on campus, and members have spoken out at the town halls sponsored by the University’s task force on military engagement.
“It was an interesting chance to talk about these issues with students from other Ivies who are engaging in similar discussions,” Edelman said.
One of the main goals of the conference was to build an LGBTQ network, Karen Woodin, CC’11, the chair for IvyQ, said.
Organizers also hoped to allow participants to explore the history of the gay rights movement, and other speakers included George Chauncey, professor at Yale and well-known author on LGBTQ issues.
“Hopefully, it will lead to some good connections,” Edelman said.
The first IvyQ conference was held last year at the University of Pennsylvania. Woodin said they wanted the second conference to be similar to Penn’s, while improving the conference experience through improved communication with other LGBTQ groups and more opportunities to network.
Organizers said they also tried to add more workshops on intersections of identities, like gender with ethnic or religious affiliations.
“We want to represent as many identities as possible,” Woodin said.
After the event, students like Matt Martinez, CC ’13, said that the second annual event was a significant moment for their organizing efforts.
“It paid off in the satisfaction I felt knowing that IvyQ 2011 was a step forward for the LGBTQIA community, and that yes, though the conference has a lot of kinks to be worked out and many changes to be made, every step forward counts,” he said.
karla.jimenez@columbiaspectator.com
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