When Jordan Potash attended Syracuse University, there was no LGBT Resource Center, there was no LGBT Studies Program and there was no University Senate Committee on LGBT Concerns.

At that point, in the mid-1990’s, there was also no Coming Out Month on campus, just a Coming Out Week.

But there were blue jeans on statues around campus, especially on the Quad.

“We would do coming out things like wear blue jeans on National Coming Out Day to show support for the LGBT community,” said Potash, who graduated in 1998. “It was a national program designed to make people think about what clothing to put on that day and think about that choice.”

Coming Out Month, held every October, began as a national event 20 years ago. But it wasn’t until 2007 that SU moved from hosting a Coming Out Week to a Coming Out Month. In two decades, the LGBT Resource Center was founded, the LGBT studies program was established and a University Senate Committee on LGBT Concerns was created.

The idea for a resource center started in 1997 with Potash—and with his mother.

“At the time, the college my mother worked at outside of Philadelphia had started this LGBT allies program, and Syracuse didn’t really have anything like that,” Potash said.

Potash met with the dean of student affairs at the time who suggested Potash put together a formal proposal to look into the creation of an LGBT resource center. He worked on the proposal throughout his senior year, which was eventually adopted by the University Senate so it could “investigate what it would mean to create a resource center,” he said.

In 2001 the senate approved the committee’s recommendation to create a resource center. In addition, the senate granted the committee on LGBT issues permanent status.

“One of the things I always appreciated about the beginning of the LGBT center is it was pretty much non-controversial,” Potash said. “The center came out of a need for it, not out of a reaction.”

Since then, the resource center has grown into one of the largest in the country with three full-time staff members, a graduate assistant and five student staff members.

Chase Catalano, who took over as director of the LGBT Resource Center in August 2010, said in an email that he thinks the size of the center shows there is institutional support for its work. He added that the center’s current staffing reflects the work put in by those involved in its development.

“At the same time, I think it’s also important to note that although higher education has become a more inclusive space for marginalized genders and sexualities, there is still a lack of staffing to support such efforts of inclusion,” he said.

In its early years, the role of the center was generally to support students, but it was also known for its role in influencing policy matters that would often unintentionally marginalize students who identified as part of the LGBTQA community.

The resource center has served as a space for campus community members and student organizations to use, such as Pride Union. Molly Mendenhall, president of Pride Union, is one the student staff members at the resource center and was unable to comment for this article.

The resource center has also provided educational and social programming for students, faculty and staff over the years. In 2012, the resource center rewrote its mission and vision statements, Catalano said.

Abby Fite, the administrative specialist at the LGBT Resource Center, said the location has both its positives and its drawbacks. The center is currently located at 750 Ostrom Ave., just off main campus.

“Especially when the resource center was founded, folks saw a lot of value in the space being on the periphery of campus,” she said. “It allowed the center to be a safer space for students.”

Despite all the programming and services offered by the resource center, at that time there was still another aspect missing when it came to LGBT issues.

A few years after the creation of the center, an academic component was founded on campus through the LGBT studies minor. Margaret Himley, associate provost for international education and engagement, co-founded the program in 2006. She said creating the minor was prompted by multiple factors, including student demand.

“There was a frustration amongst students that although there was a resource center, there wasn’t an opportunity to have academic work in the field,” Himley said.

Himley and about 20 other faculty members who were interested in studying sexuality and gender began to meet and develop courses. Since then, student interest has remained steady, and those who enroll in classes associated with the minor include both LGBTQ students, and students who don’t identify as LGBTQ, she said.

The number of students who graduate with a minor in LGBT studies has increased each year, and seven students graduated with the minor last year, said Roger Hallas, director of the LGBT studies program.

Hallas said the program often collaborates with the resource center for campus programming. In addition, having an established academic program helps encourage dialogue on campus about LGBT issues, he said.

While both the LGBT Resource Center and the LGBT studies program have expanded and evolved since each was founded, so too has the way in which Coming Out Month is observed on campus.

The 2007 expansion from Coming Out Week event to Coming Out Month allowed for more programming, said Amit Taneja, who worked at the LGBT Resource Center at SU from 2005-2011.

“It was always a month of celebration, reflection and education, and that continues to this day,” said Taneja, who is currently the director of diversity and inclusion at Hamilton College.

One of the overlapping purposes of the resource center and of Coming Out Month is to gain increased visibility for marginalized sexualities and genders. Going from a week to a month was a way to increase visibility, said Fite, the administrative specialist at the resource center.

“Because it’s been happening for several years, I think people know about it as well and it’s part of the culture at SU,” she said.

Hallas added that, in a broader sense, Coming Out Month has evolved since its creation 20 years ago.

“There weren’t LGBT studies programs, there weren’t LGBT resource centers, queer students had to organize themselves to generate support,” he said. “Now there’s greater institutional support. Coming Out Month is now more of an opportunity to explore the sort of richness and complexity around gender issues and representation.”

Published on October 30, 2014 at 12:16 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27