UPJ Greek Alumni
  • Home
  • About
    • Purpose
    • Philanthropy
    • By Laws
    • History Timeline >
      • UPJ 1927 - 1959
      • UPJ 1960 - 1970
      • UPJ 1970 - 1980
      • UPJ 1980 - 1990
      • UPJ 1990 - 2000
      • UPJ 2000 - 2010
      • UPJ 2010 - Present
    • The Owl
  • Fraternities
    • Acacia
    • Delta Chi
    • Delta Sigma Chi
    • Kappa Delta Rho
    • Lambda Sigma Rho
    • Phi Delta Psi
    • Sigma Tau Gamma
  • Sororities
    • Alpha Kappa Pi
    • Alpha Gamma Delta
    • Alpha Sigma Alpha
    • Alpha Xi Delta
    • Chi Epsilon Nu
    • Delta Zeta
    • Kappa Zeta
    • Omega Alpha Tau
    • Phi Sigma Sigma
    • Zeta Sigma Tau
  • Reunions
    • Events
    • All Greek Reunion 2013
    • All Greek Reunion 2010
  • News
  • Contact

It’s cool to be queer: LGBT community strong at Pitt

6/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Alexis Mazzeo / For the Pitt News 
May 28, 2015 

After Ben Wahlberg wore their first dress, they finally understood themselves.

It took until their junior year, but after Wahlberg, who is genderqueer and prefers the pronoun “they,” wore that first dress, Wahlberg felt they didn’t have to hide who they were anymore. 
“I felt it was something taboo or shouldn’t be talked about. I have very supportive people in my life. I’ve made a space for myself at Pitt,” Wahlberg said.

Where Wahlberg found their space, others are too. Through the support of friends and a few key organizations on campus, Wahlberg is one of a growing number of Pitt students who feel comfortable embracing their sexuality and gender in Oakland. These organizations, which include the Rainbow Alliance, the Campus Women’s Organization and the Fourth Wave magazine, all have different missions but share the same message: It’s cool to be queer at Pitt. 

The Rainbow Alliance is an LGBT advocacy group at Pitt. Before each meeting, they state safe space rules, such as learning how to address offensive comments. They never assume anyone’s sexual identity or gender, member and former president Allie McCarthy, said. McCarthy, whose preferred pronoun is “she,” said some people use the meetings as a safe space to proclaim their identities, and others like it to be a place where they don’t have to be defined by anything.

“As you go you through college, you become yourself. Rainbow was definitely that space for me when I joined as a freshman,” McCarthy said.

But this safe space has not come without struggle. In 2012, the Rainbow Alliance began an ongoing legal complaint with Pitt regarding transgender issues, such as letting transgender students use the bathrooms they want and getting their preferred names changed on University documents.

The struggle began when Pitt Johnstown expelled a transgender student for refusing to stop using a locker room that did not match the gender on their birth certificate. The student filed a lawsuit against the University claiming gender discrimination, which they have since settled. Since then, the Rainbow Alliance has worked with the University to make changes to accommodate all students.

Now, students have the option to change their names on CourseWeb, Pitt email and the online directory Find People so they can be addressed the way they want to be. According to Pitt spokesperson Ken Service, Pitt is committed to an “ongoing dialogue” and seeks to “balance the interests of everyone at Pitt.”

The Rainbow Alliance holds events during orientation week to make its presence known. They have a Meet the Rainbow Alliance event, and they also present themselves at the activities fair. They work to get their message out and let people know that they provide an inclusive space.

Marcus Robinson, whose preferred pronoun is “he,” is the president of Rainbow Alliance and said the social events cover basic topics, like what it means to be trans and what to do or what not to say. Their meetings are where they go into more serious topics, such as what it’s like to be trans while also being a person of color.  

Similarly, while feminine issues are its main focus, the Campus Women’s Organization is also an advocacy group for gender rights. The organization does work regarding feminist issues, such as representing the interests of Pitt’s women in education, empowerment and reproductive justice and maintaining sensitivity towards individual identity, according to president Suzy Hinkle. 

Similarly to Rainbow Alliance, at the beginning of their meetings all of the board members will introduce themselves with their preferred pronouns.

The Rainbow Alliance has joined the CWO on some of its events, such as the Take Back the Night march against sexual violence, the Condom Casino, where they aim to educate students on sexual health and safety, and the Vagina Monologues.

“It’s always been very fun to collaborate with Rainbow. They take their work very seriously but know how to bring fun into the work,” Hinkle, a senior chemical engineering major, said.

Hinkle, whose preferred pronoun is “she,” said she sees the CWO collaborating with Rainbow Alliance in the future on non-binary advocacy. She says that they haven’t planned anything specific yet due to summer recess, but in the fall, they plan to ramp up as a safe space for transgender individuals and to advocate for issues that directly affect transgender individuals.

“I want us to take ownership of that because transgender people can be women also, and that means that they fall into our category of people that we aim to represent,” she said.

The dialogue regarding non-binary advocacies exists in print as well. The Fourth Wave is a feminist intersectional publication at Pitt. Like the CWO and the Rainbow Alliance, it maintains an open environment in its meetings, co-managing editor Taylor Mulcahey said.

“Our meetings act as an open conversation. It’s important to have that safe space to talk about issues and knowing that people are there and they are going to listen. The members aren’t going to belittle anyone’s issues, and they are not going to judge anything,” said Mulcahey, a junior political science major, whose preferred pronoun is “she.”

Even if judgment exists elsewhere on campus, Wahlberg said they wear feminine clothing to class at least half the time.

“It’s what adds a little bit of boost to my day. If you present yourself the way you want to, you attract the friends you want,” they said.

For Wahlberg, these spaces allow young queers to pick who to have conversations with and keep up a dialogue with, as well as build a strong community of support.
​
“People don’t give enough faith that their college community is accepting. The only way to know is to try,” they said.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    UPJ Greek News Today

    Find the latest breaking news about UPJ. You can search by your organization name of by a date below.

    You can also take look back into time so you can remember what happened while you where at UPJ

    Click the Social Media links below for even more current info...

    Categories

    All
    Acacia
    Alpha Gamma Delta
    Alpha Kappa Psi
    Alpha Sigma Alpha
    Alpha Xi Delta
    Delta Chi
    Delta Sigma Chi
    Delta Zeta
    Farewell & Parting
    Fundraising
    Go Greek
    Homecoming
    Housing
    Intramurals
    Kappa Delta Rho
    Kappa Zeta
    Lambda Sigma Rho
    Omega Alpha Tau
    Phi Delta Psi
    Philanthropy
    Phi Sigma Sigma
    Reunion
    Rush
    SGA
    Sigma Tau Gamma
    Student Senate
    UPJ
    Zeta Sigma Tau
    Zeta Tau Alpha

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010
    September 2010
    July 2010
    March 2010
    December 2009
    September 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009
    September 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    March 2008
    January 2008
    November 2007
    September 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    April 2007
    March 2007
    February 2007
    January 2007
    November 2006
    September 2006
    June 2006
    May 2006
    March 2006
    December 2005
    November 2005
    October 2005
    September 2005
    September 2004
    August 2003
    May 2003
    March 2003
    January 2003
    November 2002
    October 2002
    August 2002
    July 2002
    June 2002
    May 2002
    March 2002
    October 2001
    August 2001
    June 2001
    April 2001
    March 2001
    December 2000
    May 2000
    April 2000
    March 2000
    February 2000
    October 1999
    July 1999
    May 1999
    April 1999
    March 1999
    February 1999
    June 1998
    February 1995
    July 1988
    January 1968

    RSS Feed

Creative Commons License
UPJ Greek Alumni is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
©2021 UPJ Greek Alumni Council
site design by Rapid Production Marketing