Originally Posted Apr 7, 2006 - 12:22P [Site News]
My apologies for the outtage last night. I've been having some issues with my tracking codes hijacking my page...but it's all better now. It's going to take some time to get this Internet publishing thing down. Hey, though, check out the video I just uploaded of "Birthday Bus!"

Labels: Birthday Bus, outtage, site format, video

Originally Posted Apr 6, 2006
Hey! There’s now video available of the “Birthday Bus” mission! (Mar 26.)

View it here.

Labels: Birthday Bus, improv, urban improv, video

Originally Posted Apr 2, 2006 - 8:16P [Site News]
I really should be healthy. I can no longer tolerate the inadequacies of my immune system. I’ve been sick half of each week since Spring Break, and a number of other times this year. How am I supposed to excel academically when I can hardly leave my bed? Not to mention without a ready source of water, tea, and juice…not to mention vitamins, drugs, and medical care…it’s difficult to heal.

I’ve uploaded a new piece of writing…this is an investigation into the mission and programs of a few cultural centers here on campus that I did for a Sociology class. I was so impressed that I wanted to share my experience with my readers.

Oh, I’ve made a few small, but important changes to the website format, as well. They should make things a bit easier on the eyes, and easier to navigate. I’ve also begun using an “integrated sources” system to link to my sources and relevant information. You’ll notice it especially at the top of today’s writing. Let me know what you think, about all these changes.

Labels: bedridden, cultural centers, drugs, health, integrated sources, site format, Site News - immune system, sociology, Spring Break, tea, vitamins

Originally Posted Apr 2, 2006
Perhaps it appears strange for me to walk into the African American Cultural Center. I’ve been there twice before, but on business. I work in Technology Support Services, so I commonly find myself visiting cultural centers and other departments fixing computers. I could consider those “all-business” visits a warm-up. Despite how accepting I declare myself to be, or how daring or strong I appear, it can simply be intimidating for a middle-class white male to walk into a place like the AACC. Is it because I fear black people? No. Is it because I don’t like black people? No. It’s just because of a sort of reverse discrimination. Because I’m a “member of the oppressive race,” I fear that I will be seen as an enemy, an outsider…and I very well may be seen that way!

Nevertheless, I did walk in. I asked to speak to someone about the center, and I was directed to Amanda Burgess. I’d already met her while working with TSS, so when she saw me she was more afraid that some computer of the AACC was causing problems than anything else. I explained my project, and though she did seem surprised, she took me into her office and happily answered my questions about the center.

The mission of the AACC is “to promote cultural preservation, quality leadership, and academic excellence through a unique approach to cultural advocacy, academic support, and community outreach.” The center also has a list of goals that more specifically define the points of the mission statement. What most intrigues me about the mission and goals, as a whole, is that the phrase “African Americans” only appears once, in the first goal listed. The mission statement itself, and the five other goals do not specifically mention race or decent. Mostly, the goals emphasize having a welcoming environment, a culturally rich community, and a strong initiative of outreach.

They certainly do outreach…in addition to the on-campus programming (men’s & women’s issues groups, their Open House “Gospel Brunch,” etc.) the AACC has an incredible amount of outreach programs in action at all times. Every semester, the AACC takes some students from the Amistad Academy in New Haven and provides them with the “college experience” at UConn, touring them around campus, providing food, and sitting in on lectures. In April, they will be undertaking a similar program for some students from NYC. Also in April, members of the AACC will be going to the Middletown Detention Center, a juvenile detention center, to share their UConn experience and encourage the students there to attend college. Most of these programs set out to emphasize to underrepresented and underprivileged students that college is a possible and accessible life choice for them. I actually was rather taken by this idea…systematic discrimination forces the children of parents without a college education to believe college isn’t for them, but the work the AACC is doing helps to retard, or even reverse, that process. My conversation with Amanda was short, but informative, and even heartwarming. I shouldn’t have been afraid.

But shouldn’t I be terrified to walk into the Rainbow Center? There is a stigma still widely attributed to members of the LGBTQ community that many people strive to avoid. People are forced to either be reticent about their orientation, or to completely hide it from everyone around them. Even at a liberal university like UConn, homophobic tendencies override friendly personalities and cause tension between friends. Should I be terrified? This question is harder to answer for the Rainbow Center than for the AACC, especially as, when I did enter the Rainbow Center, I felt numb.

Though the person I would normally have been directed to was unavailable, I did get a chance to talk to the secretary about the center. According to her, and the pamphlet she handed me, the mission of the Rainbow Center is:

“To serve the diversity of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Allied community and to provide resources and services to the wider community of students, faculty, staff, and local residents.
To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, work, and grow in a supportive and safe environment.
To act as an accessible and safe space for reporting incidents of harassment and discrimination.
To reduce the effects of alienation experienced by community members by diminishing negative behaviors and or attitudes towards the GLBTQQA community through the use of education and advocacy.”

While the Rainbow Center’s mission statements do focus more on the people of GLBTQQA status, it is notable that the first two parts of the mission statement emphasize the inclusion of the entire University community. While I read this, I saw, in the Rainbow Center lounge, ten or so people sitting, talking, laughing, and relaxing together. One man was taking a nap on a couch. In that way, they have certainly provided a “supportive and safe environment.” It’s funny, looking back, I don’t even remember wondering about whom in that room was gay, bi, or whatever. Should I say I just saw people?

The Rainbow Center offers daily programs, holds an open-access library, and hosts both a social and a political club. Every Friday night, they have a coffee house event. The center also hosts events they call “Out Loud,” where LGBT musicians come to perform. If anyone reports an incident of discrimination, both the director of the center and the police receive that report, and they act on it.

Really, the work these centers do is incredible. I’m sure the other cultural centers do similar work, though these two are the largest and probably the most frequented by students. Most universities do not have paid staff working in organizations like this, given a dedicated space in a University building with a powerful sanction requiring their continued existence. The most some other schools can say is that they have clubs with similar goals. In that way, UConn is extremely progressive—we are fighting hard and providing support in areas other universities are either afraid of or uninterested in. Perhaps I’ll find myself spending more time in the cultural centers, feeding off the much-needed social and emotional support they provide. Maybe one center will become a second home for me.

Labels: african amercian, allied, cultural center, gay, lesbian, lgbt, queer, rainbow center, sociology, transgender, transsexual