Coming Out Week holds LGBTQ faculty discussion, student award ceremony

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Wayne State faculty and staff members participated in a panel discussion, preceding the Gender and Sexuality Awards for students, on October 14.

As a part of the October 12-15 “Coming Out Week” events on campus, WSU faculty and staff members shared their individual coming out stories and also talked about their experiences seeking employment and interacting with their co-workers while being open about their sexuality.

John Corvino, chair of the WSU Philosophy department, grew up with a Catholic background and originally wanted to become a priest. However, he said he came out as a gay man during his first year at college and delved into applied philosophy instead.

Corvino said his union of ethics and moral analysis of sexuality helped shape his career. He said he struggled with getting hired, until he was offered a position at WSU, where he eventually received tenure and became a department chair.

“For the most part, the department was and is a very supportive place. Wayne State, is and has been a very supportive place,” Corvino said. “I feel very grateful to have a job where I can think about, write about, and talk to people about these issues that matter to me both personally and professionally.”

Simone Chess, an assistant professor of the English department with a specialty in 16th and 17th century British literature, said she is very proud of her queer identity. Chess is married to a transgender man with whom she has two children. As a result, she said she is often mistaken as straight.

“My current queer experience involves a lot of coming out all of the time, because otherwise, people wouldn’t know that I was queer,” Chess said. “So for me, it’s important politically to always be coming out and while it’s a privilege not to have to always come out... It’s also, I think, part of my personal work to do that. Professionally, I’m always out because I do this queer work.”

Sarah Weinstein, a WSU Financial Aid Office manager, said she has had many positive experiences coming out in multiple workplaces. Weinstein said she has garnered acceptance from her colleagues and bosses. Prior to her position at the Financial Aid Office, she has worked as both a librarian and in WSU graduate admissions.

“I’m lucky because the fields that I’ve chosen to work in are pretty queer friendly,” Weinstein said.

Shaun Simon, community director of Yousif B. Ghafari Hall, said he works closely with students to ensure that fellow LGBTQ youths are given inclusive treatment in both student affairs and housing. Simon says he emphasizes the importance of workplace legalities when applying for jobs.

“I’ve worked in Utah, Texas, Michigan, which are ‘right to work’ states—you can be fired,” Simon said. “So I always caution and advise my queer students that are looking for jobs, to make sure that the places they’re looking for have non-discrimination statements that legally support them. That can give them some sort of backbone to make sure that they can’t just be fired.”

The Third Annual Gender and Sexuality Awards followed the faculty panel. Exemplary campus LGBTQ advocates were recognized as the winners of the 2015 Michael LaGatella scholarship. William Alexander III, Tarek Bazzi, and Robert Paluta were honored as the recipients.

Alexander, WSU’s first openly gay Student Senate president, and Student Senate Vice President Bazzi both were recognized for their work in inclusion outreach and planning for an upcoming Diversity Inclusion group project.

“The battle for equity and inclusion never stops,” Alexander said. “I am dedicated to it.”

While accepting his award, Paluta told the story of the suicide of a transgender peer he knew in high school. He said he hopes to continue his work as an LGBTQ spokesperson and advocate to prevent suicides in the future.

“All of us, myself included, can do a much better job,” said Paluta, “We have a lot more work to do on behalf of these issues and hopefully be it 10 or 20 years from now, we can create scholarships for LGBTQ youth that don’t have to include ‘memorial’ in the title.”

Applications for the 2016-17 Michael LaGatella scholarship will open on November 1st.

A scholarship also has been endowed in memory of Jay Ralko, a 22-year-old transgender man who suffered from bi-polar disorder and took his own life in Warren, Mich., in December 2014, according to equalitymi.org.

The Jay Ralko Community Builder Award is meant to recognize a spirited member of the LGBTQ community who is an integral force in bringing people together, much like its namesake.

Ashton Niedzwiecki, president of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Student Union, was named the first recipient of the Jay Ralko Community Builder Award. Niedzwiecki was one of Ralko’s closest friends, as well as his roommate.

The GLBTA Student Union can be found in Room 361 in the Student Center. Students in need of resources and support are encouraged to stop by the office.

http://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/news/article_b806c488-75f1-11e5-b2a9-7fa089e72541.html