Queer Peers travel to Findlay

Friends don't let friends go uneducated.

That's why Oberlin Queer Peers program traveled to the University of Findlay this past weekend in an effort to thwart the campus' rampant homophobia.

Queer Peers is a program of the Multicultural Resource Center whose goal is to educate youth and their peers about queer issues. It is comprised of several Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender students and LGBT Community Coordinator of the MRC, Angela Nichols.

The trip was in response to a U of Findlay Resident Assistant's invitation who wanted the program's panel to be presented to male athletes on his hall. After receiving the invitation, Queer Peers contacted Oberlin athletes within the LGBT Community to include them in the panel. Nichols and approximately eight students took the two and a half hour trip to the University to conduct the panel presentation for residents of the hall.

"The campus climate there was described to me as rather heterosexist and homophobic, an intolerant one at that," said Nichols. "We were told that anyone who came out or was perceived to be gay just dropped out because being gay was unacceptable."

According to many research studies, LGBT youth are three times more likely than heterosexual students to attempt suicide. With these statistics the trip would allow some Findlay students to address homophobic problems faced by gay athletes.

Queer Peers has been in existence for several years, but initially functioned more like a Big Brother/Sister group than like a discussion group. The program later assumed a greater role in educating and supporting youth off campus. As a result of its efforts, the program received the Pathfinder Award from the Gay Lesbian Straight Educators Network for Outstanding Achievement last year.

This academic year Queer Peers conducted three panels at Oberlin High School in a health class, and then the University of Findlay project came about. The group says that it would like to do more activities, but that administrators, especially at high schools, are not always very receptive. "The sad part is that few administrators will support the programs we offer for fear of being supportive of what may be construed as promoting a gay lifestyle rather than what we are really doing which is merely educating people," Nichols said.

Nichols says that her fear is that schools will not take this issue seriously enough until they are hit by the reality of the issue, which usually comes too late.