Dear. . .

Congratulations on you're acceptance to Kenyon! Last year, at this same time, I was receiving countless letters from various colleges exclaiming, "(insert school of your choice) Is The Best Place To Spend Your Next Four Years!" Unfortunately, I always had one question whose answer was hard to find: "What is it like to be LGBT at (insert school of your choice)?" Are there gay students? What are the LGBT groups on campus like? Is the community accepting? These were all important questions that I needed answered before I could make my decision.

Now that I have been at Kenyon for almost a year, I want to answer these questions for any of you who are trying to decide what college to attend. Adjusting to college will be interesting and a bit tumultuous for some, but at least here at Kenyon, I never had to factor my sexual orientation into my list of worries. Granted, Kenyon is not perfect. Not by a long shot. We deal with problems of apathy, discomfort with out investment in gay rights, and a heterosexism culture that can sometimes seem stifling.

Still with me?

Hopefully, because despite these problems, the Kenyon community is growing and our community of allies is growing right along with us. Just this spring semester, I have been elected to serve as co-president of the largest and oldest LGBT group on campus. Allied Sexual Orientations (usually just called ALSO) is growing more quickly than any of our members could have imagined possible. I expected to walk into my first meeting and see just a handful of students. Instead, the room was packed with students and faculty alike, ready to begin this school year with enthusiasm.

ALSO facilitates workshops on campus, we bring to the attention of the campus any instances of homophobia, we raise awareness of national LGBT issues at Kenyon, and we try to be open and visible for those who are looking for LGBT resources and outlets.

Besides ALSO, there is a student-run support group called GABLES which meets weekly in a confidential place and at a confidential time. This group exists so that LGBT people have a place to go to talk with other LGBT people about issues that affect us all. We keep the meetings strictly confidential, and at the beginning of each semester we distribute flyers to all rooms on campus. To find out meeting times and details, interested people need only email us at GABLES@kenyon.edu.

Besides these two formal groups, there are informal, bi-weekly lunches organized by LGBT faculty and staff in a private dining room in Pierce Hall. These network lunches foster contact and community between LGBT and LGBT-friendly students, faculty, and staff.

Altogether, the atmosphere of community here is growing and getting stronger day by day. To keep growing, we need people who are interested in being involved with the Kenyon LGBT community. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at BURMANG@KENYON.EDU or call me at (740)427-6906. Honestly, I would really love to answer anything you might be curious about. Thank you for your interest and good luck! Also, for a real in-depth look at the LGBT community here at Kenyon, check out ALSO's webpage at http://www2.kenyon.edu/orgs/ALSO. We are currently re-constructing our webpage, so if the server is down, just try back in a couple days.

Sincerely,

Georgia M. Burman '04
Co-President
Allied Sexual Orientations
http://www2.kenyon.edu/orgs/ALSO