mblgtacc 20 THIRTEEN MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
mosaic: putting the pieces together
February 8-10, 2013 info@mblgtacc2013.org
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MBLGTACC Information What is MBLGTACC? e Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference is an annual conference that is hosted at a different college each year. e three-day conference, which began in 1993, has grown to include over 90 educational workshops on various topics that affect LGBTA people, as well as a variety of inspirational plenary speakers and entertainment.
How big is it? Big. It is the largest LGBTA college conference in the nation, and about 1,500 college students attend each year. Individuals bid two years in advance for the right to host it. MBLGTACC 2013 will be held February 8-10, 2013 at the Lansing Center in Lansing, MI. We are working toward having the largest attendance in MBLGTACC history.
What are the goals of the conference? While the specific theme of the conference changes each year, overall the conference serves to educate and unify the LGBTA community while providing a safe and supportive forum for discourse about issues that impact the community. e theme for MBLGTACC 2013 is “Mosaic: Putting the Pieces Together.” e conference will explore the many identities within the LGBTA community and how those identities are stronger when bonded together to form one beautiful, perfectly imperfect work of art. e 2013 conference will focus on bringing together the often fragmented queer community to address issues that affect us both individually and collectively.
What are the workshops about? ough some workshops are led by professionals, most are led by students (both guests and students of the host school). Workshop presenters must submit a proposal to be reviewed by the Planning Coalition before they may be accepted and scheduled for a certain time slot and location. Workshop topics are about the intersections of LGBTA identities and race; religion; gender; sex; disability; history; education and schools; health; politics; allyship; homelessness; professionalism; leadership; HIV/AIDS; and more. For examples of workshops at recent conferences, go to issuu.com/spectrumcenter/docs/ mbgltacc2011book (2011 workshops, p. 25-43) and issuu.com/lgbtsscenter/docs/ mblgtacc_program.1.30_final (2012 workshops, p. 30-38).
Who can attend? e conference is not limited to students from the Midwest. College students and their advisers from across the U.S. and the world are encouraged to attend! 1
MBLGTACC Information
Why should I attend? MBLGTACC is an opportunity for LGBTA students and their allies and advisers to meet in a safe and supportive environment to learn and discuss issues of importance to the LGBTA community and other communities. Many people in the LGBTA community do not have families that are similarly-identified, so we learn about ourselves primarily from our peers and the LGBTA elders we may know. MBLGTACC is a great resource because it allows college students from all over the country to come together for a few days to learn and grow through the knowledge and experiences of others. e conference brings people from many walks of life together to address issues that affect themselves, the LGBTA community and our world as a whole.
How is MBLGTACC organized? MBLGTACC is an entirely student-organized conference and is primarily organized by students at the host school. e hosts facilitate the meeting of the MBLGTACC Oversight Committee during the conference. e Oversight Committee is a decentralized organization that exists to select the hosts of future conferences, maintain an archive of previous conference records and control the official conference name. It includes two representatives from the previous, current and future years’ conferences and two elected delegates from each Midwestern state. e state delegates are elected at state caucus meetings that take place during the conference. As stated in the Oversight Committee’s constitution, the Midwest is comprised of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. e conference can be hosted only by a Midwestern college.
Who is organizing MBLGTACC 2013? e MBLGTACC 2013 Planning Coalition is comprised of five MSU student directors and their committees. ese directors are: • • • • •
Michelle Brack, Director of Logistics Justin Drwencke, Director of Programming Travis Lunsford, Director of Finance Alexandria Mason, Director of Fundraising Erica Shekell, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
We also have a Project Analyst, Kate Miller, who serves as a information organizer and resource for the Executive Board. Ms. Miller is a 2011 MSU alumna. e directors and project analyst make up the Executive Board and make all executive decisions for MBLGTACC 2013. e MBLGTACC 2013 Planning Coalition is autonomous and is not led by any university representatives. However, it does occasionally work with LGBTA organizations and centers at MSU on minor conference projects.
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MBLGTACC Information
What is the history of MBLGTACC? e idea for the conference was conceived in 1991. After a number of organizing conferences, the first Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay College Conference (as it was called then) was held in 1993. MBLGTACC has been hosted by: 1993: Iowa State University and Drake University 1994: Earlham College (Indiana) 1995: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 1996: Beloit College (Wisconsin) 1997: Indiana State University 1998: University of Illinois at Chicago 1999: University of Wisconsin-Madison 2000: Saint Cloud State University (Minnesota) 2001: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2002: Michigan State University
2003: e Ohio State University 2004: Iowa State University 2005: Saint Cloud State University (Minnesota) 2006: University of South Dakota (2006) 2007: University of Minnesota at Twin Cities 2008: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2009: Indiana University Bloomington 2010: University of Wisconsin-Madison 2011: University of Michigan 2012: Iowa State University
e 2013 conference will be the second time that Michigan State University has hosted the conference. It will also be the 21st annual conference. (Source: http://lgbt.wikia.com/wiki/Midwest_Bisexual_Lesbian_Gay_Transgender_Ally_College_Conference)
How may I support MBLGTACC? For monetary or in-kind donations or sponsorship, please contact Alexandria Mason by email at alex@mblgtacc2013.org or by phone at (517) 803-3502. You can also donate via PayPal here: mblgtacc2013.org/donate
Where do I register? Registration for MBLGTACC 2013 will run from February 12, 2012 to February 1, 2013. To register, go to: mblgtacc2013.org/registration. e price is as follows: • • • •
February 12, 2012 – April 30, 2012: $50 May 1, 2012 – July 31, 2012: $55 August 1, 2012 – February 1, 2013: $65 After February 1, 2013: $75
Where can I find more information? info@mblgtacc2013.org
mblgtacc2013.org
facebook.com/mblgtacc2013
twitter.com/mblgtacc2013
Sign up for our eNewsletter to receive information about events, speakers, deadlines and other exclusive news about MBLGTACC 2013: mblgtacc2013.org/subscribe
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