Friday, October 18, 2019 6 pm – 9 pm Saturday, October 19, 2019 10 am – 9 pm Washtenaw Community College 4800 E Huron River Dr Ann Arbor MI 48105 http://sites.wccnet.edu/gender-and-sexuality-conference/ 1
Directions Washtenaw Community College 4800 East Huron River Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
Where to Park Parking structure (labeled PS on map above). Parking is free. Where Conference Is Friday registration is on the 2nd floor of the Student Center building (labeled SC on map above). Saturday registration is on the 3rd floor of the Crane Liberal Arts and Sciences building (labeled LA on the map above). 2
What to Bring Photo ID with date of birth. Weather-appropriate clothing. Cash for snacks from vending machines and to get cool LGBTQIA+ merchandise from Unicorn Feed and Supply. What NOT to Bring Alcohol or drugs. Any smoked substance, including vapes. We are a smoke-free campus. No weapons or knives of any kind. Thanks for keeping our conference safe for everyone that attends.
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Floor Maps
Friday registration, 2nd floor of Student Center building (see red oval on map above).
All meals, Community Room, 1st floor of Student Center building (see red oval on map above. 4
Session rooms, 3rd floor, Student Center (see red dots).
Session rooms, 1st floor, Student Center (see red dots). 5
Greetings, Students, Faculty, and Staff: On behalf of Out Space, Washtenaw Community College’s LGBTQIA+ student organization, and the Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference Committee, I would like to welcome you to our campus. Over the last several years, under the leadership of our President, Dr. Rose Bellanca, WCC has taken bold steps to become a more inclusive campus for all LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff through the institution of a preferred-name program, designation of gender-inclusive bathrooms in every building at WCC that holds classes, providing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to be better LGBTQIA+ allies, and full support of this conference. Thank you for your decision to attend the first annual Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference. This conference allows opportunities for us to grow, learn, network, and collaborate regarding LGBTQIA+ issues that affect students, faculty, and staff in Michigan. How to Get the Most Out of This Conference: 1. Be engaged. Participate. Ask questions. Listen actively. 2. Be open. Honor your story, and appreciate the diversity of experiences and perspectives that other people bring. We do not all have to agree, but we should all show respect for each other. 3. Be inclusive. If you notice someone by themselves, welcome them to join you. If someone’s voice has not been heard, show them that they are valued by encouraging them to share if they want to. 4. Have fun. Celebrate who you are. Make new friends. Deepen existing bonds. Each and every person attending this conference is responsible for its success. Thank you! Sincerely, Zach Baker (he/him/his) Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference Coordinator
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Conference Dedication This conference is dedicated to the queer pioneers that helped us get where we are today; to those currently struggling in our community with employment and housing insecurity due to LGBTQIA+ folks not being federally protected from employment and housing discrimination; to all those, especially the most vulnerable populations in our queer community—people of color and transgender individuals—that have lost their lives as victims of hate-fueled violence; and to the young people that are forging a brighter future for all of us
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Conference at a Glance Friday, October 18, 2019 6:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Registration (Location: 2nd floor of the Student Center)
6:20 pm - 6:25 pm
Opening Remarks by WCC Vice President for Instruction Dr. Kimberly Hurns (2nd floor of the Student Center)
6:25 pm - 6:30 pm
Welcoming Remarks & the Night’s Itinerary by Conference Coordinator Zach Baker (2nd floor of the Student Center)
6:30 p.m.
Dinner (1st floor of the Student Center, The Community Room)
7:30 pm - 7:45 pm
Tour of campus usage for Saturday
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm
LGBTQIA+-themed carnival! (2nd floor of the Student Center)
8:45 pm – 9:00 pm
Closing remarks & suggestions for LGBTQIA+ nightlife in Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti (2nd floor of the Student Center)
Saturday, October 19, 2019 10:00 am - 10:25 am Morning Registration & Snacks (LA 375) 10:25 am - 10:35 am Welcome and Day’s Itinerary by Zach Baker (LA 375) 10:35 am - 10:50 am Dr. Kimberly Jones talk and musical performance (LA 375) 11:00 am - 11:50 am Breakout Session #1 Entrepreneur Panel: Overcoming the First Obstacles of Starting and Maintaining a Queer-Run Business: Kristin Gapske (LA 375) 8
It's Real: College Students and Mental Health: Corbin Standley & Anne Perry (LA 371) A Small Selection of LGBTQIA+ Poets: Maryam Barrie (LA 352) 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm Lunch w/ Get-To-Know-You Bingo (Community Room) 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Identity Collectives (Please attend the collective that most closely matches your identity) Transgender - Chris Wheeler (LA 371) Pansexual/Bisexual - Zach Baker (LA 369) Lesbian - Emilee Seghi (LA 352) Gay - Marcus Spinelli Da Silva (LA 161) Gender Queer/Nonbinary/Gender Fluid - KD Williams (LA 157) Asexual/Aromantic– Ronnie Zeimet (LA 355) Ally - Tom Zimmerman (LA 159)
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Breakout Session #2 LGBTQIA+ Transfer Student Panel: Mary Mullalond (LA 352) Religion and the LGBTQIA+ Community: Being an Ally and Keeping Your Faith: Dr. Kimberly Jones (LA 375) Talk Saves Lives: Corbin Standley & Anne Perry (LA 371) Intersex Information Session (by interACT Youth): Latitude Brown (LA 369)
3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. Physical Activity Yoga You Can Use (Anytime): Catherine Mullalond (Location: LA 352) Fundamentals of Self-Defense for LGBTQIA+ People: Zach Baker (Location: LA 355) Walk on the Wild Side: David Wooten (meet LA 375) 9
4:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Breakout Session #3 Healthcare Access for LGBTQ+: Kimberly LaForge (LA 159) Therapy Dogs at Work: Haley Houtz (LA 157) Intersectionality and Identity: Harriette MooreKovac (LA 371) Someone Left Their Backpack: Singular They Usage and Non-Binary Identities: KD Williams (LA 352)
5:00 pm - 5:50 pm
Breakout Session #4 Who am I?: A Creative Writing Workshop: Tom Zimmerman (Location: LA 369) Collage: Intention and Discovery: Anthea Schroeder (LA 371) Rainbow Talks + 20 minute activity: Various student speakers (LA 375) Queer Family: Mary Mullalond & Steven Damelin (LA 352)
6:00 pm - 6:50 pm
Dinner (Community Room)
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Documentary Screening: How to Survive a Plague (LA 375)
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm
Debrief Session on Documentary (LA 375)
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Feedback Forms & Closing Ceremony (LA 375)
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Descriptions of Sessions Breakout Session #1 Choices: Saturday, 11:00 am – 11:50 am LA 375
Overcoming the First Obstacles of Starting and Maintaining a QueerRun Business This is a great option for budding entrepreneurs to learn from current business owners about running the following businesses: Unicorn Feed and Supply, a hip retail shop in the heart of Ypsi; Backstreet At Large, a historic Detroit LGBT nightclub; Beck Pro-Fitness, a personal training facility and gym in Detroit; and Hero Nation, a nonprofit committed to empowering the Ypsi community and uplifting marginalized voices. LA 371 It's Real: College Students and Mental Health It’s Real is a documentary featuring the stories of six college students from across the country. The AFSP-produced film It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health is designed to raise awareness about mental health issues commonly experienced by students, and is intended to be used as part of a school’s educational program to encourage help-seeking. By featuring real stories and experiences, It’s Real conveys that depression and other mental health conditions are real illnesses that can be managed through specific treatments and interventions. It encourages students to be mindful of the state of their mental health, to acknowledge and recognize when they are struggling, and to take steps to seek help. LA 352 A Small Selection of LGBTQIA+ Poets This session will focus on the amazing contributions of LGBTQIA+ writers from the past to the present to the field of poetry.
Breakout Session #2 Choices: Saturday, 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm LA 352 LGBTQIA+ Transfer Student Panel This panel discussion will feature LGBTQIA+ students who attended a community college and then transferred to a 4-year college. Come learn about their 11
experiences, the different kinds of resources they encountered at each type of college, and their advice for future transfer students. LA 375
Religion and the LGBTQIA+ Community: Being an Ally and Keeping Your Faith Many "religious" people may feel conflicted by aligning themselves with the LGBTQIA+ community. However, being religious and loving members of the LGBTQIA+ community is synonymous with the core tenets of any faith. This session will candidly discuss points of confliction and provide practical methods for maintaining healthy relationships with members of this community while keeping a strong, personal faith in any religion. LA 371 Talk Saves Lives Talk Saves Lives is an introduction to suicide prevention. It covers the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide. Attendees will learn the risk and warning signs of suicide, and how together, we can help prevent it. The presentation will include LGBTQ+ specific information regarding statistics and risk factors and how to respond to suicide risk safely and effectively. LA 369 Intersex Information Session (by interACT Youth) A presentation that's about intersex people and what intersex is. It has a little audience participation and a lot of me talking about intersex stuff. There is ample room for questions at the end.
Physical Activity Choices: Saturday, 3:00 pm – 3:50 pm LA 352 Yoga You Can Use (Anytime) Learn and practice breathing exercises for calming the mind and re-balancing the body that you can use anytime you notice that your stress or anxiety are getting to you. We’ll practice breathing and seated postures designed to help you feel at ease. (This workshop is ideal for anyone; no prior yoga experience necessary.) 12
LA 355 Fundamentals of Self-Defense for LGBTQIA+ People In this session, we will explore five components of self-defense through the F.I.R.S.T. (Fear, Intention, Reality, Strategies, and Techniques) Method. This session will be a scenario-based, practical exploration of self-defense situations that LGBTQIA+ folks could face. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how fear affects our bodies and minds, how to channel our inner survivor, how to use strategies to reduce the likelihood of an assault, and some practical techniques to keep you safe. Please join us for this safe, physical, fun session, and leave a little more fierce and fabulous than you came. LA 375 Walk on the Wild Side Join WCC Biology faculty member David A. Wooten for an informative and fun hike on WCC's Nature Trail. WCC is fortunate to have expansive and diverse natural areas surrounding campus. This guided hike will walk you through forest, field, and pond edges while discussing interesting plants, animals, ecology, and conservation. Be sure to watch the weather, wear appropriate footwear, and bring whatever comfort items you need (hat, water, camera).
Breakout Session #3 Choices: Saturday, 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm LA 159 Healthcare Access for LGBTQIA+ Structured lecture to address shortcomings and gaps in healthcare for LGBTQ+ community and how we can advocate for each other and ourselves to get the care we need, and where we can go now for healthcare, no matter what. LA 157 Therapy Dogs at Work Organizations all across the country are turning to Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) to help aid in human services. Come and meet Maggie, the Therapy Dog, to learn about the process involved in certification, how Maggie, her fellow therapy K9s, and AAT are changing educational and workplace environments one tail wag at a time.
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LA 371 Intersectionality and Identity The goal of the session is for members to reflect on how our identities fall within different categories that are not always complementary but conflict in some ways. At the same time, these conflicts can become avenues toward more inclusive practices and policies. Audre Lorde's “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression” will be my starting point; however, I will introduce (reintroduce) Marilyn Frye's “Oppression” and her birdcage metaphor to frame the discussion. LA 352
Someone Left Their Backpack: Singular They Usage and Non-binary Identities This presentation and discussion will focus on the use of singular they over time and the importance of pronouns today. We will work together to unpack gendered language and become more familiar with non-binary identities under the umbrella term.
Breakout Session #4 Choices: Saturday, 5:00 pm – 5:50 pm LA 369 Who Am I?: A Creative Writing Workshop This workshop will give attendees a chance to read and discuss some brief and interesting identity-based creative works and then to do some writing of their own, focusing on the theme of "Who Am I?" Attendees will also be encouraged to read their work aloud—and, if there's interest, we will publish a booklet of attendees' writings to be distributed later. LA 371 Collage: Intention and Discovery Collage can be an avenue to expression, healing, self-awareness, and empowerment for anyone, including those who don't regularly identify as "creative." In this session, participants will receive guidance to get started in collage work and spend the rest of their time creating their own collages. Materials will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring more. LA 375 Rainbow Talks Student-delivered talks on “Queer Pioneers in STEM,” “Identity Crisis among Queers,” “Keeping Up with Your Emotional Health,” and more. 14
LA 352 Raising a Queer Family + International Love Join faculty member Mary Mullalond for this conversation about raising a queer family. Mary will share some of the adventures she's had raising two young children with her wife and attempt to answer questions you may have about queer families. The International Love part of this talk will feature Steve Damelin and Ben Gitau, who will cover the struggles of an American and Kenyan to form a healthy gay relationship.
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Dear Attendee, This conference started off as a dream of mine over five years ago. This year, with the support of many people throughout our campus, that dream has materialized. Thank you to our generous sponsors: Washtenaw Community College, Student Life Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan, Grand Rapids Community College, and Jill Jepsen. We are grateful to our vendors: Unicorn Feed and Supply, Necto, Backstreet At Large, Beck Pro-Fitness, and Hero Nation. Thank all of you for adding so much to the conference experience of everyone that attended. This conference is the culmination of deep collaborations throughout the Washtenaw Community College campus. Special thanks are in order to our college President, Dr. Rose Bellanca, for her complete commitment to diversity, inclusion, and dignity to all; Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Kimberly Hurns, for her tireless enthusiasm and support of this conference; Director of Student Development and Activities, Pete Leshkevich, for his hours of work planning, funding, organizing, and mobilizing his team to make this conference a success; Director of the Writing Center, Tom Zimmerman, for his embodiment of the word “ally� by using his position, expertise, resources, and time to support all efforts regarding this conference; Out Space Faculty Advisor, Mary Mullalond, for always bringing her boundless joy and solution-focused problem-solving skills to our team; Director of the Entrepreneur Center, Kristin Gapske, for her diligent work in securing us vendors and panelists for this conference; our friends at the Richard W. Bailey Library for their partnership and creativity in bringing key components of this conference to fruition; the Faculty Professional Development Committee for their generous funding; Manager of Events & Conference Services, Patrick Downey, and staff, for expertly taking care of all our facilities needs; Learning Resources Classroom Technology Coordinator, Rick Cocco, and staff, for assisting us with all our technology and AV needs; Web Designer, Sonya McDowell, for building and maintaining a beautiful website for the conference; Director of Web Services, for quickly supporting all our web requests; AVP for College Advancement, Phil Snyder, for help with marketing; student and friend, Delilah Webb, for designing our logo with such care; Coordinator of Student Organizations, Veronica 16
Boissoneau, for help continued assistance throughout the planning and execution of the conference; Student Development Tech Assistant, for coordinating a team of workers and volunteers to assist in logistical support and the creation of much of the dĂŠcor and signage for the conference; Part-Time Faculty Commons for their assistance with dĂŠcor; Fabulous Foods for coordinating and catering our conference with healthy, delicious food; Coordinator of Instructional Support Arts & Sciences, Amy Carpenter, for her assistance with promotional swag and lodging logistics; Secretary of the Dean of Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Aimee Smith, for her logistical and collegial support; Support Services Secretary, Shari Smith, for her skills in creating visuals and laughter throughout our office pod and for filling swag bags; my co-worker, Writing Center Secretary, Meera Martin, for steadily supplying me with encouraging memes throughout the conference process, expounding brilliantly upon the importance of a proper cup of British tea, and covering shifts for me in the Writing Center as I finished preparations for the conference; our members of Out Space for being the motivation behind our passion and our work, and the many, many more people that went out of their way to help us make this a success. Sincerely, Zach Baker (he/him/his) Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference Coordinator
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