LGBTQ+ Program Assessment 2022-2023

Well-Being

Highlighted Programs

Queer Turn to Temporality

Honor Our Past

Rainbow Neath the Western Sky

LGBTQ+ History Month Kickoff Brunch

Tend to Our Present

Queer Health Week

Queer Tour

Queer Love Week

For Our Queer Future

Strike Out for Queerphobia

Queer Creativity Week & Art Show

Pride & Politics

Drag is Art

Drag Workshop

Drag Bingo

Proudly Gleaming

Crimson & Queens

Welcome

The LGBTQ+ Program is a function of the Gender + Equality Center. The program strives to work towards cultivating an affirming, educational, and diverse community for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff at the University of Oklahoma by providing engagement opportunities and educational resources.

The LGBTQ+ Program supports the educational goals and missions of the Gender + Equality Center as well as the Division of Student Affairs. Through active engagement, University of Oklahoma students will contribute to caring communities, cultivate a holistic awareness of who they are, and develop confidence in who they can become. The divisional learning aims are integrated into programs, services, and initiatives that are offered by LGBTQ+ Program to ensure that our Program is working to achieve the same goals yet in a way that stems from the unique wants and needs of LGBTQ+ students at OU.

Annual assessments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the program’s work to achieve intended outcomes. The following report highlights important plans, goals, assessed outcomes, and future responses from the LGBTQ+ Programs, and the Gender + Equality Center at large. This report reflects the works that have been done within the 2022 - 2023 academic year.

LGBTQ+ Program Coordinator

About Us

Our Center

MISSION

The mission of the Gender + Equality Center is to cultivate an affirming, educational, and diverse community by focusing on LGBTQ+ inclusion, interpersonal violence prevention, and advocacy for victims of gender-based violence.

EDUCATIONAL PRIORITY

The Gender + Equality Center will empower OU community members to create affirming, violence-free communities and actively work toward a just and equitable society.

OUR FUNCTIONS

The Gender + Equality Center has three (3) main functions:

• LGBTQ+ Programs

• Gender-based Violence Prevention

• Victims Advocacy

Our Program

LGBTQ+ Program has three (3) main involvement areas

LGBTQ+ PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD

Our goal is for all students to feel safe, included, and empowered to succeed at the University of Oklahoma. We will reach this goal by maintaining an intersectional lens as we foster LGBTQ+ leadership, provide opportunities for community and build awareness of LGBTQ+ issues on campus. We host a wide variety of events, including Crimson & Queens - the largest drag show in the state of Oklahoma.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

We hope to connect undergraduate students to a supportive and affirming network comprising of peer mentors as well as faculty/ staff/alumni mentors so students can gather knowledge and resources to better navigate the collegiate environment as well as in their professional field.

LGBTQ+ STUDENT ALLIANCE

LGBTQ Student Alliance is a group of undergrad and graduate students that work to build community amongst LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. With weekly meetings and ongoing community events, there are always ways to get connected.

INTRODUCTION By the Numbers

Curricular Approach

Our Philosophy

In alignment with the mission and values of the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Oklahoma as well as the Gender + Equality Center, LGBTQ+ Program is utilizing the curricular approach as the philosophy in our work & the services we offered. The curricular approach is an innovative approach to an old idea: learning happens everywhere on campus. We utilize the curricular approach to learning in our programs & innitiatives. This approach is aligned with the mission and strategic plan Live On of the University of Oklahoma as well as the goals of the Division of Student Affairs. We believe that engaging with LGBTQ+ Program is a transformative experience and our programs provide students those opportunities for growth and development.

The value of co-curricular learning is well documented in higher education scholarly literature. This approach is critical in providing learning opportunities for and with our campus community. The Gender + Equality Center has adopted this approach in 2020, and now the division of Student Affairs have adopted this model as well. The divisonal learning goals were developed collaboratively with multiple departments across the division. These learning goals provide clarity and focus for all departments within Student Affairs, as well as for our center and LGBTQ+ Programs specifically.

Examples of programs, activities, & services for Well-Being

• Queer Tour

• Drag Bingo

• LGBTQ+ Meet & Greet

• Pride & Politics

• Game Night

• Proudly Gleaming

• Queersgiving

• Sweet Welcome Back

• Name Change Workshop

• Queer Love Photoshoot

• Queer Sexperts

• Boundaries Workshop

• Spreading Love: Card-making event

• Crimson & Queens

Well-Being

Well-Being is a student’s holistic understanding of wellness; including the emotional, mental, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellness. Well-Being is conscious, self-directed and evolving, positive, affirming, and inclusive. Students will be able to foster their own well-being as well as communities of well-being.

Students will be able to:

• Define personal well-being.

• Identify resources to support their well-being.

• Integrate wellness strategies into daily life.

• Foster communities of well-being.

Examples of programs, activities, & services for Personal Development:

• Mentorship Training

• Student Leaders Retreat

• Pride & Politics Panel

• Drag Workshop

• LGBTQ+ History Month

Brunch

• Rainbow neath the Western Sky - History project

• Name Change Workshop

• Queer Words: Creative Writing Workshop

• Pride Art Night

• Queer Art Show

• Lavender Graduation

Personal Development

Personal Development is a student’s process of gaining awareness and understanding of who they are as individuals. Personal Development includes understanding who they are in terms of values, beliefs, and purpose as well as their social group identities. Demonstrating empathy and compassion, especially for those with very different backgrounds and experiences, is critical in all relationships. By exploring their sense of purpose, abilities, privileges, and intersecting identities, students can learn to develop self-efficacy and agency to positively change their own lives and impact their communities.

Students will be able to:

• Articulate their identities.

• Demonstrate empathy and compassion in relationships.

• Describe how they can contribute to making positive change.

• Demonstrate the competencies needed for their professional development.

Examples of programs, activities, & services for Community Impact:

• LGBTQ+ Student Retreat

• LGBTQ+ Mentorship Training

• Pride & Politics

• LGBTQ+ History Month: Kick-off Brunch

• Rainbow neath the Western Sky: History Project

• Strike Out Queerphobia

• Trans Day of Remembrance

• Queersgiving

• Trans Women are women social media

• Trans Advocacy social media series

Community Impact

Community Impact includes a student’s awareness of issues impacting communities and the world as well as their capacity and desire to take action to make positive, sustainable change. Both components are critical to collaboratively solving our world’s most pressing problems.

Students will be able to:

• Describe the impact of their actions on others.

• Identify issues facing communities.

• Collaborate effectively with others.

• Advocate for positive change in their communities.

Queer Turn to Temporality

Weaving Queer Histories, Presents, and Futures

Our Story

In Fall 2022, we celebrated the momentous 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ+ registered student group at the University of Oklahoma. Over the past five decades, LGBTQ+ Programs has had the privilege of building upon the foundations of activism and advocacy laid by our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. Today, we find ourselves standing on the shoulders of giants, entrusted with carrying the torch of their legacy.

Queer history often remains untold. We recognize that to forge a path to a better tomorrow, we must intimately understand the struggles and triumphs of our past. Guided by various frameworks rooted in queer theories, our aim is to honor the legacy that has brought us to this point and charting a course that continues to build upon the foundations of those who came before us. In this assessment report, we proudly showcase the initiatives and programs undertaken in the past year, which pay homage to our rich history, foster a sense of collective community in the present, and inspire us to look ahead.

Through these assessment reports, we strive to amplify the voices of our current students, campus partners, and alumni, ensuring that their perspectives remain at the forefront of our endeavors. The report is built through collaborations between staff members at the Gender + Equality Center and the student leaders within LGBTQ+ Programs.

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

Honor Our Past

Rainbow neath the Western Sky: History project at OU

Our campus has a vibrant activist history, shaping current progress. LGBTQ+ Programs and the LGBTQ+ Student Alliance collaborated on a 3-part video project, unveiling our queer history from the 70s to today. Screened in Fall 2022, it’s now accessible online, shedding light on untold stories.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Articulate the issues facing the OU community

• Articulate the progress we have made in the past

486

• Foster the community of well-being students participated in the project

for the Rainbow neath the Western Sky: History project at OU video series on YouTube.

VIEW S

Project can be found at bit.ly/RNTWS

8 8 55

alumni and former staff participated in the project

participants in the showing of the project

But last night’s showing was much more than something already so powerful, so necessary, and so needed. Last night was yet another moment where the Gender + Equality Center held and created a generative space for the LGBTQ+ community here at OU. And even then, it was still so much more. Together viewers went on a journey and experienced history -- we cried, we laughed, we snapped, we smiled -- but in doing so we also imagined futures. Futures of endless queer joy. Filled with endless gratitude for those that came before us, we imagined a university for us, by us. And let’s be real, these opportunities do not come often.

As a new faculty and LGBTQ+ community human here in Norman and at OU, last night was a validation of me and my fellow queer family here at OU. After the premiere ended, and student leaders took the stage, they expressed gratitude to those that made this project happen and special shoutouts to the GEC staff who support and continue to guide and love them. It was in that moment that I started to cry (not the first time during this showing) again. In less than two years’ time, the GEC and the many LGBTQ+ activists around our community, now near and far, have made this place a home. The GEC is not only for students -- it is for faculty, staff, families, and community campus-wide and everybody needs to know that.

JENNY SPERLING

Faculty | Attended the showing

I was able to watch the [...] this project and am very impressed and appreciative of your efforts and those of so many others. Congratulations and THANK you!

GREG KUBIAK

OU Alumni - Class of 1983

LGBTQ+ History Month Kickoff Brunch

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ+ Student Alliance and kick off LGBTQ+ History Month, we hosted a brunch to celebrate this momentous occassion. In 1972, the Gay Activist Alliance for Sexual Freedom sought the same privileges as other student organizations at OU and announced its formation at a breakfast with the OU President. When the OU Administration said no, the student group then brought OU to court later that year, began the on-off legal battle with the institution for nearly a decade. LGBTQ+ Student Alliance (now) is the descendant of the original GAA group in the 70s. This brunch is not only celebrating the 50th anniversary of the student group, but also the legacy of queer activism on our own campus.

The audience got to listened to queer and trans students’ experiences on campus as well as their perspectives on what LGBTQ+ history means to them, personally. The keynote speaker was Dr. Susan Stryker - a scholar, historian, artist, and an alumna of our own institution. Dr. Stryker shared her dearest memories at OU and how we can further care for our community.

attendees at the Kickoff Brunch

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

Tend to our Present

Queer Health Week

Responding to recent attack on queer and trans healthcare, LGBTQ+ Programs, with collaboration from OU Health Services, offers a wide variety of events aiming to empower and educate students, fostering inclusive healthcare practices, and creating a supportive campus environment for the LGBTQ+ community.The list of events were:

• Name Change Workshop

• Sexpert: Queer Sex Ed

• Dear (Future) Healthcare Providers

Some examples of learning outcomes were:

• Identify health issues facing the LGBTQ+ community

• Identify affirming resources regarding to LGBTQ+ health to support their well-being

• Identify safe sex practices between queer couples

• Articulate ways to intergrate sustainable wellness strategies to daily life

• Foster communities of well-being

Queer Tour

Queer Tour is a guided adventure through campus that connects students to resources, allies, and queer-friendly spaces across campus.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Identify affirming resources on campus that will enhance their well-being

• Connect with other students and foster a community of well-being

students participated

93% of participants

said they knew which office to go to when they face issues faculty/staff participated

93% of participants

89% of participants

said they were more likely to utilize those resources

said they felt more connected to OU

“100% would recommend! Everyone is super friendly and welcoming! The tour guides are nice and super accommodating as well!”

“That it taught me more than anything else during Camp Crimson and the beginning of school. Definitely take it if you want to learn about our resources and make friends”

Queer Love Week

Queer Love Week is a series of events that celebrates different types of love, kinship, and relationships between queer individuals. LGBTQ+ Program partners with OU Health Services to deliver programs and training to students. The list of events were:

• Celebrated Queer Love: Photoshoot

• Boundaries Workshop

• Spreading Love: Card-making Event

Some examples of learning outcomes were:

• Articulate their own personal boundaries

• Identify 3 ways they can communicate their personal boundaries

• Articulate different types of relationship and kinship within the queer community

• Demonstrate empathy and compassion in relationships.

During the time where queer joy can feel like fleeting concepts, it becomes all the more vital to remind ourselves of the queer love that exists within our community. In navigating a climate that is hostile towards queer and trans individuals, we find solace in our kinships - ones forged through shared experiences, understanding, and a fierce determination to create spaces of love and acceptance.

Queer Love Week was created as a reminder to our community that we are stronger together. Love manifests itself in countless ways, transcending the normative understanding of romance and relationship. We create spaces where queer love and relationship flourish. For in celebrating queer love, we not only honor our own journeys but also pave the way for a more inclusive, compassionate, and accepting world for generations to come.

We really enjoyed this event! I’m so grateful that the GEC put the photoshoot on, we both felt completely at ease and comfortable just being ourselves, which doesn’t always happen everywhere. Thank y’all so much for the work you put in!

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

For our Queer Future

Strike Out for Queerphobia

Over 50 OU community members marched across campus to deliver a list of recommendations to President Joseph Harroz Jr. in a national walkout for LGBTQ+ equality on National Coming Out Day Tuesday, along with over 100 other universities in the U.S. Strike Out Queerphobia: Walkout for 2SLGBTQ+ Equality, organized by the Religious Exemptions Accountability Project and The Black Menaces, staged demonstrations across the country in response to discrimination and harm to LGBTQ+ members on college campuses and by state legislators.

LGBTQ+ Student Alliance student leaders audited campus practices, saying the university has not fully met the original call to action items outlined in the Queer Inclusion on Campus report from 2015. In the 20-page document, students outlined how OU can better support members of the LGBTQ+ community, including creating inclusive housing options and the usage of preferred names and pronouns in university systems and documents. With this, the student organization also said recent policies and bills — such as Senate Bill 2, Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 1775 — passed by the Oklahoma legislature are directly affecting and harming members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community at OU and across the state.

We want to see an inclusive, safe and equitable OU for the LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff. We want to reach an extending hand to our university, specifically to work with us to reduce areas of harm and promote inclusion for LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff on our campus.

EZRA KOENIG LGBTQ+ Student Alliance President

Queer Creativity Week & Art Show

In an state where harm and violence towards LGBTQ+ community continue to persist, it is essential to foster spaces that allow queer and trans students to create and imagine spaces for queer joy, queer thrival, healing, and liberatory futures. The inaugural Queer Creativity Week was born to fill that gap. It is a week-long series of events across campus that focuses on exploring the queer worldmaking potential through variety of art mediums. From creative writing to painting and digital arts, students are invited to engage in events that center their expression of queerness through various mediums, including creative writing, painting, and other forms of arts.

“Queer Expression: Queer Art Show” is part of a larger series of events. The goals are to create spaces that students can express themselves freely and openly in a safe, affirming environment.

For the Inaugural Art Show, artists were called to submit pieces that spoke to the theme “Queer Expression” and explore queer identities, experiences, joy, and hopes for the future. We gathered submissions from the members of our OU community: from first-year students to graduate students and instructors, from diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences. Each contributing artist captured, displayed, and played with visualizations, understandings, and imaginnings of queerness through various mediums that included photography, painting (both digital and traditional), drawings, and other art forms.

In times where queer expression is met with censorship and criminalization, this initiative serve as a positive step towards showcasing different forms of expression of queerness - as an act of resistance towards queer and trans erasure, as a way for us to “see” ourselves in one another, and to recognize the humanity in our collective community.

art submissions

attendees art Queer Art show

Pride & Politics

LGBTQ+ Student Alliance and LGBTQ+ Programs hosted a panel of community members to discuss current legislative issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community ahead of the November general elections.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Identify issues facing the LGBTQ+ communities

• Articulate ways to advocate for positive change in their communities

Drag is an Expression of Queer Resistance

Similar to the rise of anti-drag legislations that targeted the queer and trans community, including drag performers, Oklahoma introduced bills to prohibit drag artists from performing on public property in the presence of minors. This restriction significantly limits their opportunities for creative expression.

The art of drag holds immense significance within the LGBTQ+ community as it allows individuals to playfully explore gender expression and challenge heteronormative norms. Delving into its history, drag offers a glimpse into the liberation and worldmaking of queer culture, particularly rooted in the Ballroom scene of Black and Brown queer communities. Drag performers have played crucial roles in driving social and political change, shaping both early queer liberation movements and contemporary queer pop culture.

Building upon the drag pedagogy framework developed by Harper Keenan and Lil Miss Hot Mess, LGBTQ+ Programs have developed diverse opportunities for students to engage in queer imagination, explore their identities, and express themselves creatively. Through sequenced educational programs, LGBTQ+ Programs have provided platforms for students to encounter queer and trans knowledge production, while also actively participating in drag as an art form. Whether as performers or audience members, drag serves as an educational tool for queer resistance against normative orders.

Drag Workshop

As our annual drag show Crimson & Queens becomes more popular which demands higher caliber of performance, the needs to develop more opportunities for students to explore and perform drag in a safe settings. LGBTQ+ Programs worked with local and student performers to lead the first drag workshop.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Articulate their identities and create their drag persona

• Recall history of drag as an art form

• Demonstrate empathy and compassions in relationships

• Identify local resources to support them in their journey of performing drag

Things students reported learning in the workshop:

Applying makeup

Walking/Posing

History of Drag

Other (fun, self confidence, etc.)

Resources

Understanding of queer community

Drag Bingo

Drag Bingo is a signature program during Camp Crimson. Students play bingo, win prizes, and watch free drag performances featuring local performers. BenDeLaCreme from RuPaul’s Drag Race will be our host for the evening!

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Better understand and gain more appreciation for the arts of drag

• Connect with other students and foster a community of well-being

students participated said they met new people and make new friends

said they gained more appreciation about drag said this was their first drag show

The drag bingo was so much fun. I have now met a real life drag queen. She even got a chance to talk to me during the game. I wish that there are more events just like that one.

My southern school actually had a drag performance. Who would’ve thought? It was so much fun!

I went to Drag Bingo with a friend and was very excited and pleased over the outcome. I especially loved the Drag King who performed to Justin Beiber! While I didn’t win any prizes while playing Bingo, I think the real prize was getting to watch all of the Kings and Queens! Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I thought it was extremely awesome to see so many drag queens and how passionate they were about their craft. It was cool to see how many people showed up too! They were really entertaining. It was my first time ever going to a drag show so I greatly appreciate that OU hosted one on campus.

Proudly Gleaming

This year we get to host the second annual Proudly Gleaming. To increase access for LGBTQ+ students, the event is now free for all students to participate. As an official part of CAC’s Homecoming, this event created a specific, intentional space to uplift and support our LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, and alumni as a recognized part of the OU family in one of our oldest campus traditions.

Students who participated in the drag workshop gets to perform and made their drag debut in a supportive and affirming environment.

Proudly Gleaming was an amazing event! I was surrounded by extremely supportive people, and I was able to express myself in a way that was not only comfortable, but I was able to do it in an environment that was safe and accepting. During the performance, I had never seen such an amazing crowd of people. The cheers we’re embarrassing in the best way possible and seeing how my performance made people smile truly made my week! It was an experience that will always be a source of joy and a memory I will look back upon fondly. It helped me increase my confidence and feel better about how I perform and it let me see a community that enjoys me for who I am, not someone I pretend to be.

Student Performer

To know that there is an LGBTQ+ centered program at homecoming is incredible. That’s something that I would not have dreamed of because it wouldn’t have seem super realistic to me. But I think that’s phenomenal [...]

The Gender + Equality Center was proud to once again host Crimson & Queens, the largest annual drag show in Oklahoma. In addition to 10 student and local talents, Crimson & Queens features Yvie Oddly - Season 11 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The event is a beautiful conclusion for the semester. Crimson & Queens provided a healing space for numerous queer and trans students, offering a moment to pause and reflect on the inseparable nature of queer joy and queer resistance. It created a space where people could embrace their true selves, unapologetically celebrating their unique identities and the power of collective unity.

participants attended Crimson & Queens 2023

“This is the MOST PUNK thing you could do right now.”

- Yvie Oddly

Developed by LGBTQ+ Program Coordinator in collaborations with LGBTQ+ student leaders.