A buzzing energy lingers in the air at the Dragon Rainbow Center. Perhaps this excitement is due a recent trip Anita Bender and 12 students attended weekend of Feb. 10.
The trip was to Ames, Iowa, where the group attended the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference. The MSUM students who attended the conference said they gained an eye-opening experience, leaving with a sense of unity and alternative perspectives about the world.
The MBLGTACC is a growing annual event. This year the conference had a record number of attendants with 1,700 college students from the Midwest. MBLGTACC relocates yearly; giving other schools a chance to host the event. This year’s setting was Iowa State University.
The MSUM students who attended the conference prepared with plenty of hard work. The trip was funded through bake sales, raffles and donations. Everyone worked together to make enough money to cover travel, hotels and food.
The conference strives to connect both individuals and communities with resources that will help to enrich lives across the Midwest. Offering classes, keynote speakers and a chance for the participants to build connections with other LGBT students across the country, allows MBLGTACC to be a success.
There were a variety of session topics. Understanding transgender, intersections of race and class, conversion therapy, LGBT in the workplace and asexuality are just a small sample of the classes offered at MBLGTACC. Bender is the faculty member who attended the conference with the students.
“The workshops both supported who we are, to help us understand ourselves better, but it also challenged us to make space for the diversity within us,” Bender said.
A main focus point of the conference was prejudice. Not only can the LGBT community feel prejudice from the surrounding world, it can happen within their own community. Many of the keynote speakers orientated their speeches on talking about this issue. The idea being executed was the elimination of discrimination and hate within the LGBT community. Once they remove those obstacles within the LGBT community they can become stronger as a whole.
The students and Bender walked away from the MBLGTACC experience gaining person growth. For some, realizing that they are part of a growing culture was a lesson learned. This event gave the students a chance to connect with other individuals and make them feel a part of something much bigger than the walls of the Rainbow Dragon Center. For others, the conference was a validation of feelings.
Whatever the lessons learned, many students left the conference with a refreshed look on their own lives and their community. The students said they would like to take the positive energy gained at MBLGTACC and reach out the local area. Whether it’s holding more social events on campus or supporting the area’s high school Gay Straight Alliances, the students said they are looking forward to applying what they have learned and using those lessons for a greater good.
BY COURTNEY FICEK
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