IU to host GLBT conference in February

In February, between 1,500 and 1,800 students from throughout the Midwest will flood campus for one weekend when the University hosts the 17th annual Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference.

IU students can register now at the conference Web site, www.indiana.edu/~mblgta09, for $60. The first 100 students to sign up will be admitted to the event for free, due to a grant given to the conference planning team from the IU Dean of Students Office.

“Living Out Loud: Examining our Past to Enhance our Future,” will take place from Feb. 13 through 15 and will include a series of workshops, entertainment and some celebrity keynote speakers.

According to its Web site, the conference helps “to promote leadership, activism, networking, diversity, health and empowerment among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, allied and queer students, staff and faculty around the Midwest and beyond.”

Doug Bauder, coordinator of GLBT Student Support Services, said the conference is the largest of its kind in the Midwest. It serves as an outreach for GLBT students from the region who might not have the same level of support services IU has on its campus.

“We’re eager to help campuses think about how they can do that,” Bauder said. “And it’s just an opportunity for kids to get to know other queer kids.”

Bauder said IU was chosen to be the 2009 conference host after the GLBT Student Support Services put in a convincing bid to the conference oversight committee, citing Bloomington’s prominent gay community and gay-friendly campus as key points.

“We made a particular bid and sold them on the idea that with the Kinsey Institute here, this is a really unique place,” Bauder said. “The campus is relatively gay-friendly. The community is pretty amazing, and we sold them on coming here.”

The conference is expected to attract between 1,500 and 1,800 students from 13 different states, as well as GLBT supporters and allies.

Rob DeCleene, director of tourism for the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a press release the conference was expected to bring in substantial funding to the community.

“The city can expect an economic impact of several hundred thousand dollars,” he said.

Aside from local GLBT community members, one keynote speaker expected at the conference is LZ Granderson, a well-known and openly gay columnist for ESPN.com’s Page 2. Bauder also hopes MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow will speak, but said he is still negotiating.

Roughly 40 IU students have already registered out of an expected 200 or more from the entire Midwest, Bauder said.

“This is a huge effort,” Bauder said. “There are a lot of people in the community that will be there, and we are going to need as many volunteers as we
can get.”