6/27/2015
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Yesterday marked a great day in American History. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage on June 26th 2015. Despite this great victory I think it took me a day for this whole gay marriage thing to finally hit me. Whoa! When I was in my senior year of High School the only state that allowed same-sex marriage was Massachusetts. California had just passed proposition 8 revoking their decision. Over the course of the next six years we watched as state by state marriage became legal for everyone, an idea that once was only a dream. There was a time gay people didn’t dare think of marriage because the thought wasn’t even conceivable and now it is a promise garneted to all American citizens. In June 1969 StoneWall a gay bar in New York was raided by the police, for homosexuality was considered public indecency. The riots that night sparked the LGBT movement. Now in 2015 gay people no longer have to be closeted or live a life they do not want, or have their partners slip out before the sunrise. With life being so hard and the future being so uncertain it’s so easy to not appreciate this country. America is far from perfect and there is so much bad here and honestly we are behind the rest of the word but there is one thing that sets America apart from the rest of the world. Hope. Hope that tomorrow will be a better day, hope for change. Hope that even the citizens treated unequally will find their place in this country where equality is assured. This country doesn’t promise us happiness but instead the pursuit of. Its up to us to make this place what we want it to be and we have shown that is possible one fight at a time. Because “We the people” means us too. Way to go America.
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Yesterday marked a great day in American History. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage on June 26th 2015. Despite this great victory I think it took me a day for this whole gay marriage thing to finally hit me. Whoa! When I was in my senior year of High School the only state that allowed same-sex marriage was Massachusetts. California had just passed proposition 8 revoking their decision. Over the course of the next six years we watched as state by state marriage became legal for everyone, an idea that once was only a dream. There was a time gay people didn’t dare think of marriage because the thought wasn’t even conceivable and now it is a promise garneted to all American citizens. In June 1969 StoneWall a gay bar in New York was raided by the police, for homosexuality was considered public indecency. The riots that night sparked the LGBT movement. Now in 2015 gay people no longer have to be closeted or live a life they do not want, or have their partners slip out before the sunrise. With life being so hard and the future being so uncertain it’s so easy to not appreciate this country. America is far from perfect and there is so much bad here and honestly we are behind the rest of the word but there is one thing that sets America apart from the rest of the world. Hope. Hope that tomorrow will be a better day, hope for change. Hope that even the citizens treated unequally will find their place in this country where equality is assured. This country doesn’t promise us happiness but instead the pursuit of. Its up to us to make this place what we want it to be and we have shown that is possible one fight at a time. Because “We the people” means us too. Way to go America.
4/6/2015
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Was the Sinclair Community College Cultural Diversity Grant 2014-2015 put towards a good cause?
The Sinclair Cultural Diversity Grant was established to fund projects annually that help support the mission of Sinclair Community College. That mission includes recognizing and acknowledging student body similarities, to identify and respect our differences and to be prepared to experience, study, and work together in diverse community. Sinclair encourages any faculty or staff member who has an idea to support or help Sinclair grow into a more diverse community to submit an application for funding.
This year the Diversity Grant was given to a group of instructors devoted to providing a safe educational experience for LGBT students at Sinclair. The team that embarked on this journey was Kathleen Hotmer (Theatre); Anne Soltysiak and Marlow Davis (Psychology); Kate Geiselman and Becky Morean (English) and Jane Cammel (paralegal). Together these woman created Love Wins, a concept with the idea that a school should be a safe space for LGBT youth and could be made so through educational awareness, destroying barriers and fighting stereotypes.
Over the course of the 2015 year, Love Wins has been involved in a variety of lectures, workshops, and special events educating Sinclair students about LGBT facts, stories and statistics in attempt to fight stereotypes and myths about gay and transgender individuals. All of this will culminate in Love Wins Day, a campus event with support from Mayor Whaley and Sinclair Community College.
Around campus I find some asking is are LGBT issues really still a problem in 2015? Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has been abolished, thirty-eight states now allow same sex marriage and over 70% of the American population now live in a state that does, how much help does the LGBT group really need?
On March 17th 2015 Mike Pence, governor of Indiana signed a controversial "religious freedom" bill into law that has spearheaded a movement using religion to allow business owners to deny service and entry to citizens based on their sexual orientation without fear of being charged with discrimination.
Let us not forgot the story that took the internet by storm when Leelah Alcorn, a transgendered girl from Kings Mills, Ohio who took her life on December 28th, 2014 leaving behind a Tumblr post that read, “People say "it gets better" but that isn't true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse. That's the gist of it, that's why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that's not a good enough reason for you, it's good enough for me.” Even with a nation moving towards equality rural conservative towns and LGBT youth in Midwestern states still face ridicule every day.
Even on campus the Traditional Values Club has spoken openly about their disinterest with same-sex relationships and homosexual acts. Recently the club planned a prayer rally in opposition of same-sex marriage. A rally that could have sent a negative message that Sinclair Community College agrees with to those passing by including potential homosexual students if it hadn’t been for Brite Signal Allaince, Sinclair’s gay straight alliance and Love Wins creating a counter protest to show that the school is more than just a single voice and the opinions of a few does not reflect the attitude of the school as a whole.
Being the vice-president of Sinclair’s Brite Signal Alliance I have had the chance to hear the stories of students on campus and situations they still have to face in such a claimed diverse community school like Sinclair. Stories of harassment, pain and misunderstanding. I have also had the unlucky chance of being called ‘queer’ and ‘fag’ myself on a few different occasions while on campus simply based on my appearance alone.
Unfortunately even in 2015 LGBT students are still overlooked leaving them victims of inequality in the classroom, wounded by discrimination, and victims of harassment and bullying. This could be due to the belief that gay individuals aren’t really among a student body at all.
Looking over the multitude of students it may be easy to pinpoint a diverse group of people. Students of different races, religious backgrounds, ages and genders pace the halls of the Sinclair campus between classes. What is not so easy to decipher is sexual orientation.
Even those who profess to have a so called “gay-dar” can’t get it right every time and any attempt to do so is a judgment solely based on activities or appearances that don’t fit gender normality. So yes gay students do exist and yes they walk among the student body at Sinclair. Gay people may only be a believed small 10% of the population but to me that’s all the more reason they need help from a community that believes in diversity.
So was the Sinclair Diversity 2014-2015 grant used well? I believe so. Panels that have educated staff and students about the real life struggles of homosexual students at Sinclair. “Mythbusters” parodies that broke through stereotypes to show the facts behind gay individuals. Visits from prominent speakers in the LGBT community like Executive Director of Ohio Equality sharing their knowledge and experience in LGBT law. Pastor Aaron Maurice Saari from the multi-faith campus ministry who proved not all those who are religious hate homosexuals and transgendered people. The recording of Sinclair’s very own “It Gets Better” video. With the help of Sinclair Community College’s diversity grant these six women and Love Wins, gave a voice to minority lost in a majority through educating, presenting and showing that learning goes beyond the classroom and diversity is the cornerstone of any great education.
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Was the Sinclair Community College Cultural Diversity Grant 2014-2015 put towards a good cause?
The Sinclair Cultural Diversity Grant was established to fund projects annually that help support the mission of Sinclair Community College. That mission includes recognizing and acknowledging student body similarities, to identify and respect our differences and to be prepared to experience, study, and work together in diverse community. Sinclair encourages any faculty or staff member who has an idea to support or help Sinclair grow into a more diverse community to submit an application for funding.
This year the Diversity Grant was given to a group of instructors devoted to providing a safe educational experience for LGBT students at Sinclair. The team that embarked on this journey was Kathleen Hotmer (Theatre); Anne Soltysiak and Marlow Davis (Psychology); Kate Geiselman and Becky Morean (English) and Jane Cammel (paralegal). Together these woman created Love Wins, a concept with the idea that a school should be a safe space for LGBT youth and could be made so through educational awareness, destroying barriers and fighting stereotypes.
Over the course of the 2015 year, Love Wins has been involved in a variety of lectures, workshops, and special events educating Sinclair students about LGBT facts, stories and statistics in attempt to fight stereotypes and myths about gay and transgender individuals. All of this will culminate in Love Wins Day, a campus event with support from Mayor Whaley and Sinclair Community College.
Around campus I find some asking is are LGBT issues really still a problem in 2015? Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has been abolished, thirty-eight states now allow same sex marriage and over 70% of the American population now live in a state that does, how much help does the LGBT group really need?
On March 17th 2015 Mike Pence, governor of Indiana signed a controversial "religious freedom" bill into law that has spearheaded a movement using religion to allow business owners to deny service and entry to citizens based on their sexual orientation without fear of being charged with discrimination.
Let us not forgot the story that took the internet by storm when Leelah Alcorn, a transgendered girl from Kings Mills, Ohio who took her life on December 28th, 2014 leaving behind a Tumblr post that read, “People say "it gets better" but that isn't true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse. That's the gist of it, that's why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that's not a good enough reason for you, it's good enough for me.” Even with a nation moving towards equality rural conservative towns and LGBT youth in Midwestern states still face ridicule every day.
Even on campus the Traditional Values Club has spoken openly about their disinterest with same-sex relationships and homosexual acts. Recently the club planned a prayer rally in opposition of same-sex marriage. A rally that could have sent a negative message that Sinclair Community College agrees with to those passing by including potential homosexual students if it hadn’t been for Brite Signal Allaince, Sinclair’s gay straight alliance and Love Wins creating a counter protest to show that the school is more than just a single voice and the opinions of a few does not reflect the attitude of the school as a whole.
Being the vice-president of Sinclair’s Brite Signal Alliance I have had the chance to hear the stories of students on campus and situations they still have to face in such a claimed diverse community school like Sinclair. Stories of harassment, pain and misunderstanding. I have also had the unlucky chance of being called ‘queer’ and ‘fag’ myself on a few different occasions while on campus simply based on my appearance alone.
Unfortunately even in 2015 LGBT students are still overlooked leaving them victims of inequality in the classroom, wounded by discrimination, and victims of harassment and bullying. This could be due to the belief that gay individuals aren’t really among a student body at all.
Looking over the multitude of students it may be easy to pinpoint a diverse group of people. Students of different races, religious backgrounds, ages and genders pace the halls of the Sinclair campus between classes. What is not so easy to decipher is sexual orientation.
Even those who profess to have a so called “gay-dar” can’t get it right every time and any attempt to do so is a judgment solely based on activities or appearances that don’t fit gender normality. So yes gay students do exist and yes they walk among the student body at Sinclair. Gay people may only be a believed small 10% of the population but to me that’s all the more reason they need help from a community that believes in diversity.
So was the Sinclair Diversity 2014-2015 grant used well? I believe so. Panels that have educated staff and students about the real life struggles of homosexual students at Sinclair. “Mythbusters” parodies that broke through stereotypes to show the facts behind gay individuals. Visits from prominent speakers in the LGBT community like Executive Director of Ohio Equality sharing their knowledge and experience in LGBT law. Pastor Aaron Maurice Saari from the multi-faith campus ministry who proved not all those who are religious hate homosexuals and transgendered people. The recording of Sinclair’s very own “It Gets Better” video. With the help of Sinclair Community College’s diversity grant these six women and Love Wins, gave a voice to minority lost in a majority through educating, presenting and showing that learning goes beyond the classroom and diversity is the cornerstone of any great education.
1/16/2015
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
April has been a good month for Brite Signal. We all came together and worked hard to pull off Once Upon a prom which was a huge success. The turnout was better than expected and The Dayton Women’s Club was an amazing place. On the 15th Pastor Joy from Eternal Joy MCC spoke at our meeting showing a new twist on the old ‘clobber versus’ used against the LGBT community. There are not that many meetings left for Spring 2015 but Brite Signals hopes to have a few events available over the course of the summer including Dayton Pride.
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
April has been a good month for Brite Signal. We all came together and worked hard to pull off Once Upon a prom which was a huge success. The turnout was better than expected and The Dayton Women’s Club was an amazing place. On the 15th Pastor Joy from Eternal Joy MCC spoke at our meeting showing a new twist on the old ‘clobber versus’ used against the LGBT community. There are not that many meetings left for Spring 2015 but Brite Signals hopes to have a few events available over the course of the summer including Dayton Pride.
3/27/2015
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Our counter rally went wonderfully Wednesday. Traditional Values Club had a prayer rally in support of traditional marriage that BSA countered with rainbow flags and equal marriage support. Have a Gay Day was represented with their president who showed up with support for the rally and the meeting that followed. Prom is heading into its final weeks and everything is moving smoothly. The program as well as a new logo for BSA are both currently in the works. Have a Gay Day offered to sponsor some marketing in the form of book marks once the new logo is received. The new logo which is suppose to represent a friendlier side of Brite Signal is being created by Catherine Stanley, graphic artist in Clevland Ohio. http://stanleyillustration.com/homepage
Jamez Novotny Vice-president
Our counter rally went wonderfully Wednesday. Traditional Values Club had a prayer rally in support of traditional marriage that BSA countered with rainbow flags and equal marriage support. Have a Gay Day was represented with their president who showed up with support for the rally and the meeting that followed. Prom is heading into its final weeks and everything is moving smoothly. The program as well as a new logo for BSA are both currently in the works. Have a Gay Day offered to sponsor some marketing in the form of book marks once the new logo is received. The new logo which is suppose to represent a friendlier side of Brite Signal is being created by Catherine Stanley, graphic artist in Clevland Ohio. http://stanleyillustration.com/homepage