“People are like ‘Oh, it’s the gay group’, and it’s not, actually,”
says Michael Flatt, sociology professor and faculty advisor of the Lambda Gender Sexuality Alliance on Cuyahoga Community College’s West Campus.
Lambda’s objective is to shine a light on matters of prejudice while trying to create a strong, safe, and welcoming environment for anyone afraid to be themselves, he said. The “Safe Zone” is one of the main tools for comfortability and safety. A Safe Zone is a space in which everyone will be respected and heard, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. These can be found on every Tri-C campus.
According to Flatt, Lambda has three main objectives: service, educate, and socialize.
Service means volunteering and fundraising for important causes. They also find it important to educate not only students, but everyone on campus, about issues relating to the LGBTQ community. The third objective is to socialize.
At the end of school last year, the group went to play laser-tag, Flatt said. They have taken trips to go roller skating and have dessert at Sweet Moses. “It’s a big part of the group.” Flatt said.
To kick off LGBTQ History Month, an exhibition of panels displaying the history of LGBTQ movements from World War II to today will be traveling around Tri-C’s campuses. This exhibition will be at West Campus October 2-5, East Campus October 9-11, and Metro Campus October 16-20.
The final day of the exhibition will wrap up with a celebration of National Coming Out Day, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. October 5. Coming out monologues will be presented that day, and everyone is welcome to enjoy, learn, and socialize at this event.
