Miami Student

Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Campus

Leslie Morrow is interim assistant director for GLBT at Miami. The organization hopes to gain new members and play a larger role on campus. --Kelsi House/The Miami Student

Spectrum is looking to expand its membership and co-sponsor an event with organizations such as College Republicans and Campus Crusade for Christ, aiming to change the climate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) individuals at
Miami University.

Miami was ranked in a 2007 issue of the Princeton Review as a college where "Alternative Lifestyles (are) Not an Alternative."

Spectrum-Miami's queer-straight alliance that supports the issues of GLBT individuals-hopes this year it can begin to change Miami's course.

"We're hoping to contact College Republicans and co-sponsor something with them or with Campus Crusade for Christ because we want people to realize that we're accepting of anyone religiously, politically, etc.," said Kristen Vliet, co-president of Spectrum. "We don't want these organizations to feel like we don't like them or that we don't want to be involved with them."

College Republicans Chairman Chris Berry said that his club is always interested in hearing new ideas and that co-sponsoring an event with Spectrum is not unprecedented.

"In my freshman year, we worked on the domestic partner benefits issue and (Spectrum) helped us out with that some," Berry said. "We both brought in Log Cabin Republicans together, and we're always open to getting involved with different student organizations."

Log Cabin Republicans work to make the party more inclusive of gay and lesbian issues and believe in the importance of GLBT individuals participating in the Republican Party. They hold the Republican values of limited government, strong national defense, free markets, low taxes, personal responsibility and individual liberty.

Spectrum on the Miami University campus has been growing over the past few years, with increasing membership being a primary goal of the organization.

"We had almost 80 students at the first meeting, which was a wonderful turnout for Miami's campus," said Rhonda Jackson, Spectrum's adviser. "Every year we have more and more students identify, and seeing 80 people at the first meeting (of the year) was a phenomenal experience for those of us who have been around to see just a handful."

Continued...

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