On Wednesday, October 11, the MCC Office of Campus Life and Leadership made a commitment to our local gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community by presenting a GLBT support event in ST 101. Across the nation, National Coming Out Week (October 9-15) celebrated the personal discovery and public acknowledgment of identity, gender role, and sexual orientation.

Jamie Lee, president of the board of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of Kansas City (PFLAG), spoke at the meeting from a personal perspective. Four years ago, she discovered that her 18-year-old son John was gay. In an effort to help him and their family understand the dynamics of their situation, she made it her mission to actively support John and educate our community on this sensitive, complicated issue.

Lee tearfully recalled the tension and anticipation she and her husband experienced as they were getting ready to ask their son a very difficult question. "I just looked at him and said, your Dad and I just want to know if you are gay?" said Lee. "As soon as he said yes, we all burst into tears... We just wanted to start on this journey as a family."

Nancy Harrington and Jamie Lee

Unfortunately, the majority of the GLBT community does not have an active, safe support system. It is not easy to experience the uncertainty of being gay and the fear of how people will react to their position. PFLAG is an organization that will accept its members as equals regardless of their sexual orientation. It is their mission to promote the well-being of GLBT persons, their families, and friends as they cope with homophobia and bigotry.

Bob Macpherson, a gay PV student, said, "I wasn't really sure what to expect from the rally. I just wanted to reach out to the gay community and see what they were about." Many of the fliers distributed to raise awareness for the GLBT presentation were defaced with rude, closed-minded comments. Macpherson responded by saying, "I would hate to force my opinion of equality on them. They have a right to hate in their hearts if they want to."

For many GLBT people, it is very important to speak openly about their sexuality. Honesty is the first step toward self-awareness, even at the risk of making the public or one's family uncomfortable. Mikele Neely, otherwise known as "Mike," realized she was a lesbian as early as two years old. Neely said, "If I didn't tell people that I was gay right off the bat, once they found out, they didn't want to be around me. I lost friendships because of it."

There are also safe places right here on the Penn Valley campus, with people who understand and support the rights and freedoms of GLBT individuals. Nancy Harrington, an Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology instructor and Reproductive Health and Sexuality specialist, embraces the differences that set us apart as unique, sexual human beings. She considers herself a GLBT ally and says that her office is open to anyone in search of acceptance or emotional freedom.

Harrington expressed the importance of supporting GLBT people by saying, "There are such powerful and potentially harmful secrets built into our lives. This translates into sending the message that sexuality is bad." As her intensity began to rise, Harrington insisted that "it is a crime to put people in a position of shame and fear." Her last request was to ask students and faculty to think of one way they could help make the Penn Valley campus a safe place for GLBT.

Problems associated with sexuality and identity can bring about intense feelings of rejection, humiliation, isolation, and disappointment. People like Lee, Harrington, Macpherson, and Neely understand that people can get hurt. Coming out not only provides GLBT people with freedom and pride, but also opens them up for public discrimination and injustice.

PFLAG and their associates believe that society must reach out to the GLBT community and offer tolerance and understanding. It is not acceptable to force GLBT people to keep their true identities hidden away from themselves and their families. It is imperative to tell the truth, develop a sense of equality and acquire the ability to openly communicate without judgmental contempt.

Lee and Harrington suggest that if your children are experiencing trauma about gay issues due to lack of education and understanding, put the information in an age-appropriate context so they can understand. It may be necessary to take advantage of the moment and bring the problem to the attention of their school's administration so everyone can benefit from the experience.

The Pledge of Tolerance is a nationwide statement that suggests that the public try to understand and accept the fact that people have different beliefs, cultures, races, and sexual identities from one's own. Consider the possibility that your child, brother, sister, mother, father, husband, wife and, yes, even yourself may be gay. How would you react? How would you like others to react to you?

If you are GLBT, a friend, or a family member, and would like group support, you can contact PFLAG-KC by phone at (816)765-9818, or via e-mail at pflagkc@pflagkc.org. Information about the mission of the organization, meeting availability and additional resources, can be found at the web site, www.pflagkc.org.

If you would like to contact Nancy Harrington, you may reach her by phone at (816)759-4240 or via e-mail at nancy.harrington@mcckc.edu. Her office hours vary each semester but will be posted on her office door at ST 208 C.

Copyright 2006 Metropolitan Community College