Programs and Events

GIEC PROGRAMS

To request these program, please send an email to giec.tamu.edu

“Guess Who’s Gay?” Panels: An interactive and fun exercise that exposes the discrepancies between social stereotypes of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people and reality. What assumptions do we tend to make about the correlations between gender persona and sexuality, and why do we make them? This program is ideal for classrooms or residence halls.

GLBT Speakers Bureau: The GLBT speakers bureau consists of a panel of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals who can answer questions about sexual orientation in an open, honest, and affirming environment. We often invite people to “ask anything that you’ve ever wanted to know about GLBT people.”

Queering History: The Gender Issues Education Center is working on a brief introduction to the hidden history of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Please check back with us soon to request this presentation.

Transgender 101: Transgender is an often misunderstood and underrepresented member of the GLBT family. This program introduces the concepts of what it means to be transgender and discusses the differences between important terminology such as sex, gender, and gender identity/expression. The history of transgender people is also discussed.

Sexuality 101: What is sex? What is gender? What is sexual orientation? Are they always related? We are in the process of updating this program and look forward to bringing them to classes and dorms in the very near future! Please check our website soon in order to request Sexuality 101.

ANNUAL EVENTS

Open House: At the beginning of each academic year the Gender Issues Education Center invites the community to visit our office space, meet our staff, and see the resources that are available including our extensive lending library of GLBT books, periodicals, movies and our new collection of GLBT travel guides and information. Guests are invited to take our educational brochures, calendar of events, and our fun buttons and giveaways. We also encourage people to join our announcement listserv to receive information about upcoming GIEC events on campus. Please contact Lowell Kane to be added: LowellK@studentlife.tamu.edu.

Celebrate Bisexuality Day: This event is observed annually on September 23 by members of the bisexual community and their allies. The goal of Celebrate Bisexuality Day is to raise visibility and awareness about an often overlooked or misunderstood community.

GLBT History Month: GLBT History Month originated in the United States and was first celebrated in October, 1994. October was chosen by Wilson as the month for the celebration because National Coming Out Day already was established as a widely known event, on October 11, and October commemorated the first march on Washington by LGBT people in 1979. LGBT History Month is intended to encourage honesty and openness about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Coming Out Week: Every October 11th, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies celebrate National Coming Out Day. The Texas A&M GLBT community and Allies use the week surrounding October 11th as a time to educate the Texas A&M community on GLBT issues. Please check our website for event times and locations.

Intersex Awareness Day: October 26 is Intersex Awareness Day. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of the Intersex community. “Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male, a person born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types, or a person born with mosaic genetics, so that some of their cells have XX chromosomes and some of them have XY.

Transgender Day of Remembrance: The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder in 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Since then, the event has grown to encompass memorials in dozens of cities across the world.

AIDS Awareness Week: World AIDS Day (December 1st) is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. AIDS Awareness Week programming is meant to increase the campus community’s awareness of AIDS, its impact on the local and global population, and historical and current issues. In 2007, Texas A&M is honoring the 20th Anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt by hosting a display of 4 blocks of panels from the Quilt that are unique to TAMU, and having guest speaker Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, discussing the history and impact of HIV/AIDS.

GLBT Health Awareness Week: This event takes place every year in March. The major objective of the program is to encourage members of the GLBT community to be aware of their own health and take concrete steps, such as getting regular physical exams, to become and stay healthy.

Gay Awareness Week: Every April, the Texas A&M GLBT community and GLBT-friendly organizations promote education, awareness, and understanding of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender population at Texas A&M. This event also commemorates the April 1, 1985 court decision that first opened the door for GLBT recognition at Texas A&M University. For more information about events or this historic court decision, please contact the Gender Issues Education Center.

Day of Silence: The Day of Silence is an annual event held in April which brings attention to anti-GLBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Students and teachers nationwide will observe the day in silence to echo the silence that GLBT and ally students face everyday. The Day of Silence is one of the largest student-led actions in the country. For more information please visit www.dayofsilence.org.

New Student Conferences: Throughout the summer, the GIEC sets up resource/information tables at the New Student Conferences to introduce incoming students to our services.