Two organizations on campus, Coalition Against Homophobia and GLBTQ, may initially seem similar. They both function to support Whitman’s queer community, yet their methods of support are extremely different. Coalition Against Homophobia, commonly referred to as Coalition, is the public face of support for the queer community, whereas GLBTQ (an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or questioning students) is private.
Coalition began in the 1990s as a student-run group committed to bringing about the end of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and heterosexism. The group uses social events, activism and education to achieve these goals. Around campus Coalition is especially well known for its two major social events: Queer Prom and Dragfest. Coalition also promotes national events on campus, such as National Day of Silence and National Coming Out Day. In recent years Coalition has partnered with other Whitman organizations to bring speakers, such as Annie Sprinkle and Judy Shepard, to campus.
While Coalition is known for its social events, it also has a political emphasis. Co-president of Coalition Dusti Thurman and GLBTQ Intern Joseph Farnes emphasized that Coalition is a public, activist organization. Thurman said, “This semester we’re trying really hard to become more activist without losing core social things.” For example, Dragfest will be a little different this year. While the Dragfest dance with men dressing as women and vice-versa will still be held as usual, Dragfest will now expand into Dragweek during which Coalition will hold lots of panels. Thurman said that these panels should provide “different ways for people to explore gender crossing.”
With open membership, anyone may become involved in Coalition. Meetings and events are meant to help people learn and understand transgender issues regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Thurman said that the role of this organization is to examine “the role of gender in ourselves and society,” which applies to all people.
Unlike Coalition, GLBTQ has restricted membership. Only Whitman students, staff and faculty who identify themselves as queer are eligible to be members, and GLBTQ events are closed to nonmembers. GLBTQ has this restriction to protect the confidentiality of its members. GLBTQ is not a student club nor is it a part of ASWC. The organization is entirely voluntary and relies on donations from alumni for its budget. This separation from ASWC provides even more confidentiality. As Farnes said, it allows for the group to remain a “safe space.”
Farnes said that he doesn’t keep track of the specific number of members for privacy purposes. As the GLBTQ intern, Farnes is responsible for promoting the group, organizing meetings and social members, and acting a resource for members. Sometimes social events are held with queer faculty members, such as professors who, as Farnes said, “are out and strong advocates in the community.”
Sometimes Coalition and GLBTQ partner up for events, and quite a few members of GLBTQ participate in Coalition. Coalition was actually born out of GLBTQ when some people wanted to have a more activist group. Farnes said that it is “helpful to have distinct groups.”