Update: AGM and constitution; guidance for managers and more
Annual general meeting and constitution
The LGBT Staff Network’s annual general meeting will take place at 12:00 on Tuesday 14 October in SK/128. Further details will be confirmed nearer the time. If you have any items you would like including on the agenda, contact Andy.
The LGBT Staff Network now has a constitution that has been signed off by David Chesser on behalf of the Equality and Diversity Steering Group. Elements of this are integrated into the About page; the full constitution is available on the equality and diversity webpages.
Draft guidance for managers – invitation for feedback
Human Resources have drafted guidance for managers on supporting LGBT staff. Both Marije Davidson and Andy Law have provided comments that have been incorporated into the current draft. If you have any further comments or feedback, contact Hannah Morley (h.morley@yorksj.ac.uk) by Monday 1 September.
World AIDS Day – save the date
World AIDS Day is on Monday 1 December. There are plans to hold a talk at 18:00 on Tuesday 2 December; this should be confirmed by early September.
There will likely also be activities going on during the daytime on either the Monday or the Tuesday, as per last year. If you are interested in helping out, contact Andy.
Welcome Week – support new students by wearing a rainbow lanyard
Staff are encouraged to wear rainbow lanyards during welcome week in order to send a strong message to new students that York St John University is a place in which they are free to be themselves, without prejudice.
Amy Lynch shared her thoughts on what it would have meant to her as a student to have seen staff wearing rainbow lanyards:
Five years ago, starting as a student, if I had seen staff wearing the lanyards it would have encouraged me to be me a lot sooner, rather than hiding behind a mask I had created so well.
Wearing rainbow lanyards can change a staff member or student’s way of thinking, encouraging freedom and letting others know that it’s okay and a safe environment in which to be who you are.
Visual aids really do make a difference.
If you haven’t already, get yours from Human Resources.
Website and blog feedback
The equality and diversity webpages have undergone a significant redesign and have now been relaunched. The redesign took into account the feedback of Equality Champions and other groups; Marije Davidson would now welcome the feedback of LGBT Staff Network members. If you have any comments, contact Marije (m.davidson@yorksj.ac.uk).
Feedback is also welcome on the blog. Is there anything you feel should be added, or are there any new types of content you’d like to see coming through the blog? Do you find the current content useful? If you have any comments, contact Andy.
LGBT film at City Screen
On Sunday 7 September, City Screen will be showing Pride. For more information, see the synopsis below or visit the City Screen event page.
It’s 1984 and the miners’ strike is causing great hardship, especially in one remote Welsh pit village. Despite some misgivings, a group of young gay activists led by bolshy Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) decide to raise money for the community, but when they travel down to deliver the funds they’re unprepared for the homophobia that greets them.
However, it transpires that a taciturn village elder (Nighy, with an immaculate Welsh brogue) has long been in the closet, and the strikers’ wives, headed by Imelda Staunton’s no-nonsense Helfina, are both grateful and curious. In only his second film, noted theatre director Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical) expertly finesses knowing humour, indignation and sexual politics, while the performances are uniformly pitch-perfect.
York LGBT History Month and National Festival of LGBT History
Following the success of this year’s city-wide LGBT History Month campaign, which was led by the LGBT Staff Network, a new, independent organisation has been set up to manage future campaigns. This is coordinated by Andy Law with the help of three other individuals. For more information, or if you are interested in organising an event for next year’s programme, see the York LGBT History Month website.
The first ever National Festival of LGBT History is taking place in Manchester next year, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the national campaign. The following is an extract from the website.
LGBT History Month is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the First National Festival of LGBT History. There will be a main festival hosted at Central Library, People’s History Museum, and other prestigious venues around Manchester City Center, and an academic conference “What is & how to do LGBT History?”, hosted at the Lesbian & Gay Foundation.
EQView – new online magazine
A new online LGBTQ-oriented magazine, EQView, has launched and is welcoming contributors. If you are interested in getting involved, send an email to contact@eqview.com. The following is an extract from their website:
The previous Editorial Team of Vada Magazine have together risen like a phoenix from the queer ashes to form EQView.
EQView is an online magazine dedicated to publishing intuitive, in-depth content relating to the arts, entertainment, lifestyle and current affairs, all channelled through an LGBTQ perspective. We aim to be a genuinely diverse mix of writers and Contributors from all backgrounds, producing content that appeals to all elements of the LGBTQ community and beyond.
EQView is all about looking at things from a different perspective, asking the difficult questions, and highlighting new, overlooked, and interesting topics. We will always be opposed to racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, femmephobia, classism, ableism, slut-shaming and body-shaming. We like to be fabulous, we like to be funny, and we like to have a good time.
