The Purdue Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center hopes its weekend conference will bridge any gaps between the LGBTQ community and the campus at-large.
Center director Lowell Kane says he hopes Purdue’s administration recognizes the prominence of the LGBTQ community on campus.
And Ricardo Quintana Vallejo, the Ph.D. student who organized the conference, says having the sessions in West Lafayette sends a geographic message.
“I think they will realize that there is a space – an academic space – for sharing ideas that is not outside of their state or outside of their university,” he says.
Kane says the conference is an opportunity to hold conversations about developing new resources and advancing support for the LGBTQ community at Purdue.
“We’re present. We are on every college campus. LGBTQ folks and our allies are a part of every institution,” Kane says. “We’re woven into the fabric of the history, and the contemporary and the future success of higher ed.”
Kane says for Purdue to succeed in its mission to create global citizens, LGBTQ inclusion is necessary.
The center is working with other campuses across Indiana in hopes of making the conference a recurring event.