LGBT Resource Center at MU

Mizzou is home to an incredible LGBTQ Resource Center and it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!

The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Resource Center opened in 1995 to provide support to LGB students. It has since expanded services to support the trans and queer communities, as well.

The Resource Center manages a variety of events and programs, such as the LGBTQ Mentorship Programs called Proud Tigers. It is a program that has matched 24 students with 21 mentees in the last year.

There is also a weekly LGBTQ radio show on 88.1 FM, called InsideOUT.

Thank you to MU for the support you give to students in the LGBTQ community!

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Life, Gender, and the Pursuit of Happiness

This is the coming out story of our very own Kansas City chapter Vice President!

(Content warning: this post contains talk of deep depression and talk of self harm.)

Picking up a few paragraphs in…

I was always pretty smart. I did well in my classes. As in the ones I enjoyed, Bs in the ones not as much. I graduated from high school in the top 8% of my class of 340 people. I spent practically all of the free time my parents would allow writing programs and learning more about computers. I felt as if I was capable of doing anything I put my mind to.

I started at a community college my first year after high school, and after that moved to a school that was in state but far away. I needed to move away from home for a while. I was majoring in computer science (the obvious choice) and was doing very well. For a while anyway.

There was a problem. For as long as I could remember, this problem plagued my mind in some fashion or another. Depression. This feeling of life being awful. The feeling that I was awful. I hated it. The more time went on though, the more the depression soaked into my life. It stems back as far as I can remember — all the way back to kindergarten. I had many times in high school where I hated my life and really couldn’t stand it. It got worse in college. By the fifth semester, depression was so bad that I didn’t have the energy to go to class, and learning was impossible. My brain had basically shut off by that point. I couldn’t think straight. I was chronically unmotivated to do anything, often including eating. Those computer projects I loved hadn’t been touched in years. My passions were gone, and basically any form of existence I had known was gone too. I really wanted to die. I finally dropped out of college to try to save my falling 1.9 GPA before it got worse.

Read the rest of Sarah’s beautiful and inspirational story here.

 

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LGBT Regional Summit Hosted by the White House

Members of the LGBT community from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa gathered together in St. Louis on September 30th to discuss a variety of issues in a regional summit hosted by the White House and Department of Health and Human Services.

On hand for panel discussions were representatives of the SBA, USDA, Department of Justice, and Department of Education. Morning workshops included topics as varied as improving data collection for the LGBT community, to health disparities in the queer and trans communities of color, and the future of federal and state nondiscrimination protections. Afternoon workshops focused on health and aging in the LGBT community, the Affordable Care Act, and engaging and supporting LGBT youth. An afternoon panel also highlighted local leaders and community groups.

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Crowd Supports Trans Teen at Rally Against Hate Group

The hate group, which we all know, will not be named. They don’t deserve public recognition for their deeds. Lets just say they are a family who claims to be a church, and they reside across the street from the Equality House in Topeka.

They came to Kansas City October 1st to protest transgender homecoming queen, Landon Patterson, at her school. But classmates and alumni of Oak Park High, and members of the community at large, weren’t going to let the protest happen without fighting back. They arranged their own rally in support of Landon to take place at the same time.

The police presence was large, but supporters were determined not to physically confront the protesters. Instead, a crowd of 400-500 people gathered at a park next to the school and organized a parade of support that marched from the park, past the school and down to the corner where the “crowd” of six protestors were gathered. With t-shirts saying “I stand with Landon,” signs, banners, and chants of “Long live the queen,” supporters crossed the street to surround the protestors. In less than five minutes, the protestors decided to walk back to their one van and drive away. The protest which was scheduled for 1 hour and 15 minutes lasted only 40 minutes.

The crowd of supporters was made up of Landon’s friends and classmates, parents of friend, alumni supporting the school’s policy of inclusion, and members and allies of the LGBT community.

Watch some of the local news coverage here.

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Ty Herndon to Perform in Kansas City

In November of 2014, Ty Herndon was the first major market male country artist to publicly come out as gay. Herndon received a wave of support that only strengthened his relationship with fans. Using his celebrity power for the better good, Herndon is in the planning stages of a new coalition called RALY (Rescue A Life Y’all) to help save lives and raise awareness for those with addiction or identity issues.

Starting as a teenager, Ty Herndon performed at OPRYLAND USA, won Best Male Vocalist on the iconic “Star Search,” and proceeded to receive the title Texas Entertainer of the Year in 1993. In 1995, Herndon signed with Epic Records, where he made his chart debut with “What Mattered Most,” which became his first #1 single and won Song of the Year from Music Row Magazine. His album of the same title debuted at #15 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and had the biggest first-week shipment in the history of Epic Records Nashville.

Since then, Ty Herndon has continued to find success and overcome the hurdles that come with fame. He has released ten more albums, most recently Lies I Told Myself (2013), which highlights the original style that made him famous and also demonstrates his growth as an artist. With this album Herndon found a new platform for bonding with fans. He invited folks to participate in his album launch via a well-publicized Kickstarter campaign that allowed fan investors to be involved both financially and emotionally. The end result was a testimony to Herndon’s affinity for connection; devotees more than doubled the original funding goal.

The Grammy Nominated and Dove Award Winning Country Recording Artist has the ability to connect with an audience far beyond his onstage performance. Ty Herndon has a passion and commitment to his music that shows in his lyrics. “If I haven’t lived it, I haven’t sung it” as Herndon says. For a career spanning two decades with 20 Billboard chart songs and 5 million albums sold, Herndon sees no signs of slowing down.

Herndon will be performing at the Folly Theater Friday, October 23rd. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased online or at the theater box office.

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