A New Associate Group Joins TDC!!!

     Our cabinet is very excited about the events of last nights' vote to include a new group under the umbrella of Associate Groups in TDC.The Sikh Student Associate presented last night at our Executive Meeting, covering why and how they fit in with the overall mission of TDC and what events they plan on having throughout the year. Though they are a small group now, they hope to gain a membership of people at Trinity interested in the Sikh faith (which has around 23 million followers worldwide) and dispelling the mystification and misinformation surrounding the male turban. 

     So a big congratulations and welcome to Jaskirat Singh Batra (President), Harjot Kaur Dhillon (Vice-President),  Jasdeep Singh (Historian/Secretary), and  Anmol Singh Bhinder (Accountant) from the Trinity Diversity Connection Board members!

Also, discussed at the Executive Meeting for Current Events:

(* from the 10/5 Executive Meeting, presented by Kate Goldsberry) 

"Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers" by McKinley

      In light of LGBT History Month (October), I decided to talk about a NY Times Article that caught my attention about the recent rise in suicides of LGBT youth. Bullying seems to have become an epidemic in middle schools and high schools across the country and it is especially damaging to developing LGBT youth. As the article mentions, "According to a recent survey conducted by Ms. Byard’s group, nearly 9 of 10 gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual middle and high school students suffered physical or verbal harassment in 2009, ranging from taunts to outright beatings" (McKinley: NY Times- Oct. 3, 2010). 

    However, the recent suicide of Tyler Clementi, a 18 year old Rutgers University student, shows that the problem of bullying and harassment is also a problem in institutions of higher education. Many figures and groups have spoken out about this issue recently, including Ellen Degeneres and the "think B4you speak campaign" (website).

Some questions that came up during the meeting:

1. Who is to blame for this continued harassment of students: Parents, the Institution itself, Faculty and Staff at these schools, or some other cause?
2. How does anti-gay rhetoric affect these teens? video-clip about phrase "that's so gay"
3. Why are more and more people choosing to use online/media as a way to bully others?
4. How can we change this trend?