OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
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MAY 6, 2011
17
Making It Better
Queer youth do it for themselves at annual summit
Growing up queer or trans— particularly in
conservative rural and suburban areas— can be
a lesson in loneliness. A lack o f visibility and
support can discourage youth from coming
out, reinforcing a cycle o f silence. The young
activists behind the Oregon Queer Youth
Summit are reaching out to queer and trans-
identified youth across the Pacific Northwest
to create a network o f support.
“OQ YS is a safe place for lots o f queer
youth, even ones that aren’t out yet, to learn
about things they haven’t learned about, to
meet people they may not have met at their
schools,” says Oliver Hanson, 16, at a work
party meeting of the summit’s organizers.
The event, held May 14 at Portland State
University, will offer queer and trans-identified
youth and their allies a full day o f free peer-
led workshops, caucuses and keynote speeches
by local youth leaders. O Q YS will also provide
breakfast and lunch and a $5 gift card for
those who attend the full day. Officially in its
second year, the summit is an “amalgamation”
o f similar smaller events.
“Community members and members o f lo­
cal GLBTQ_social service organizations de­
cided to pool our efforts (and budgets) into
one great GBLTQ^youth summit a year, in­
stead o f various small conferences,” explains
M o Kenny, 26, Pride Project program coordi­
nator for the Sexual and Gender Minority
Youth Resource Center. “OQ YS is a chance
for us GLBTQ_youth and allies from all over
Oregon to talk about what we are doing, what
we want to do and how we can get there.”
What aren't queer youth doing? When it
comes to organizing the summit, adults are just
around to do the dirty work—setting up, clean­
ing up, providing an “official” face for funders.
“They do everything,” says Ernesto
Dominguez, 23, youth technology specialist
for Cascade A ID S Project and volunteer co­
ordinator for OQYS.
The planning committee, a 50-50 mix of
youth (defined as ages 12-23) and young
adult staff members o f organizations such as
SM Y R C and Cascade A ID S Project, is driv­
ing the “by youth, for youth” message home
even harder this year.
Case in point: Mayor Sam Adams won’t be
speaking at this year’s summit. With the ex­
ception o f 27-year-old Katelyn Cusanelli—
the first transgender person to star on M T V ’s
The Real World —all the keynote speakers will
be local queer youth leaders.
“The young people on the committee de­
cided they didn’t want a bunch o f adults
speaking,” Dominguez says.
The summit will give youth plenty o f op­
portunities to make their voices heard. Youth-
created workshops cover everything from
coming out and suicide prevention to drag
101 and starting an activist movement. Han­
son, who taught a poetry and songwriting
workshop last year, will lead workshops on the
importance o f gender-neutral bathrooms in
youth spaces and the plurality of sexual iden-
b y e r in r o o k
“The young people on the
committee decided they didn't want
a bunch of adults speaking."
-ERNESTO DOMINGUEZ, 23, VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR FOR OQYS, ON THE DECI­
SION TO HAVE ONLY YOUNG PEOPLE AS
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
tity. (“Everyone has a sexuality, whether you’re
queer or not, whether you’ve had sex or not.”)
The event will also feature three caucuses:
one for adult mentors (such as G SA advisers),
one for gender nonconforming youth and one
called Youth Voice, which will include a repre­
sentative from the White House, seeking per­
spectives from queer youth.
Despite the wealth o f activities planned for
the summit, members o f the organizing com­
mittee agree that the biggest benefit o f the
event is simply the space that it provides.
“It gives youth an opportunity to interact
with each other on their own terms,” says
23-year-old SM YRC intern Kayla Johnston,
“to create a network.”
This connection is vital for both personal
and political struggles. In the effort to gain
visibility, it provides role models. In main­
taining the will to go on, if offers affirmation.
In fighting for equality, it gives strength and
solidarity.
“We’re all being oppressed and we all need
to stick together and fight for everyone else’s
rights,” Hanson says. H e’s tired of the mes­
sage from gay and lesbian activists that bisex­
ual and transgender people need to wait for
their “turn” for equality. “People aren’t being
educated on other issues,” he says. “We should
all just be one movement.”
Lee Hancock, 18, describes the summit as
“a place to hang out, educate yourself and
meet people like you.” He says the wide age
range (the workshops are open to ages 12-
23) means youth have the opportunity to
learn from peers who have been in their
shoes.
“Bullying is a major issue,” Hancock says.
“There hasn’t been a known incident [of bul-
lying-related suicide] in a while but that
doesn’t mean that it stops. I f [O Q YS] even
helps slow that down a little bit, that’s better
than not doing anything at all.”
O Q Y S is about making things better in­
stead o f waiting for “It Gets Better” to arrive.
Whether “better” looks like starting up a new
Gay-Straight Alliance, coming out or simply
quelling feelings o f loneliness, it’s about put­
ting youth in the driver’s seat.
“This is about making our schools safer and
our communities more accepting. This is
about youth supporting youth to make things
better for everyone,” Kenny says. “O Q Y S is
by youth, for youth.” «W
Oregon Queer Youth Summit, Sat., May 14,
8:30 a.m.~5 p.m.; Portland State University,
Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW
Broadway;free; register at oregonsafeschools.org.
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