The Student Government Association held an open educational event regarding sexual orientation Thursday, Nov. 13 in Trinity Lounge to inform students and open a discussion around the issue. More than 50 students attended the discussion led by Bill Fiala, director of the University Counseling Center.
The goals of the night were to help students become better informed and critical thinkers regarding sexual orientation, to identify Azusa Pacific’s position and policies pertaining to sexuality on campus and to understand the power of microagressions (intended or unintended insults against a marginalized group of people) against those of a differing sexual orientation.
“I hope that this presentation will generate critical thought, that we would acknowledge the complexity and wrestle with it, and that in the midst of having different opinions, that students would treat each other compassionately with the goal of a better understanding,” Fiala said.
To enhance that understanding, Fiala began the lecture portion of the seminar with a quiz and lesson on terminology regarding sexual orientation.
The next section informed students of APU’s position and policies pertaining to sexual orientation on campus. Several sections of the student code of conduct regarding the issue were shown through PowerPoint. The policy of mutual respect was changed three years ago to include that students should not be mistreated for their sexual orientation.
The seminar also included statistics about the prevalence of LGBT people in school. A survey on APU’s campus last year indicated 97 percent were residents who identified as heterosexual and 3 percent as something else.
This led to consideration of microagressions on campus and the effect they have on students. Beginning last year, SGA has held regular events pertaining to sexual orientation and hopes to continue holding this particular one annually.
“Dialogue is going to be happening with or without knowledge, so there is a lot of misunderstanding,” said senior and SGA multicultural senator Brett Harrison. “We want to provide knowledge to create healthier conversation on campus and find a way to bring light to a topic that is often misunderstood. We also want to bring awareness to the ways that students are hurting and to what is hurting them.”
Fiala ended the night by encouraging students to be authentic with each other in everyday life as a way of creating greater understanding about the topic. Students asked questions and discussed the night’s material.
“I feel like often in Christian circles it is looked down upon and not discussed,” said psychology major Brandon Mori, “Having these events has been really helpful in educating the campus so that we can create an inclusive environment for everyone. We are all here to further our education and this event is helpful for us to become difference-makers.”
This week the Student Center for Reconciliation and Diversity will be holding an event on the intersection of race and sexual orientation. It is part of its series of events that are each dedicated to a new diversity-related theme. Students are encouraged to keep these in mind and cultivate healthy conversation about each topic throughout the school year.