College Torch

Ah. I'm really excited about this important panel coming up this week. This Wednesday 12-1PM PT / 3-4PM ET. https://lnkd.in/gTWWKmNT Title IX exemptions make room for colleges to discriminate and permit harassment of LGBTQ+ students. But California is pushing back. Not just that, but they amended their initial bill to create a number of other awesome protections for LGBTQ+ students, including ... well, I should let the Caucus consultant explain this at the session, because I really don't want to say it wrong. But, basically, it's game-changing legislation for LGBTQ+ students who may be in danger on some college campuses and not even know it. The session is open to the public! (When you register, if you see a confusing question on the form about California or Nevada, just say "California.") I'll be moderating! Don't miss it. https://lnkd.in/gTWWKmNT Amazing panelists include: Genny Beemyn, Ph.D., The Stonewall Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Jacob Fraker, M.S.W., California Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus; Shiwali Patel, J.D. (National Women's Law Center) Moderator: Robert Powers, M.A., Campus Q

In 2024, I'm starting to believe that work can either mostly or always be relaxing and easy, if I know what spaces bring me energy and what tasks bring me a sense of joy and purpose. Case in point, this weekend I had a seriously (but not too serious) great experience sharing my knowledge about LGBTQ+ students for UCLA Extension's Inclusive College Counseling course. The instructor, Dan Phan, Ed.D., who also happens to be my very good friend, shot a prerecorded interview video with me, and then she got me on the calendar for Thursday's office hours to answer questions live, which will obviously also be a blast. P.S. If you're ever recording content like this, one way to know it's going to an awesome interview is if the interviewer cracks up in the first 15 seconds and has to start the recording over. That's a very good sign.

Whoa! There is a SERIOUSLY high-powered Zoom session coming to your screen this Wednesday at 2PM Pacific Time: Lucky us! This cool Community Conversations session this Wednesday 2/21 at 2PM PT, organized by WACAC's IDEA Committee, is open to the public. *What do LGBTQ+ students need today, and how can a college's LGBTQ+ resource center help them?* LGBTQ+ students need and want vastly different things when they arrive on campus. What are those potential needs, and what supports can a college be ready to offer them ahead of time? How can school counselors and IECs use this context to inform their guidance around the college search? Also, some deeper questions: What goes on behind the scenes at a university's LGBTQ+ resource center that can affect our students? What really happens for a student experiencing a crisis situation (e.g. if unsupportive parents stop contributing financially)? If an LGBTQ+ resource center director had a blank check and a time machine, what vision can they paint for LGBTQ+ resource centers nationally? In our first Community Conversations session of 2024, an expert panel of LGBTQ+ resource center directors and founders, along with college counselors with deep understandings of LGBTQ+ students and their unique college search, will talk out these topics and more. Come ready with questions! Panelists: Dr. Van Bailey, Ed.D. (he/him/his or they/them/theirs): Transgender Advocate & Policy Analyst, UCLA Nancy Jean Tubbs, M.S. (she/her/hers): Director, LGBT Resource Center, University of California, Riverside Brad Ward, M.A. (she/her/hers): College & Career Center Advisor, Saratoga High School Moderator: Robert Powers, M.A. (he/him/his): Founder, Campus Q / Co-Founder, IECs for Human Rights Dr. Bailey was the inaugural director of the resource centers at both Harvard and UMiami, and Nancy Jean Tubbs is the director of the excellent center at UC Riverside. Of course, Brad Ward is a leader in our organizations and knows LGBTQ+ students in a school counseling setting very well. What do you think? Does this sound like a good thing? Want in? To enhance the openness of this session, it will not be recorded. Register below. Yours, Robert Powers Founder, Campus Q https://lnkd.in/g9wb9RsB

Last week, as Treasurer of the San Gabriel Educational Foundation (SEF), I joined Jessica Payne from Kids Need to Read to distribute books and stuffed animals (“reading buddies”) to the kids at the elementary school. The kids loved Jessica’s performance as Cactus Rose. Can you believe she drove all the way out from Arizona in the Page Coach (this cool van) to spread the love of reading to the kids in the San Gabriel Unified School District? A golden lesson that Jessica shared with me: Driving and dropping off the books is a lot of work, but it’s all for very little if we can’t read the books to the kids and hand them out in person with a reading buddy and a smile. That huge last part is the buy-in for the kids, and it makes it so much more likely they’ll go home and read the book and talk about it. I thought about this a lot over the past week. In my own life, I can never do things to check boxes. I always have to remember my purpose and earn the buy-in of the people in my community I’m trying to serve.