It was a very important topic of discussion, according to Charles Milne, interim adviser of the LGBT center.
Milne was talking about the panel which met in the OSH building on June 25 to discuss minorities and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community.
The panel consisted of government representatives Blythe Nobleman, minority affairs and communications coordinator for the Mayor of Salt Lake, and Tony Yapias, director of the Office of Hispanic Affairs for the state of Utah, and U professors Brenda Lyshaug, assistant professor in political science, and Theresa Martinez, associate professor in the sociology department.
The panel was mediated by Tim Chambless, intern coordinator for the Hinckley Institute of Politics.
The purpose of the meeting was to open a dialogue about the LGBT community and its claim to minority status.
“There are multiple definitions of minorities,” Nobleman said.
For example, some define minority status as those subject to unjust discrimination.
Lyshaug defined unjust discrimination as “systematic and formal discrimination under the law or a legacy of discrimination.”
Milne says he considers members of the LGBT community minorities “when you define minorities as those who have undergone systematic forms of discrimination. Historically, they have been just as discriminated against [as ethnic minorities].”
After the panel discussed a number of predetermined questions, the floor was open to audience participation.
One participant, who identified himself as Chicano, said, “What advantages we’ve gained, we’ve worked for,” referring to the programs offered to minorities.
However, the discussion portion of the panel deviated significantly from the original title, “Defining Minorities: Process of Inclusion.”
A number of participants from the audience called into question Nobleman’s-who is a white lesbian-ability to “represent their community.”
In response, she said, “I am not in this position as a representative of minority communities.”
One participant in particular, a black woman, said she had applied for the position that Nobleman fills and hadn’t even received an interview.
In response to the idea of whether minorities would eventually disappear and become absorbed into the majority, Martinez said if there was equality among opportunity, such as education, perhaps it was possible.
However, “As long as people are treated differently, they will have a sense of peoplehood,” she said.
Many U students say they don’t consider gays and lesbians minorities. English major Katrine Miner said, “I think that it should be a nationality thing, not a choice thing.”