SPECTRUM

Mission Statement

Founded in the spring of 2000, this group is devoted to political activism, raising awareness, and public education on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered issues. One does not have to identify as GLBT to be a part of Q & A. One must only be interested in and concerned about issues of importance to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals and to the existence of gender and sexual identity beyond what is generally defined by society. Q & A wishes to be the voice of GLBT people at Dickinson and respects and celebrates all diversity.

• Shawn Werner, an active member of Spectrum says that “With LGBT civil rights there are several fronts to obtaining our goals. To be a distinguished organization we must find a balance between social and political activism. This is not an easy line to find and I think that Spectrum strives annually to reach this equilibrium”. That being said, Spectrum both makes LGBT individuals on campus feel welcomed, but also takes part in social activism.

Events

Spectrum’s most notable event on campus is National Coming Out Week. During this week, the group makes its presence known so that all Dickinsonians who are in the closet recognize that there is a safe community that they can be a part of.

Recently, members of Spectrum joined students from Lebannon Valley and York Colleges to petition against the Food and Drug Administration's ban on accepting blood donations from gay and bisexual men.

Effectiveness

Spectrum has a confidential listserv of nearly 130 people, but an extremely dedicated core group of 30 members. Werner, an active member of Spectrum rates the groups’ effectiveness as a 4 (on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the most effective) noting that there is a “delicate balance between social activism and political activism”.

Problems/Dilemmas

As the only group on campus dedicated to sexuality issues, Spectrum faces barriers that many other groups do not have to deal with. Werner says that one of the organization’s biggest problems has been the “mockery factor”. He says that there have been many events that the group has discussed planning, but has decided against it for fear of the backlash that would occur on campus.

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