Towards an inclusive culture: 2012 Queers in Tertiary Education Hui  

“…if you’re gay you might not mention it”: Queer voices in tertiary education
Debora Lee and Vicki Carpenter

In 2009 Vicki Carpenter and Debora Lee from The University of Auckland Faculty of Education conducted research into the visibility and inclusion of LGBTQ academic staff and student teachers in the faculty. This workshop shares the voices of the queer staff and students who completed the questionnaires and participated in the individual and focus group interviews. Although there has been progress since similar research was conducted in 2002, in our faculty there were still students and staff who felt invisible and marginalised. Discussion during the workshops will include the following questions: What role do queer staff have in establishing an inclusive culture in a tertiary institution? How can we best use our findings to promote equitable teaching environments? Why does it always feel as if we are preaching to the converted when we present our material? Where to next?

Setting the Scene: Student Support for Queer, Trans, Takataapui Students in New Zealand
James Burford OUSA Queer Support Coordinator

In this presentation Jamie introduces the landscape of student support for queer, trans and takataapui students in Aotearoa. Hebegins by characterising the national climate for queer students in higher education, noting trends and highlighting significant absences. Following this he surveys existing services that do support and advocate for queer students across universities, polytechnics and wananga. James concludes his presentation by sharing his thoughts on the future of queer student advocacy and support, drawing on his own experience at OUSA Queer Support and on international literature on queer student experience in higher education.

“How Do We Make It Better?”
Kevin Hague MP Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

The “It Gets Better” campaign in 2010 captured the imaginations of the LGBT communities around the world, including New Zealand. But one of the challenges the campaign legitimately faced was “why can’t it be better right now?” Although life for adult gay men and lesbian women is immeasurably better than it was in years gone by, the reality is that life for our young people is not much changed from the 1970s. Murray Riches was commissioned to consult youth organisations and social service agencies, and to undertake a literature search about what would help build a more positive environment for young LGBT people. His report was published in September 2011 and next steps are to build working groups around these consensus recommendations and plan their implementation.

“How Do We Make It Better?”
Murray Riches, Co-presenter

Murray Riches is in his final year of a Bachelor of Communications degree (Hon) at Waikato University, majoring in social policy and public relations. At 22 years old, Murray is driven by a passion for social justice and equality and since undertaking this research, has discovered an enthusiasm for the need for activism and action within the queer community that he is a part of.