The university’s announcement of a new counseling group for students of minority sexual orientations is a step in the right direction.
University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) recently established Coming Out, a counseling group that will provide a safe, non-judgmental and supportive space for students at different stages of coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to the UHCS website.
For five consecutive weeks, the therapy group will meet Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in UHCS. The group will allow students to talk to each other and with a therapist about the process of coming out.
We applaud the university’s effort in its recent organization of a counseling group for students of varying sexual orientations. This kind of service is long overdue and a positive step overall.
Northeastern University’s bisexual, lesbian and gay association (NUBiLaGA) and UHCS have expressed concerns in the past regarding incidents on campus and dealt with them through groups or programs. Coming Out will allow representatives from both organizations to start fulfilling their goals.
Past events have also led to the need for the university to provide services and therapy groups to students.
On Nov. 20, 2008, students found the words ‘AIDS cures fags’ written in graffiti on an outer wall of White Hall, a hate crime that President Joseph Aoun said ‘contradicts all that we stand for as a university,’ according to a Dec. 8, 2008 article in The News.
After the incident, representatives in the Office of Student Affairs worked with students who needed help or counseling in dealing with the event through UHCS, the article reported.
Other past incidences of vandalism and hate include racial slurs that were sprawled across a wall in Stetson West and a faculty member who was the target of racism. Administration swiftly acted upon the issues. The Stetson West residents were required to attend a meeting to discuss the situation and students received an announcement informing them that hate has no place on campus and future incidents are unacceptable.
Clearly, university officials recognize the importance of providing a safe haven for students. Of course, there is always more action that can be taken, but we praise the university’s effort in helping students who might struggle with coming out.
In the future, the university’s efforts need to continue ‘- acts like vandalism cannot go unnoticed. The administration needs to provide students with opportunities like coming out, which support an overall safe environment.
NUBiLaGA continues to develop programs to create a safe environment for students. Also, campus centers, including the Northeastern University Division of Public Safety, which will publicly release a system for reporting bias, harassment and hate crimes, continue to address the problem, according to a Letter to the Editor in the Jan. 20 issue of The News.
UHCS is open to hearing the kinds of programs students want on campus, said David Byers, the group facilitator, in an article in today’s issue of The News. The statement stresses the university’s awareness of not only providing services to students, but of establishing programs that are beneficial to them.
Even though the group is the first one of its kind, we hope the university will continue to develop programs and services like Coming Out to ensure that students feel safe and comfortable.