LGBT coordinator acts to improve climate

A table lamp, colorful wallposters and paintings, and comfortable chairs enhance the warm welcome that Sara Hinkel extends to those who visit her in Bascom Hall at the university.

Since September 1999, Hinkel has served as the first full-time staff person at the university to work exclusively on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. This position was proposed to campus administration in 1997 by a special Faculty Senate Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.

“When I saw the description for this position I said, “That’s me’,” Hinkel says. “I saw it as a way for me to achieve social justice for LGBT people … for myself.”

“First and foremost, I am committed to the dignity of people. When I was 7, I reported a teacher who was abusing a classmate,” Hinkel says. “That was my first act on behalf of social justice. I saw the job as LGBT issues coordinator as an opportunity to do work that’s consistent with my values.”

So far, Hinkel has acted on four fronts:

• Identifying gaps in services and developing plans to address them.
• Assisting students who come forward with concerns.
• Providing feedback on campus policy issues.
• Serving as the connecting point for groups on campus, including the LGBT Alumni Council and the Faculty Senate Committee on LGBT Issues.

During her first year of work, she planned and presented a series of workshops on leadership and career development for LGBT students. Hinkel says a critical part of her work is to “cultivate students who are willing to do the work of social justice for LGBT people for the rest of their lives.”

Perhaps the most difficult part of her job is dealing with harassment complaints. In cases of student-to-student harassment, Hinkel intervenes directly with the individuals involved. To combat institutionalized homophobia, she presents workshops across campus.

“Campuswide training is almost impossible to accomplish,” she says. “But I have had good luck with focused training on specific issues. I provided specialized training for our resident assistants and our housefellows, for counseling and consultative services, and for intramural athletics.”

“I try as best I can to be an activist through the lens of an educator,” Hinkel explains. “What I think is missing on this campus is coordination among the various LGBT groups. We need to figure out how we relate to each other. We need to establish priorities for this campus. Then each group would decide how to contribute to achieve the outcomes that we want. The visibility of our message would be increased so much that it would be difficult to ignore.”