SpeakOUT! Project

SpeakOUT!:
Our Speakers' Bureau educates the campus about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression through panel discussions in classes, residence halls, Greek houses, and other university and local settings. These 4-5 speaker panel presentations combine personal stories with educational information. We create an accepting atmosphere where people can feel safe to ask any question. Our presentations are generally discussion-oriented with an emphasis on understanding. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and ally communities who have received training for this purpose enter into these discussions prepared to share accurate information, to answer questions that students, staff and faculty may have about the realities of LGBTA lives, and to introduce the heterosexual, gender normative majority to visible members and allies of this mostly invisible minority.

Requesting a Presentation:
Send an email to lgbt@ohio.edu. Please specify the course, residence hall, office or organization where the presentation will be given with the exact location (room number and building) and the number of people who will attend. Provide one main contact with email, telephone, and local address. Please give a preferred date and time and one alternate. Please note that presentations usually last at least 50 minutes, but more time is recommended. We try to honor all requests, however the panelist are volunteers. We appreciate requests three weeks in advance of your preferred date. In any case, we will not consider requests with a week or less notice.

Join SpeakOUT!:
Speaking can be both personally rewarding and a way of serving the community. Any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or ally student who would like to tell their story is invited to become a volunteer member of SpeakOUT! Contact Mickey Hart at lgbt@ohio.edu to join, or for more information.