With Clemson’s Campus Pride Index rating being a 3, along with the struggle for some LGBTQ students to find their place on campus, CUSG’s LGBTQIA committee seeks to make Clemson a better and more accepting environment. We spoke to the committee’s director, Joe Whitaker, who explained the committee’s goals, accomplishments and future.
Saavon Smalls (SS): If you can give me your name, year, major, and what you do within CUSG?
Joe Whitaker (JW): I’m Joe Whitaker. I’m a Chemical Engineering senior, and I am the director of the LGBTQIA+ committee in CUSG.
SS: Can you give me some background on how the committee came about?
JW: I’m not exactly sure about Killian’s mindset, but it was her platform. She discussed it with a bunch of different students to get the opinion of the student body so she wanted that position. I interviewed for it and got it, which I was really happy about. This is the first year it has ever existed, or that anything like it has existed at Clemson at all so it’s really exciting.
SS: When you got the position what was your mindset about the committee and what you specifically wanted to do with that?
JW: I wanted to make an impact at Clemson because having been here for four years and experiencing through the eye of someone who’s queer, I knew there was a lot that needed to be changed that could be done to improve the lives of students that are in that community. I just wanted to make a positive impact by ensuring that those students have a voice in student government and that we can do something for them.
SS: You talked a little bit earlier about the shakeup of the committee, but could you go into a little bit more detail about how the committee is comprised?
JW: It’s a very diverse group of people. Everyone on the committee is in the LGBTQIA+ community and I think a third of them are freshmen. We have a varied background of majors, like agriculture, English, computer science, engineering. All of the LGBTQ student organizations on campus have a representative on the committee which is great.
SS: What are some of the goals of your committee?
JW: We have three main goals. The first one is to strengthen the LGBTQ community at Clemson. Bring together the students so they can actually meet each other. To reform some of Clemson’s policies to make them more LGBT-friendly. We are doing that by using the pride index as a reference. And then a third goal is to raise awareness about LGBTQ issues to everyone and especially to those who might not know anything about it.
SS: You mentioned the pride index. Right now our rating is a three. How can the committee contribute to helping increase that rating?
JW: We’ve already done things that would increase it. The LGBT space that we helped secure along with CU SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Alliance) is definitely going to raise it. The nondiscrimination policy that we are trying to amend with gender expression is also going to help it increase. I think that long term keeping this committee around will slowly raise the pride index as we complete more goals.
SS: What has the student response been to the committee?
JW: I think it’s been very positive. Whenever we meet students in the LGBT community, first off they thank us because they love that we exist. They are eager to share with us what they would like to see from the committee, why they care about it. It’s been really great. Just existing alone has made a difference in these people’s lives because they see that something is happening. It’s been great.
SS: What’s been your favorite part about working on this committee?
JW: I think it’s meeting the people on my committee and the people that we are helping meaning the students. That’s been my favorite part because there’s a lot of really great people in Clemson that I wouldn’t have met otherwise and the students that we are helping especially.
SS: In your opinion how is Clemson’s LGBTQ community been impacted by the committee’s work?
JW: All of the things we have accomplished so far I think have added something different like the policy changes, the space have made a long term impact that you don’t necessarily see at the moment, but we know is going to have the largest impact and I’m really excited about that. Events like Tiger Pride and Confront Conversation, that’s when you get to see the actual students and meet them. That was amazing. Students are just eager to have something for them so that they know that the student government cares about them and is hearing their ideas from what they need from Clemson.
SS: What’s the future of the LGBTQ committee?
JW: We still have a ton of goals and things we want to get done that we are eager to do next year. We want to start a peer mentor program so that older LGBTQ students can connect with incoming students and help them in that transition. It’s definitely a time where they could use guidance. Also work with Redfern about LGBTQ health things. Secure more readily available office hours so that these students can better voice their opinions to student government and then use the resource center that we are getting to offer resources to students so that they can come in and read up about issues that are facing LGBTQ students at Clemson and all over.
SS: If you could say anything to the Clemson community regarding this committee, what would it be?
JW: I would say that it’s a very important committee, of which the large majority will be apart of next academic year. They’re all amazing and we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish much without them. We are eager to do whatever it takes for these students, and we deserve to remain a part of student government because it’s an important issue and we’ve already made a lot of [change], and we are excited to make an even bigger impact.
