Maggie McGovney, President of This is Me! Queer-Straight Alliance

Visitors to campus in early October are met with a powerful display: over 100 lanterns, stretching across the grass in the glowing formation of a rainbow flag. It’s created in celebration of LGBT History Month, but it also serves as a powerful reminder of what so many members of the LGBTQIA community have found at Chatham for decades: a welcoming, safe community. 

The flag is arranged by members of This is Me! Queer-Straight Alliance. The organization is not yet three years old, but its impact on campus is powerful. They’ve hosted dozens of events, provided opportunities for deep conversation on issues of gender and sexuality, and created a support network for LGBTQIA students and their allies. As the organization’s third president, sophomore Maggie McGovney is coordinating an academic year’s worth of programming while preparing for the major university restructuring ahead. Read on to find out what’s ahead for her and for This is Me.

 

 

 

​I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  You will never find such a melting pot of different cultures anywhere else.  The majority of the state is Hispanic (with Spanish as an official second state language), but there are large neighborhoods that are mostly Vietnamese or Korean.  Perhaps most importantly, New Mexico has the most restaurants per capita of any state in the US, and I really miss the wide variety of food that you could get, and I especially miss fresh green chile coming with everything.

 

I mentioned that I was considering going to a women’s college, and a leader in the queer youth group I used to attend every Friday mentioned that a friend of his went to Chatham, so I applied on a whim.  Chatham was the fourth college I visited, after Reed College in Oregon, Pitt, and CMU.  I liked all of the others, but the second I set foot on campus here I knew I was home.  Everything about it was just perfect, from the beautiful campus, a little oasis of green in the middle of the big city, to the friendly people.  Chatham is just wonderful.

 

​I am studying biology as a pre-medical student here at Chatham, with the goal of eventually attending medical school.  I chose it because I have always been fascinated by the human body, especially how it reacts when it gets sick and how that is treated.

 

Someday, my dream is to become a gynecologist and practice in an underprivileged area to help female-bodied people take better care of their bodies.  While the female body is used as an object in the media, it is rarely treated with the respect that it deserves, and its specific health needs are all but ignored.  I hope to change that, at least for a few people.

 

In my first year at Chatham I learned that I can be a lot more independent than I previously allowed myself to be.  I can navigate a big city by myself, I can live on my own and negotiate roommate issues, and with a little effort I can survive when things get difficult.  Chatham showed me that I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for.

 

I would advise first years to take a deep breath and relax a little.  College really isn’t as scary as people in high school will tell you.  Your professors and the PACE Center are there to help you, so take advantage of those resources.  College is more about independent work, so you do have to put more effort in to studying outside of class, but don’t drive yourself crazy.  You will be fine, you will make it through, and you will not fail as long as you take advantage of the available resources and do your work.

 

​Besides This is Me, I am involved with the ukulele club.  It’s fun to be able to unwind and jam with my friends.

 

I decided to pursue a leadership position with This is Me because I wanted to help this club grow and become more active in the Chatham community.  A place where students can be themselves, ask questions without judgement, and safely explore their identities is essential to an accepting college environment.

 

This is Me is Chatham University’s Queer Straight Alliance.  We are a group of LGBTQIA people and allies who promote understanding and awareness of LGBTQIA issues today while helping to create a more accepting environment for students who identify as LGBTQIA. 

​This is Me celebrated LGBT History Month with a series of events.  We kicked off the month by building a light-up rainbow flag on the quad for the entire school to see.  That flag stayed up for two weeks. Then, for National Day of Coming Out, we chalked the quad with different LGBT-friendly messages and then hosted Coming Out Dialogues, a Chatham tradition of five years where students from all different backgrounds and of all different sexualities and gender identities gather to discuss what coming out means for them.  The following day, there was a decorate your own cupcake event hosted by Anderson to celebrate National Day of Coming Out.  We also welcomed a representative of ReelQ, the Pittsburgh LGBT film festival, to talk about the upcoming films with students.  During the middle of October, we had a clothing and toiletries drive for homeless LGBT youth.  We will be arranging a tailgate at an upcoming soccer game, a service trip to the Pittsburgh Gay and Lesbian Community Center (the GLCC), and will be participating in the October [Harvest] Fun Fest and Mocktails.  So far this year, all of the events that we have hosted have been in honor of LGBT History Month, though we also participated in the Student Activities Fair. 

What events do you have coming up?

​We will be hosting an upcoming service trip to the Pittsburgh Gay and Lesbian Community Center (the GLCC) as well as a soccer tailgate, and we will be participating in the October [Harvest] Fun Fest and Mocktails.  Next semester, we will host an event for National Day of Silence, have a group discussion about misogyny and homophobia, and possibly have the LGBT Film Festival people back for a screening.

 

Students can always come to some of our events and talk to us!  They can also email me or visit Devin Fabian in Residence Life to get on the mailing list for club events, or get updates on the club by joining our Facebook group.  There are so many ways to get involved!

 

​I most love being able to give students who are LGBTQIA a sense of community.  Going off to college can be scary, and it can be especially scary if you feel like you are different, but having friends always helps.

 

I would advise students who are exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity to try labels on, but not let them define them or become their entire identity.  Labels are there for your convenience, not for anyone else’s, so never feel pressured to fit into a box.  I know it’s cliché, but you do you and don’t let anyone else define who you should be. 

​Students who are not members of the LGBTQIA community can best serve as allies by educating themselves about LGBTQIA issues by reading about them and asking questions.  It’s important that if they ask questions, they ask them respectfully and in the right context.  For instance, it is never respectful to ask your friends personal questions about their bodies unless you have been invited to do so, nor is it appropriate to ask invasive questions about what they do in the bedroom (again, unless you are invited to do so).  The number one rule is to make sure that the person you are asking is okay with answering questions before prying.  Otherwise, there are many resources out there, and if you contact most gay and lesbian resource centers they can point you in the right direction.  Take everything the internet says with a grain of salt, but it can be a good resource as well.  As for how to be the best ally you can to your LGBTQIA friends, simply being open to talking can go a long way towards helping someone feel safe and happy.  Then there’s one final important rule: Never ever “out” someone without their permission by telling someone else about their sexual orientation or gender identity.  That could have very serious real world consequences for that person that you might not even be able to imagine, so just don’t do it.  Allies are such an essential part of this community, so keep being awesome!  We love you, so don’t panic if you make a mistake and offend someone (LGBTQIA people do it, too) just remember it for the future and don’t do it again.

 

As a queer person who has been around LGBTQIA people for my whole life, This is Me’s mission of promoting acceptance in the LGBTQIA community is close to my heart because I have seen exactly what lack of acceptance does to people.  In terms of biology, humans are herd animals; most of us need to have community to be happy.  This is Me provides that community on campus, and the importance of that cannot be overstated, especially with the upcoming changes that Chatham is facing.

 

 

 

​I know it’s strange because I am a science major, but Dr. Bruckner’s speculative fiction English course sticks out in my memory as the one with the biggest impact on my life.  I have always loved to read speculative fiction, and her course both introduced me to new authors and taught me to think about what I read on a deeper level.  It also showed me that I can excel at something that is not my best topic (i.e. science or math) if I put in the work. I hope to be able to take more courses with her in the future, but they don’t fit in very well with the science courses I am required to take for my major.

 

I would pick the Doctor from Doctor Who because he would take me on adventures throughout the universe and then have me back home in time for dinner.

 

​Ever since I was two, I have dreamed of becoming a doctor.

 

​I love the people in Pittsburgh.  People are just so friendly here!  If you ask for directions in New Mexico, you can expect scorn in return, but if you ask for directions in Pittsburgh someone is bound to be willing to help you.  People smile at you on the street instead of looking down their noses at you.  It really feels like a small town.  It’s just such a wonderful environment that I didn’t expect to find in a larger city.

 

​If I could design my own Chatham course, I would probably design a sexual education course that would go much more in-depth than is allowed in high school.  So many people are too embarrassed to ask questions because our society considers the natural act of sex to be inherently dirty.  If all students were made to take a course like this, I believe that our society would be much more open and understanding and there would be much less fear and hatred.