Harmony members present to students on sexual orientation

Five student panelists from Harmony, JMU's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization, spoke to students on issues regarding coming out, gay parenting and spirituality Oct. 21 at the Hillcrest House.

The panel was a part of the weekly Brown Bag Lectures Series sponsored by the Honors Program.

After the panelists introduced themselves, the floor was opened to the students, faculty and staff in attendance, who were encouraged to ask questions. The panelists made it clear that no question was off-limits.

When a question was asked about coming out and the difficulties of it, senior John Horigan discussed his experience with coming out to his family.

He offered advice to others who may be going through the process. "It's one of those things it's best to do on your own," Horigan said. With coming out, one has to "be able to come out to yourself" before telling family, he added.

Sophomore Kisha Hughes tackled defining the term "transgender," which she described as a male or a female who feels like he or she is, or should be, of the opposite sex.

"Sex is between the legs," Hughes said. "But, gender is between the ears."

When asked, all five panelists agreed that the common phrase "that's so gay" seemed to be the most frequent opposition to GLBTs found on campus. "It's been so ingrained in our society," said Harmony President Johnalex Golden, a junior.

Golden and the other panelists find "that's so gay" a derogatory phrase to the GLBT community, even though many people may not realize it comes off that way. It transforms the term "gay" into meaning "dumb," he said.

Harmony "fosters a safe, supportive and social environment" for those people," according to its Web site, http://orgs.jmu.edu/harmony/.

The group is not exclusive to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders, according to Golden. "Allies" are welcome to join Harmony, which Golden defines as "someone who is straight, but supportive of GLBTs."

Harmony was founded at JMU in 1984, but not chartered officially by the university until 1985, according to Golden. Harmony sponsors many events on campus during the year, including "a hate-crimes vigil and AIDS benefits," Golden said, "as well as social and support activities for the group."

The organization meets weekly to hold discussions on a topic relevant to GLBTs, Golden said. He characterized the meetings as being "relaxed, a fun atmosphere and not anti-heterosexual."

Joyce Wszalek, assistant director of the Honors Program and coordinator for the Brown Bag Lecture Series, has been putting the lectures on for more than 10 years.

"We present a wide variety of programs," Wszalek said. "Some are straightforward and scholarly, some are practical, some are timely and some are community building like this one."

Wszalek found the lecture informative and successful in the fact that "they didn't have to beg anyone to ask questions.

"The dynamics of the panel and their ability to engage the audience is fantastic," she said.

Harmony presents these panels frequently, according to Golden, usually in residence halls and in classes.

Harmony meets every Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Taylor Hall room 305.