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A paper from WSU students on femininity and masculinity, and where they came from. A lot of this information was discussed in our second meeting. I read the article beforehand in order to have a background knowledge on the roots o

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A resource of information used in the first meeting's topic, coming out.

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National Coming Out Day

History

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) was founded on October 11, 1988 by Robert Eichsberg and Jean O'Leary marking the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Since then, on or near every October 11, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and allies celebrate NCOD; with workshops, speak-outs, rallies and other kinds of events all aimed at showing the public that LGBT people are everywhere.

Eichberg, who died in 1995 of complications from AIDS, said, in a 1992 interview, "Most people think they don't know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes."

And that is the point of National Coming Out Day - to let people see us, who we are, people they already like, know, and respect - who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. That is our strongest tool in the movement toward full human rights.

National Coming Out Day has taken on a life of its own. In some towns and campuses people will all wear jeans to show solidarity (which offers its own amusement for the folks who didn't know what statement others would think they were making when they selected that day's wardrobe). Like all good events, sub-themes develop annually. "Coming Out in the Workplace" and "Coming Out at School" are but two examples from years past.

For a history of National Coming Out Day, check out the Human Rights Campaign history of NCOD.

At Mason, our NCOD observances have included presentations on LGBTQ scholarship by out LGBTQ GMU faculty, symbolic "Coming out of the Closet" photo opportunities (complete with doorways to step through) in the Quad, prejudice reduction workshops, and Mason's Out & Ally List (in which we post listings of over one hundred LGBTQ and ally faculty, staff, students, and alumni OUTing themselves in support of NCOD). If you would like to be listed as a resource, please fill out this form! The LGBTQ Resources office organizes these observances in conjunction with our student groups, ally student groups, and Mason departments.

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National Coming Out Day (NCOD) was founded on October 11, 1988 by Robert Eichsberg and Jean O'Leary marking the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

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GSA Network's How to Facilitate a Meeting 

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GSA Network's How to Facilitate a Meeting 

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This article provides advice on how to facilitate meetings. It details the responsibilities of the facilitator, strategies to keep the conversation going, and decision making ideas. This article was really helpful in that it gave me a solid idea of what I would have to be doing in each meeting.

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What is a Facilitator?

The facilitator is the person in charge of the meeting. They move the meeting along.

The Facilitator is Responsible for:

Getting agreement on agenda and processes before and during the meeting

Conducting the meeting - makes sure the group keeps to ground rules, time limits, etc.

Guiding discussion

Staying neutral, asking questions and suggesting ways to approach parts of the agenda

Making sure the group comes to decisions and work is divided among members

Keeping the group on track when they head off onto tangents

Watching the vibe of the meeting and helping to keep energy up

Making sure everyone participates and no one dominates

Creating a safe and positive environment (protects people from personal attack)

Intervening if problems come up, dealing with concerns

Creating a comfortable environment - using language that makes everyone comfortable

Strategies for Good Facilitation

Ask person who put specific item on agenda to give a brief introduction on important background information and what they want done

Give 5 minute warnings when moving on to another agenda item. Appoint a separate timekeeper if necessary.

Put off off-subject topics - Create a list (a "parking lot") for items to be discussed at another time

Paraphrase (repeat back in your own words) to check for the sense of the discussion

Help people avoid repeating themselves by summarizing discussion and asking only for comments in areas that haven't been mentioned

Make suggestions for how to move forward - after discussion has gone on for a while, try to summarize, look for agreement or sticking points, and come to decision

Ask questions

Be positive and encourage full participation - make sure everyone gets to speak, try to notice when someone is holding back

Focus on issues, not personalities

Ask someone else to facilitate if you want to actively participate in the discussion

Check briefly for agreement before moving on - make sure everyone understands decisions

Techniques for making decisions in meetings

Brainstorming

Prioritizing (ranking items)

Pro's and Con's

Straw voting (informal poll to see where people are)

Going around to everyone to check for the sense of the group This resource sheet was developed with help from CompassPoint Non-Profit Services

Suggested Wording for Facilitating a Meeting (from the North American Students of Cooperation Cooperative Education and Training Institute)

1. Make sure each agenda item is introduced by the person responsible for it. This way everyone understands why the item is being discussed. The introduction should include: what information everyone needs to know and what needs to be decided, and possibly pro's and con's.

Jane, could you please give us a little background on this issue and tell us what action you are requesting?

2. Make sure everyone has a chance to speak.

I've noticed a few people have been saying a lot on this issue; before hearing any more from them, is there anyone who hasn't spoken yet who has something to add?

3. Encourage everyone to say what's on their mind. Try to notice when people are holding back; that could make it hard for them to come to a decision later.

I sense some hesitancy from folks to speak openly on this issue; it's important we hear all points of view, so I encourage everyone to be honest about their feelings.

4. Make sure people speak only on the matter at hand. If other issues come up, keep track of them on a "parallel agenda" and let people know that the group will return to this agenda before the end of the meeting.

Joe, you're raising some good points and I've noted them here; we'll come back to them before the end of the meeting, but let's focus more directly on the issue at hand.

5. Encourage people to avoid repeating themselves and others by summarizing discussion periodically.

So far, I've heard the following objections raised... The arguments in favor of the proposal seem to be... I've heard people propose the following possible solutions...

6. Keep the meeting moving along. Remind people of time and appoint a timekeeper if necessary. If designated time runs out, ask the group to agree to spend more time on the issue, postpone it until later in the meeting, or put the discussion off until another meeting.

We're about to run out of the designated time on this issue. Is there agreement to spend another ten minutes to get a few more ideas on the table and make a decision now, or should we postpone a final decision until our next meeting?

7. Encourage the group to take a break to restore energy or ease tension.

I'm seeing a few people "resting their eyes." Would anybody object to a five minute break to get up and stretch and get some fresh air?

8. After a topic has been discussed for a while, start trying to move the group toward agreement by summarizing discussion points, looking for common points of agreement, identifying sources of conflict, etc.

I'm hearing most people agree with...but there seems to be a few points of view on...Perhaps we could focus on how to agree on these last few issues.

9. Know when the group has reached a decision. Also know when a group cannot reach a decision; suggest postponing a decision when. . .

the group needs critical information

the group needs to hear from others

the group is not prepared

I'd like to propose we postpone this discussion because...

10. Make sure everyone understands the decision.

Could we briefly summarize the proposal that's being decided right now?

11. If you want to participate actively in the discussion, ask someone else to take over facilitating the meeting. If you have a quick personal comment, signal to the group that this comment comes from you personally.

I'm recognizing myself as speaker. (Stand up or take some other physical action to distinguish you are not speaking as facilitator.)

Download the pdf version

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How to Facilitate a Meeting | Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network

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The facilitator is the person in charge of the meeting. They move the meeting along. Getting agreement on agenda and processes before and during the meeting Conducting the meeting - makes sure the group keeps to ground rules, time limits, etc.

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GSA Network's 10 Steps to Starting a GSA

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GSA Network's 10 Steps to Starting a GSA

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GSA Network is a nationwide, California-based network of high school GSAs. This article outlined the steps of starting a GSA, making sure that we could go about doing it the right way.

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10 Steps for Starting a GSA

1. Advertise (and Get Food!):

Figure out the best way to advertise at your school. It may be a combination of school bulletin announcements, flyers, and word-of-mouth. Also get food and tell people there will be food: eople always come to meetings when you provide food! If your flyers are defaced or torn down, do not be discouraged. Keep putting them back up. Eventually, whoever is tearing them down will give up.

Besides, advertising for your group and having words up such as "gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning" or "end homophobia" or "discuss sexual orientation" can be part of educating the school and can actually make other students feel safer -- even if they never attend a single meeting.

2. Register Your GSA

Now that you've started it up, register your GSA with the GSA network in your state! Visit ourNational Directory to find your state's GSA network. And if you're in California, register with GSA Network here and sign up for an event or request a site visit or training at your school.

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10 Steps for Starting a GSA | Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network

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10 Steps for Starting a GSA Advertise (and Get Food!): Figure out the best way to advertise at your school. It may be a combination of school bulletin announcements, flyers, and word-of-mouth. Also get food and tell people there will be food: eople always come to meetings when you provide food!

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This is the WA state official activity guide for ASB. All of these guidelines were carefully reviewed by me and others in leadership, to make sure that everything that we were doing followed the rules and regulations. I had to make sure that all clubs could be accounted for properly.

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I used this as a reference and a template for our club formation forms. I tailored our forms to better suit our school, but the basic principles and requirements are the same.

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I used this to figure out a little bit of the club formation process, and the requirements that there were to make a club. I found out what documents the district needs to have on file, and the rules and regulations that I would have to follow.