Last Monday, Celso Perez, A&S '09, and Elizabeth Ryan, CSON '09, were elected as co-presidents of the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) for the '08-'09 academic year. Perez held the position of president of the GLC last year as well; Ryan served as the director of women's issues for the GLC.
Though the pair was originally elected as president and vice president of the council, the GLC has opted for a co-presidency in the upcoming year.
"We realized that there wasn't a difference between the responsibilities of the president and vice president," Ryan said. "It sent a good message to the whole group, the energy about it. It's a chance to foster a more cohesive working environment."
The GLC seeks to improve the quality of life for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. "It's important to make sure the needs of GLBTQ students on campus are being met appropriately," Ryan said.
The GLC became a semi-independent governing body under the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) in 2005; Perez and Ryan both said they plan to maintain a good relationship with the UGBC.
"I have a good personal relationship with both Chris and Alejandro. Both Elizabeth and I have worked closely with them over the past year," Perez said.
Chris Denice, president-elect of the UGBC and CSOM '09, shared this sentiment. "We both know Celso and Elizabeth, and having known them will be a great start," he said. "Hopefully we can advance the discussions they've held on sexuality and Catholicism into something more tangible."
Perez and Ryan don't intend to make drastic changes to the structure of their cabinet, but plan to make minor alterations to a handful of positions.
"We decided to cut the co-directors of communications down to one and we've added a director of GLBTQ resources," Perez said. "We're generally open to change as far as the needs of the council in the coming year."
In the coming year, Perez and Ryan plan to continue hosting national GLBTQ events at BC; these will include national Coming Out Day in the fall, and Women Loving Women in the spring. The co-presidents also hope to hone the council's focus.
Though the GLC has previously addressed a variety of issues relevant to GLBTQ students, Ryan said that community will take center stage in the upcoming year.
"Our focus is really going to be on community," she said. "We're focused on building resources, promoting discussion, and community, but it's been hard with all those focuses with such a small organization, so we're hoping to focus on building community. At BC, the community is pretty fragmented, so we want to do more social things."
Perez also has high hopes for the GLC's future. "Our emphasis will be on three main goals: to build a GLBTQ community that encompasses students, faculty and alumni; to work toward engaging the Catholic tradition on questions of sexual ethics; and developing resources for GLBTQ students in different University offices," he said.
All parties agree on the need for a thriving GLC presence on BC's campus. "Six years ago, there was nothing recognized by the University for students that were GLBTQ," Denice said. "Having a forum for them to program and talk is the first step toward getting these issues out there.
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