The University of Washington–Tacoma (UWT) is an offshoot of a much larger campus. Some might say the Seattle campus is more diverse due to its larger student population, but the downtown location of the Tacoma campus allows for its own unique diversity among its 2,600 students. We may not have as many student organizations and hangouts on campus, but we make up for it in close bonds among fellow students.
To my knowledge, the LGBT community at our school has not experienced any extreme negativity or hostility from students or professors in the past two years. Many students are open about their sexual orientation. One student organization, the Queer-Straight Alliance, includes in its mission statement a goal to “provide a social, emotional and educational support group for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and ally populations.”
Although most students on campus are open and accepting, one unfortunate incident just over two years ago involved the anonymous defacement of posters with a swastika. The posters, left in a campus restroom, promoted the university's LGBT Leadership Conference.
Our student newspaper covered the incident, but we may have focused on the wrong facet of the story. In hindsight, I believe The Ledger editors at the time made a rather thoughtless decision when they put a large photograph of the poster, including the swastika, on the front page of the newspaper. In focusing on the potential hate act, the editors put it on the front page for all to see. Their headline, “An act of hate,” clarified their stance on the image. Still, as one reader later wrote to the editors, the newspaper “took the message out of the toilet and distributed it to every corner of the campus, making it available to all.”
Perhaps instead of specifically focusing on one malicious act, The Ledger could have directed its attention to the stronger movement for tolerance that followed. Several students, and at least one faculty member, empowered by the public reactions to the incident, increased efforts to educate students to combat such ignorance and hate. A few days later, the second annual Power of One Leadership Conference took place at the university, engaging students in discussions about issues concerning sexual minorities.
The students at UWT tend to stand strong together, even when facing discrimination or intolerance. I can't help but think that such communal ties must partially stem from our diverse backgrounds. We all made a choice to attend UWT, and through that choice we are a community. We rally round our own when they are attacked — even if we do so awkwardly as The Ledger editors did two years ago. We may stumble a bit, but the sentiment behind student reactions remains largely empathetic to our differences.
