Illinois State University will be host to the 2015 Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC), which is the largest LGBTA college conference in the nation.
Around 2,500 college students from across the nation are expected to attend the conference in the spring of 2015. The three-day event, which began in 1993, will include more than 90 educational workshops on various topics that affect LGBTA people, as well as a variety of inspirational speakers and entertainment.
“This conference will give us the opportunity to showcase Illinois State University to students from other colleges and universities,” said Dean of Students Jan Paterson. “We think that at the conclusion of the conference, all the participants will leave with an appreciation of how great it is to be a Redbird.”
The conference is an opportunity for LGBTA students and their allies and advisers to meet in a safe and supportive environment to learn and discuss issues of importance to the LGBTA community and other communities.
Illinois State sophomore Robert Alberts spearheaded the effort to bring the MBLGTACC to Illinois State after attending the conference last year as a freshman. “Even on the car ride home, I knew I wanted to do the conference here,” said Alberts, adding that the conference is an incredible opportunity to bring together the diverse LGBTA population.
“LGBTA people do not fit into just one group. We reach across race, across gender and across social and economic class,” said Alberts. “We cannot be advocates for just one group, but must fight for the rights of all LGBTA people. The conference creates a space where we can join together as a group and talk.”
The planning committee is already meeting to begin details for the conference, the theme of which will be Narrating a New Normal.
“The planning committee has already dedicated numerous hours, and have demonstrated what outstanding student leaders we have at Illinois State,” said Paterson. “We are so proud of them and look forward to advising and supporting them with the conference.”
