It's Leap Day, that once a quadrennial day that helps our calendar stay on track.  Out for Good has also been pondering all the little things - besides Leap Day - that help keep things on track.  Among them:

• In this town there are two - count them, two! - campus-based LGBT Center directors.  One here at IC, and one at Cornell.  Just a few weeks ago, we two were in the same place at the same time (and no, this does not cause a tear in the space/time continuum, although that is very funny), facilitating a leadership retreat for a group of amazing students.  How terrific to have a colleague so nearby!  And with this also comes other opportunities not just for the two of us, but also for students.  There are always things LGBT and non-LGBT related, taking place on both campuses, that any student can attend.  We're always thinking about ways we can work together, things students might have in common, and unique opportunities that might be of interest to all students regardless of which Ithaca campus they call home.
• Campus community members that want to give each other room to grow, learn, and be themselves.  In just the past two weeks I've watched as an outstanding student journalist has worked tirelessly to cover a story about a new program that makes our campus unique, the alumnae who were inspired to help create it, and one of the students who is accessing it.  I've also had the privilege of working alongside IC students who volunteer their time to prepare income tax returns for working families in our community.  They knowledgeably and skillfully provide a needed service that benefits the larger community.  And I've been part of conversations in which current students connect with prospective students, answering questions and providing insight into what it's like to be an IC student.
• A local area awash in natural beauty.  Lakes, waterfalls, trails, and more, all literally steps from your door.  Fun facts and trivia take on a unique and quirky spin here, too.
• And so much more.

In this leap year, consider taking a leap - what things have you been meaning to do, but haven't yet found the time?  What helps keep you on track - friends, fun, studying, volunteering?  This year has one extra day - be sure to use it to stay on track, whatever that means to you.

A little more than a year ago, a student came by my office with an idea.  She had just attended a professional conference in her academic field of study, speech-language pathology.  At the conference, she went to a session highlighting a specialized service in her discipline that was being offered elsewhere. She thought it would be a great addition to her academic program here, as well as provide a needed resource.

Another student in the program had also attended the session, and met with the Program Director of the Ewing Speech and Hearing Clinic here at Ithaca College.  The two students were very interested and very passionate about the possibilities, and encouraged a series of meetings that led to a unique collaboration - a new service that will launch this semester!

The Voice and Communication Modification Program for People in the Transgender Community is a collaboration between the Sir Alexander Ewing Speech and Hearing Clinic at Ithaca College, the LGBT Center at Ithaca College, and Planned Parenthood. This program will focus on developing voice, articulation, language, non-verbal communication, self perception, and voice related quality of life, and is open to both male to female and female to male transgender people.

The new program will provide a strong resource to the community by providing the most current treatment methods in the area of transgender communication, as well as provide experiential learning opportunities to graduate students who are obtaining their Master of Science degree in the area of Speech-Language Pathology at IC.

The group is offered at no charge for IC students, faculty and staff, and to family of staff and faculty. Community members that do not fit into the above categories will pay a nominal fee. Please contact the Ewing Clinic at 607-274-3714 for more information. Additional info is available, as well as the program brochure.

If you or someone you know may be interested in this service, please encourage them to contact the Ewing Clinic for more information.

It's finally here - the 10th Anniversary of the LGBT Center and Fall Splash/LGBT and Allied Alumni Reunion is taking place right now!  Please join us as we celebrate all LGBT and Allied alumni, and the ten years of the campus LGBT Center.  You can browse a complete schedule of LGBTA-themed events, and learn a bit more about the LGBT Center and our four LGBT-themed student organizations, or access the complete schedule of all Fall Splash/Alumni Weekend events.  

Our kick off event with alumna Janet Green in commemoration of National Coming Out Day took place last night, and there are five additional events that will take place from now throughout the weekend.

Celebrate along with us, either on campus or from afar, by sending some festive LGBTA-themed e-postcards, viewing or listening to our incredibly talented students who have created LGBTA-themed videos and music, or connecting with us via Facebook.

This will be a great opportunity for current students to meet and network with LGBT and allied alumni, and for alumni to learn more about the center and its work, our award-winning status as one of the most welcoming campuses for LGBT students in the nation, and our current LGBTA-themed student organizations and other offerings and accomplishments.

If you're an alumnus, things may have changed a bit since you were here as a student. I have heard from alumni spanning decades, and the experiences and campus environment for LGBTA students has varied over the years.  The LGBT Center is but a small part of the long and very rich history of LGBT and allied students at Ithaca College.  With the help of some wonderful folks at the Library and the Ithacan, we have been able to find references to an LGBT-themed student group on campus consistently all the way back to 1979.  (It's the student organization currently called Prism, but it has had several names over the years including Gala and BiGayLa, among others).  And just a few weeks ago, a researcher in our college Office of Institutional Advancement contacted me when she discovered a document from 1971 that detailed a meeting of 11 students who were interested in establishing an IC chapter of the Gay Liberation Front.  These are all vital, but sometimes lost (or temporarily lost) pieces of history, and the LGBT Center wants to collect them so our current students can have a sense of this important history and the role of LGBT and allied students throughout the years.

I invite you to share your recollections and experiences of all things LGBT and Allied during your time as a student at IC. If you're joining us in person, there will be several ways for you to share your stories throughout the weekend.  If you can't be with us this week, I invite you to share your stories right here using the comments function.  And whether you visit IC this week or not, consider creating a short video and sharing it - upload it to YouTube and share the link via the comments section on this post.

Some suggested questions to consider might be:

• How did your time at IC contribute to the person you are today?
• Tell a story about your time at IC through the lens of LGBTA work/identity/community/climate.  This might be something specific about a student organization, class, professor, or initiative.
• Share a fond reflection of IC
• If you were magically transported back, what one thing would you love to do or experience again at IC?

LGBT and Allied Alumni Reunion and the tenth anniversary of the LGBT Center....It's always been inside of you, you, you. And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough.  Connect with us in person or online, and be a part of our future.

Whether you're a regular Out for Good reader, or have just landed here for the first time, you'll glean pretty quickly that one purpose of this blog is to celebrate the upbeat, positive, and good.  As I noted when this blog was launched, ...There are lists and lists of problems and challenges that seem all too familiar in the terrain of LGBT life. Sometimes, it just seems really hard....And yet, there are those other times too. Where despite the pitfalls and challenges...there is some pretty good stuff happening...So yes, I am also Out For Good.

Please join with me in literally going Out for Good - celebrate the 10th anniversary of the LGBT Center with me by doing good for others!  In the process, we'll also have a bit of fun, a bit of fitness, and a bit of colorful rainbowy-goodness too.

Saturday October 15, 9 am
5K run on campus with Lis and Habitat for Humanity!
Butterfield Stadium
We're Out for Good - The LGBT Center program director will run the Habidash 5K on campus, and invites all LGBT and Allied students, alumni, and members of the campus community to join in - come be a part of a fun run for a great cause! Registration and fee for the run is required through IC's Habitat for Humanity, alumni may register while signing up to attend Fall Splash, or onsite, or at a table in Campus Center for current students to register from now through Oct 7.  Or, see their Facebook event for additional details. 

Please join us - run along with us, walk, or cheer us on from the sidelines of the race, as we LGBTA folks do something good to give back to Habitat for Humanity and the community.  Some additional info is available from the concurrent Facebook event for participants interested in the Out for Good angle on this event. Very special kudos to the student who created that page and who is devoting many hours of service in helping to plan and facilitate our participation!

And did I mention there will be a small but rainbow-y gift for the first 100 LGBTA people who participate?

Special thanks to LGBTA Alumni from the Classes of 2007 and 2008 for challenging meto this run, and to IC Habitat for Humanity for their enthusiastic response to our participation.  For information about all the events that will mark the 10th anniversary of the LGBT Center, visit the 10th Anniversary of the LGBT Center and Fall Splash webpage.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a glimpse of history.  Not my personal history, but the history of the LGBT Center and many of those who have been a part of it over the years.  As it turns out, anyone who visited the LGBT Center website that particular evening were unexpectedly and inexplicably transported back to the LGBT Center of 5 years ago.  In the process of "reskinning" the Ithaca College web presence to reflect a new look and updated logo, somehow little old ithaca.edu/lgbt began directing visitors not to the dreaded "oops, page not found" screen, but to the actual website we used back then.

At first, I was surprised.  Very surprised.  And then, the images and information on that old version of what we are today - but in a different way - transported me back to that time.  Photos of alumni, images of campus that are a bit different than the views we have today, and the names of people who have made important contributions to our campus.  Anna, who created that version of the website as part of a course project, who is now a CEO, entrepreneur and webcasting engineer.  Michael, who participated in the beta testing of that website and later maintained it (through a painstaking old school process that actually involved html code!), who now manages all the IT needs of a major national organization.  It took me back even further, to Braeden, who created the LGBT Center's very first web presence during a summer break just because he wanted to be of service to IC LGBT students.  He's since gone on to great things, too, including a law degree and a beautiful family.

And me?  I'm actually still here.  Though also changed by these former students, and the many people I meet in my role here on campus.  I'm so thankful for all those who have contributed their time and talents toward serving our LGBT and allied students, and for everyone who helps make IC a welcoming place for our students.  I'm very thankful, too, for the fine folks in Marketing Communications and ITS here on campus, who fixed this mysterious glitch incredibly quickly.  As quickly as the old website image transported me back in time, it was gone and replaced by the current LGBT Center website.  (Phew!)

But you, too, can take a trip down memory lane.  This year we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of the LGBT Center.  Events commemorating this milestone will take place throughout the year, including featured events during Fall Splash/Alumni weekend October 14 -16.  Wondering what LGBT life was like on campus 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, or 30 years ago?  Come to the panel discussion of alumni spanning five decades at Ithaca College.  Want to be part of a new tradition?  Run along with me in a contingent of LGBT and allied students and alumni in the Habidash 5K run.  Information about these are other events will be available through the LGBT Center website (yes, the current one!), Alumni Relations, Intercom, and the Facebook pages of the LGBT Center and Ithaca College LGBT and Allied Alumni.  I invite you all to learn more about our past, and be a part of our future!