The Office for Educational Equity has been directed to take leadership in handling recent requests to provide more education, an office and a staff position to meet the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual students.

Executive Vice President and Provost John Brighton said the Office for Educational Equity should handle these requests. He said he has not yet talked to anyone in the office about the requests, but the office will look at them as part of an overall strategic diversity plan.

Terrell Jones, deputy vice provost for educational equity, said several offices would work on the project, such as the Office of Student Affairs. The vice provost's office will take a leadership role, he added.

Last Thursday, the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance initiated a program called Project TEACH! that addresses these requests.

The program includes requests for a staff position and an office to address the needs of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community. Project TEACH!, which stands for Try Education to Abolish Campus Homophobia, also asks University administrators to take more responsibility for homophobia and heterosexism education, said Mark Shiner, LGBSA political co-director.

LGBSA members made these requests because they think administrators have failed to educate themselves and the University community on homophobia and heterosexism, Shiner said.

A news release was sent by members last Thursday asking University President Joab Thomas and James Stewart, vice provost for educational equity, to respond to their requests.

Thomas would not comment because he said he has not thoroughly looked over the news release.

Anne Ard, senior diversity analyst at the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, said LGBSA should be frustrated. The group has provided all gay awareness education at the University, she said, adding that the educational equity office does not have enough resources to take on this burden. Offices such as student affairs should share the burden, she said.

William Asbury, vice president of student affairs, said his office does not have the resources for this project and he expects leadership to come from the educational equity office because it is in charge of diversity planning.

The new position and office were first recommended by the Committee for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity in January 1993, but were denied by Thomas, said Holly Bemiss, LGBSA political co-director.

Last Thursday, Stewart said the requests were denied because of a hiring freeze in 1993.

Although the hiring freeze was lifted in July 1993, Brighton said the requests were not implemented because the University is still operating on a slim budget.

Bemiss and Shiner both said another reason LGBSA should be granted these requests is because every other group protected by the University's non-discrimination clause has an office to address concerns. Shiner cited the Multicultural Resource Center for students of different races and the Office for Disability Services as two examples.

Because sexual orientation was included in the clause by the University Board of Trustees in May 1991, many of the things that go along with it, such as an office, a staff position and educational programs, should be available, Shiner said.

The non-discrimination policy states that no person shall be discriminated against because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

Currently if a professor wants a program on homophobia, he or she has to ask for a Straight Talk program from LGBSA, a student organization, Shiner said.

LGBSA wants the educational equity office to start scheduling Straight Talks and will not do them until that time, said Gus Scheerbaum, LGBSA social/educational co-director. A Straight Talk is an education program about gay issues.

The requests for Straight Talks that LGBSA has received since the beginning of the semester will be forwarded to Stewart's office, he said. But Straight Talks that have already been scheduled through the social/educational co-directors will be done, he added.