The Homophiles of Penn State were denied a charter for an official student organization more than 40 years ago on grounds that the organization would interfere with the viewpoints of the university’s psychologists.
After decades of progress, the administration is taking the next step to respect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. On Monday, University Health Services launched a LGBT resource page on its website: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health/services/clinicalServices/lgbtHealth.shtml.
This is a sign that Penn State is open-minded and diversifying.
The website includes different resources for members of the LGBT community, such as information on how transgender people can update their passports to include correct gender identity.
It’s encouraging to see UHS acknowledge this challenge. Having this information easily accessible is helpful.
UHS is also working on a system that allows transgender individuals to include their preferred name on electronic medical records. This will allow individuals to be called by the name they identify with.
A UHS task group, comprised of a representative from the LGBTA Student Resource Center, a student representative, UHS staff members and other individuals, suggested the creation of the resource page.
This task group is a step in the right direction. As they continue, the task group should take others’ ideas into consideration and remember to remain open-minded.
