By: Alexa Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost everyone has heard the acronym LGBT at some point and understands what it means. In recent years, more and more letters have been added to the acronym. But what do they mean? ACCENT sat down with Matthew Campbell, the co-chair of LGBT Equities committee, to discuss what exactly goes into LGBTQIA+. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have the standard LGBT; Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender. Q is for queer or questioning. I for Intersex. A for Asexual. And then the plus goes on to add more. So we have nonbinary, nonconforming, pansexual.\u201d Says Campbell, then went on to say how the acronym even includes more than that. He recommended a couple of resources that give an extensive view of all the different identities included under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. Campbell shared this article from The New York Times<\/a> as well as this article from Human Rights Campaign<\/a>. With all the recent additions, it can be hard to understand what falls under the LGBT Acronym. Campbell described it this way, \u201cSome things that normally hadn\u2019t been under LGBT are now starting to fall under it more. This is my way of looking at it; if it doesn\u2019t fit a heteronormative of a man and a woman then it is grouped under LGBT. That\u2019s one of the things I love about being so active in the LGBT community. It is so open and so giving and so caring that when these things don\u2019t fall under standard man to woman we\u2019re like \u2018You know what, come on over here.\u2019\u201d Campbell was one of the original members of ACC\u2019s LGBT Equity committee. He says, \u201cbeing a gay male myself the committee was very close to my heart. Being a very active member of the community I felt it was a really good thing…Our students and our faculty and staff need something like this so they know they have someone at the college they can talk to.\u201d The LGBT Equity committee came out of the Gay Straight Alliance, which was a student organization. Now that they are a committee they are able to offer more resources to more students. The LGBT Equity committee offers ally training for faculty and staff, hosts events, and provides resources to ACC Students. The LGBT Equity committee has tons of opportunities for students to get help or even connections. You can check out their website here<\/a> to see what resources and online events they offer.
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