University Hosts Queer Research Day

On April 13th, The LGBTQ Student Programs Office at Kennesaw State University will host “Queer Research Day“according to Campus Reform. The university is previously known for telling its students that“ne,” “ve,” “ey,” “ze” and “xe,” are gender-neutral pronouns in a pamphlet, so their hosting of this conference should not be surprising.

This all day conference will include workshops such as “An Exploration of Queer Representations in Fairytales” and “Queer Developmental Approaches to Working With Young People.” Other workshops that will be held that day are: “Queering Bookstores: A Case Study,” “Queering Activism: The Emergence of Queer Service Organizations in Toronto,” and “Queer Advocacy: The Personal is Political.”

“Challenging normalcy” and allowing students to share how they are “addressing queerness” in their work are two goals of this conference, according to its description. “In light of the radical potential of queer—as theories, identities, politics, and communities—how can we challenge normalcy, and indeed, live, study, and think through queer’s impossibilities and nuances,” the agenda prompts participants, adding that the conference will be a great opportunity for students and professors to “share our queer research.”

This doesn’t mean that KSU is completely progressive or that it hasn’t faced any pushback. Conservative-leaning students have already filed two lawsuits against the university, claiming that their freedom of speech was being threatened.