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Editorial: Why We Created the LGBTQ Issue

10/4/2018

Editorial: Why we created the LGBTQ issue

The Post Editorial Board/ For The Post

As a leading source of news at Ohio University and in Athens, The Post tries to represent all groups of people who live here. Admittedly, we struggle at this some times. We do not cover every issue that pertains to every resident of Athens. We find missed opportunities to write about groups like the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, Young Life or the Intersectional Feminist Alliance. We realize it is important to cover those groups, and others like it, in order to reflect diversity that is present on and off campus. We are trying to do better.

With Oct. 11 marking National Coming Out Day and October celebrating LGBTQ History Month, as well as the OU LGBT Center celebrating its 20th anniversary, the editors at The Post wanted to create an issue that explores and discusses topics that pertain to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and many others who may get overlooked in regular media coverage.

Some of the stories included in this issue cover the development of inclusion at OU and explore general definitions some people may not fully understand, such as “skoliosexuality.” Other stories dive into different proposed policies that could affect those who identify as LGBTQ. We tackle the representation of LGBTQ-identifying people in television shows and give Athens residents a space to share their stories of what it’s like to be an LGBTQ individual in a small, Appalachian city.

It is also worth noting that throughout this issue, many of our reporters talked with staff members from the LGBT Center. We attempted to speak with a diverse number of sources in Athens and at OU, but we couldn’t ignore what is the hub of the LGBT Center for different topics and resources. delfin bautista, the director of the center, also wrote a column, which is featured in the issue, detailing not only some of the strides people a part of the LGBTQ community have made, but also some of the historical tragedies and present-day problems that have and are impacting the community.

With these stories, we acknowledge that we, as The Post editorial board, cannot fully understand or claim to know everything about LGBTQ people. We do not try to take their experiences and publish them for our own gain to show our readers that we are diverse. Rather, we try to learn and understand the daily and lifelong struggles that individuals encounter, and we try to show the strengths and celebrations of the LGBTQ community. We want to share their stories to highlight the journey LGBTQ individuals underwent, as well as what is yet to come. Mainly, The Post wants to show its support to members of the LGBTQ community by giving a platform to tell their stories.

There is a lot left to do at OU to make it a more inclusive environment, and there is much left for us to do as well, but we can start to do our part by listening, reporting and telling stories that matter.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Lauren Fisher, Managing Editor Maddie Capron, Digital Managing Editor Alex McCann, Assistant Managing Editor Jessica Hill and Creative Director Abby Gordon. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.

Development by: Megan Knapp / Digital Production Editor

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