Dental students create LGBT group

Although many agree that Penn is supportive of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community, two students are trying to increase that support in the School of Dental Medicine.

That was goal of Dental students Yizhaq Alkolomber and Zane Haider when they began an LGBT and ally group to increase support for those students in what they perceive to be a conservative environment in the Dental School. And so far, they say, professors have been very receptive.

The group aims to create a safe venue for LGBT students and to foster communication on LGBT issues within the Dental School, as well as across other professional medical schools, said Alkolomber.

When they established the group, the two said they discussed it with many people who were interested in getting involved but did not want to be openly affiliated because they were afraid it would affect their careers, Alkolomber said.

"How can we expect a difference if no one is willing to use their name to talk about it and humanize the issue?" he asked. "I don't believe in anonymous leadership - I can't call myself a leader if I won't use my name."

He added that the Dental School is generally seen as very conservative, evidenced by the fact that it was one of Penn's last graduate schools to establish an LGBT group.

Dental School administrators did not respond to requests for comment.

University President Amy Gutmann said she doesn't know why students would feel one of Penn's schools is more conservative than another. "I would be wary of stereotyping any school without a deep understanding of how vibrant and diverse the LGBT community is at Penn across virtually all schools," she said.

Still, Alkolomber said many LGBT medical practitioners fear being openly gay in a medical setting. They worry about losing patients and not being hired or accepted to residency programs.

He added that the attitude in the Dental School is very positive and that professors from all different departments within the school were receptive to the group and eager to help.

Haider said the group plans to work with faculty to possibly discuss the biological basis of homosexuality in an academic setting.

"We often hear about racial diversity and ethnic diversity," Haider said. "But we aren't getting a lot of information about sexual identity and how it relates to diversity."

This knowledge is important because it allows future practitioners an appreciation of what an LGBT patient "brings to your chair," he added. It is standard protocol to ask patients whether they sexually interact with men or women to glean better understand possible health concerns.

Alkolomber added that in the Dental School, they frequently learn about diseases that affect only one person in 50,000 or more, and it is far more likely that as dentists, they will encounter LGBT people, who may constitute as much as 10 percent of the population.

Creating the group has allowed increased communication with LGBT alumni from the Dental School, said Alkolomber, which gives students an honest perspective of the effects of being openly gay in the medical profession. These interactions also help eradicate the misconception that coming out at work may damage a person's medical reputation or clientele basis.

"It's a good way to showcase what someone can do, not despite their sexuality but with it," Haider said.

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