Ivies unite for LGBT summit

Penn made history this weekend by hosting IvyQ, the first-ever Ivy League LGBT conference.

The event, which lasted from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon, included approximately 450 total participants from the eight Ivy League universities.

Although the original concept of the event was an Ivy League LGBT summit with 20 student leaders coming from each university, the idea became so popular that it was opened up to the general student body, said Wharton and College senior Baylee Feore, the IvyQ conference chairwoman.

“I didn’t just want this to be a conference of leaders,” she said. “I wanted everyone to be able to come and take things away from this experience.”

The conference included four plenary sessions, six breakout sessions, two parties, a performing arts night and a banquet. The plenaries were large, lecture-style discussions led by leaders in the LGBT community.

The speakers included Rich Ross, CEO of Disney Studios; Steve Glassman, commissioner of human relations for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Candace Gingrich, LGBT activist and director of youth and campus outreach at the HRC; and Jamie Grant, director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Yet, students said the most memorable speaker of all was Penn President Amy Gutmann, who greeted the conference participants on Friday morning.

“We’re very proud that we’re able to host this first-ever conference,” Gutmann said. “It is a testament to the vibrancy of the LGBTQ culture.”

According to College senior, Daily Pennsylvanian columnist and IvyQ Programming Director Dennie Zastrow, Gutmann gave an “awesome” speech.

“She definitely reaffirmed Penn’s commitment to equality for all students. I definitely think it set a great tone for the conference,” he said.

Friday’s speech “was the best speech Amy Gutmann’s ever given,” Feore said.

In contrast to the plenaries, the breakout sessions were more intimate, seminar-style discussions led by current students, faculty and alumni from Penn and the other universities.

The sessions had themes that related concepts such as health, identity, community, campus policies and careers to sexuality.

However, much of the learning that happened at the conference was more informal.

“If you put 450 student leaders together, you can make a lot of change,” said Bob Schoenberg, director of Penn’s LGBT Center. “There’s a lot of power.”

In addition to education, the goals of IvyQ were networking and empowerment, Feore said.

Student participants took advantage of the opportunity to strengthen inter-university bonds, said Stephen Silva, a senior at Yale University.

“The best thing about the conference is that it’s a forum for queer students to get together from different schools,” he said.

Many of the participants noted that Penn’s LGBT community was particularly strong, especially among the Ivy League schools.

“It’s something to aspire to,” Cornell freshman Emily Bick said.

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