Volunteer Projects
The Office of LGBT Resources currently has an abundance of worthwhile projects that lack persons to pursue them. We seek people interested in taking on one of these projects on a volunteer basis. Volunteers can be students, faculty, staff, or outside community members. You do not have to be associated with the University of Illinois to work on one of these projects.
If there is a project here that you have an interest in working on, please contact Curt McKay. If you have another worthwhile project in mind, please suggest it. This list is constantly being added to as people think up good ideas. Suggesting an idea simply adds it to the list; it does not commit you to working on the project. Note to volunteers: Please do not start on a project before consulting us. There may be some work already done on your project.
Outstanding Projects
- Office of LGBT Resources Library Catalog
Catalog, sort, and arrange the Office's books, videos and magazine archives. We do not currently have a complete record of this resource and need to catalog them for lending purposes. We would prefer that this catalog be a SQL database (or other web friendly form). Eventually we would like to integrate this database into the Office's website. If you do not have the technical knowledge but are interested in doing the cataloging, please do not hesitate to contact us. - LGBTA Faculty/Staff Advisor/Mentor List
This project will consist of gathering the names of LGBT and Ally faculty and staff and building a list for eventual publication in web and paper form. YOU MUST OBTAIN THE INFORMED PERMISSION of all persons added to the list. We will check on the permission before any publication. Some LGBTA individuals may not want their names added to this list. You must respect this. - LGBTA Business List
Create a list of LGBT owned and LGBT friendly businesses/service providers within the Champaign-Urbana area. This list might also include businesses/service providers in the surrounding communities. Once again, YOU MUST OBTAIN THE INFORMED PERMISSION of all businesses/service providers added to the list. This list will be published in both web and paper form, and will also be included in a listing of minority businesses/service providers under development by the Champaign-Urbana Diversity Network, an organization that exists under the auspices of the Champaign and Urbana Human Relations Commissions. - Queer Course Guide
Gather a list of UIUC classes with LGBT content and provide a central guide in which to look for this information. Entries should consist of (at minimum) the following information: (Department, Course #, Course Name, Professor, last term offered, nature of queer content, prerequisites). The guide will be posted to the web. This project might easily be combined with the "Course Descriptions Terminology" project below. - Discrimination: What do I do?
In conjunction with Assistant Dean of Students David Chih and EEO Director Pamela Pirtle, prepare a guide to help students and faculty recognize and respond to discrimination or harassment caused by sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. This guide should include a basic orientation to (at minimum) University of Illinois policy and procedures and Champaign, Urbana, and Illinois nondiscrimination laws. The guide will be posted on the web. - Guide to Queer Terminology for Office of LGBT Resources Website
This will be a resource for people interested in learning what various terms mean. It will be posted to web on completion. The target audience is a straight person with little/no exposure to LGBT issues. - History of the Office of LGBT Resources
Locate, compile, organize and present information regarding the history of the Office of LGBT Resources and the efforts that preceded its establishment. This should tie in closely with "Campus/Local Organization History" project below. One person may work on both projects if wanted. The project will be posted to web on completion. - LGBT Campus/Local Organization History
Gather information on LGBT organizations that do or have existed on our campus. This section should include but also reach beyond the history of PRIDE to include other LGBT organizations that have existed on campus. Figuring out what these organizations were will be a large section of this project. Very little of this information currently exists. This project will be posted to the web on completion. - Course Descriptions Terminology
In the current UIUC Course Catalog many classes include queer content under such labels as "alternative lifestyles." We would like to contact the professors/departments for these classes and ask them to use more acceptable terminology. This project might easily be combined with the Queer Course Guide above. - Legal and Financial Starter
Create a primer for LGBT individuals with the basic information we need to know to get started planning for ourselves and our partners' futures. It will primarily be a gateway to outside resources though a complete guide would, of course, be welcome. - National/World History of the LGBT Movement
Create a primer for those interested in the history of the LGBT rights movement and the major events that have shaped it. This is primarily intended for publication online and thus does not necessarily have to be entirely original writing; it may simply act as a gateway to further web resources. If you would be interested in creating a paper version, obviously more original written content would be required.
Ongoing Projects
- Office of LGBT Resources Website Update and Expansion
Contact Curt McKay.
Oversight
All volunteers will have discretion and authority with regards to their chosen projects. Projects will be delegated and overseen by Curt McKay. Some projects may be developed into independent study for course credit.
Funding
None of these projects should require significant funding. If funding is required, a budget must be submitted to Curt McKay. DO NOT SPEND MONEY THAT HAS NOT BEEN REQUESTED AND GRANTED. Your spending might not be approved and you might have to pay for this spending out of your own pocket.
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