Stanford Report, May 19, 2004

Campus gay group granted recognition

BY RAY DELGADO

A staff and faculty gay group that re-emerged after several years of dormancy recently was granted official recognition from the university.

QUEST (Queer University Employees at Stanford), whose petition for recognition was granted April 28, now will receive university funding and have a place among other minority staff groups, said Rosa González, director of the Diversity and Access Office. The announcement of recognition will happen during the Multicultural Springfest program on May 27.

González said she was happy to see the return of a gay staff group following the dissolution of the Out at Stanford group in 1997.

"I was really impressed with the group's numbers and their organization and their enthusiasm," González said. "I've had individuals who have come to me for work-related issues and they wished there was a staff support group."

The group last year revived what had been an informal collective known as SQUELCH (Stanford Queer Lunch and Cocktail Hour) and reached out to other gay and lesbian employees who had been on an e-mail list from the long-dormant Out at Stanford, said James Silva, a software engineer at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center who helped organize the movement.

After a few meetings and socials, the group demonstrated interest in reviving the staff group on a more permanent basis. Silva said many of the participants wanted the group to have a more prominent place within the Stanford community for networking, socializing and support.

"We think it's important as [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people to be visible and to be present so that other people know that we're here and there are resources," Silva said. "Most of the [existing programming for gays and lesbians on campus] was geared toward students, so we definitely wanted to have a space for staff."

Three committees on advocacy, programming and outreach were formed in March to help develop the group. Organizers also decided to change their name to QUEST as part of their goal to be more official, Silva said.

QUEST welcomes anyone at its events, but it is geared mainly toward gay and lesbian staff, faculty, alumni and graduate students, Silva said. Although the group is still getting on its feet, it recently launched its website: http://www.stanford.edu/group/quest. Silva said anyone interested in getting on the QUEST listserv to find out about the group or upcoming events should e-mail him at jimbob@stanford.edu.