Transgender speaker denied funding at Salina campus

[Shana A]

Transgender speaker denied funding at Salina campus

By Danny Davis
Published: Wednesday, October 7, 2009

http://www.kstatecollegian.com/news/transgender-speaker-denied-funding-at-salina-campus-1.1942822

SALINA–K-State's Salina campus had a very rough Student Governing Association meeting Tuesday as it focused on a controversial topic regarding a speaker coming to the campus.

A group of students advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights had requested $1,000 to bring Ryan Sallens, a transgender, to speak at the K-State-Salina campus. Many students, including the Salina campus' Student Body President Brian Koester, senior in professional pilot, felt this would be a waste of student money.

also see http://www.kstatecollegian.com/opinion/societal-exposure-important-1.1942801

Societal exposure important

Published: Wednesday, October 7, 2009

A group representing LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexed) students at the K-State-Salina campus have recently lobbied for an transgendered male to speak at their campus. This lobbying has been stalled in multiple student governing association meetings due to reported financial questions regarding the request. We at the Collegian sincerely hope that these issues can be resolved and the guest speaker can visit the campus.

It is important in learning communities to strive for an accepting culture that seeks an outlet for minority speakers to have a stage. This exposure to societal issues that are often not discussed in our community helps students to be more open-minded and worldly.

[Hannah]

Did I read that right, Kansas State has only had a social services department for two years, and offered a bachelors for only one?

We had a pair of transsexual people come and speak at my school and it was attended by gay and lesbian students, gay and lesbian community members, one transexual student (me) and a bunch of baseball players and barbies who were getting extra credit in their Ethnicity class. The speakers read the contents of their website verbatim, it wasn't even trans 101, more like glbt70. The Q&A devolved into the ball players and barbies mocking the transexual woman with their questions, and with her patented tgirl confidence she withered just like most of us would have. When the time ran out she was looking something up in the bible. I don't know how much we paid them, if anything.

So anyway I can kinda see both sides of this, but a state college without a social services department?

[Shana A]

10/8/2009
Funding rejected

By TIM UNRUH
Salina Journal

http://www.saljournal.com/news/story/ksu-speaker-10709

Shae Blackwell sees a Nov. 23 visit by transgender male speaker Ryan Sallans as a chance to promote diversity at Kansas State University at Salina.

"It's a real opportunity for our campus to experience this person," said Blackwell, a senior and student body vice president on the KSU-Salina Student Governing Association.

The Student Senate didn't share her views Tuesday night, rejecting $1,000 in funding to pay Sallans' fees and expenses. The bill that Blackwell authored was defeated 4 to 2.