I met with some of my Point family this weekend for our Regional Leadership Forum. They always get the ideas flowing and my ambition skyrocketing, so I’ve managed to crank out some thoughts about campus organizing.

The first question I have to tackle is that of definition; what do LGBTQA orgs on campuses do? My school is a small one, with an undergrad population around 2,200. Our queer group is all-inclusive, catering to social, political, and academic needs. We seem to have a chronic condition of multiple personalities, discussing a variety of issues within our hour-long weekly meeting. I understand that larger schools oftentimes split their LGBTQA groups between social and political frameworks, or they piece apart the queer letters. While this may lock onto particular missions, there is still some ambiguity that I wonder about. Are queer groups meant to finagle ourselves into larger social and volunteer networks, asserting our own presence and therefore “normalcy”? Are our political mission supposed to work on a governmental level, or should the focus rest on the immediate community? Do we benefit more through inter-college networking or community connections? And how do we divide our attention and resources to meet all these different areas of concern?

And as for small schools such as mine where the queer groups are limited, what is our approach? Are we focused on support and protections, taking a defensive stance? Or are we, as some of my peers have suggested, “post-gay”—to the point where it is not such an issue, and our focus should be more one of celebration? Do we aim to please with monotonic language of political correctness, or do we make waves by embracing more radical ideas?

I’m sure every campus has its own particular equation that formulates the needs and desires of its students interested in LGBTQA issues, but I still wonder what’s the force of its outcome. On a pessimistic day, I might think about the effects that OPEN has on my campus. Who am I really helping? If we were less active, would I manage to “normalize” LGBT students here more, and break down stereotypes and assumptions. Am I speaking for too many people when I host events and support campaigns? But on my better days I guess it really doesn’t matter. I’m doing what’s important for me and my friends, and I’ve gotten a lot of congratulatory remarks on the work I’ve done. So in the meantime I’ll just keep doing what I do.