Saturday was a blast here at Creating Change -- another day of phenomenal workshops, coalition building and friend-making.

Campus Pride presented our 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People yesterday, too. About 40 folks gathered to hear the presentation from Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer and Chicora Martin, Assistant Dean of Students and Director, LGBTESSP, at the University of Oregon. Both Shane and Chicora did great in the absence of lead researcher Sue Rankin. Though Sue wasn't able to make it to the conference this weekend, her wonderful PowerPoint really made the presentation work.

There was good info and stats for any person working in higher ed, a very interested and engaged audience (including even undergrad students), and folks who definitely wanted to learn more and broaden the scope of the already-existing data Campus Pride has gathered. We love building new coalitions and relationships and welcome those who want to work with us to get our report into more hands on campuses and in communities. We really believe data is vital: Use it to back up your claims and support your initiatives on campus. Administrators love numbers, and the State of Higher Ed report's are hard to argue with.

Last but not least was the MasQueerAde Ball. Hundreds of young people and students gathered at the Hilton Minneapolis ballroom to hear performances by comedian Ben Lerman and spoken word artist Kit Yan. We couldn't have asked for a better end to our night!

Yesterday, Campus Pride was thrilled to have 50 or so young adults for our day-long Young Adult Leadership Institute preceding Creating Change. The conference, hosted by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, officially started last night with comedian Kate Clinton starting it off right with laughs, wit and humor.

Today, 2,000 people are making their rounds to sessions ranging from social media activism and campus organizing to transgender inclusion in faith communities and sessions on polling and surveying. There's something for everyone here in Minneapolis (and, if you've never come to a Creating Change, we highly recommend you check it out next year).

Of the thousands of conference attendees, a significant portion are youth and young adults. It's so exciting to see so many young faces dot the crowd. Students from across the country have come to network with each other and learn invaluable ways they can begin to make change on their campuses and in their communities.

(Photo right: Bucknell University Assistant Provost Robert Midkiff discusses his campus' safe space programs at Creating Change 2011.)

This morning, Campus Pride staff got the chance to stop in on a couple sessions on campus organizing. In particular, we were pretty impressed with the session presented by Bucknell University on creating safe spaces in Greek life and in athletics programs. Their unique, student-led and -driven safe spaces programming has truly made a difference on their campus and can be a great model for others.

As we headed to our Bucknell University session, however, we were stopped by a small photo exhibit from Jeff Sheng's "Fearless" exhibit. The photos document and chronicle the lives of out, LGBTQ college and high school athletes. Sheng takes an amazing photograph, for sure, but it's the stories of these amazingly brave young people that really pull on our heartstrings. Check out the photos: www.fearlesscampustour.org.

Extra: Be sure to follow us on Twitter, @campuspride, for live updates from Creating Change!

Are you at Creating Change? Stop by our Campus Pride table on the third floor of the Hilton for great resources and information on how to get involved with Campus Pride or create change in your schools.

Campus Pride's Queer It Up Young Adult Leadership Institute at Creating Change 2011 has been a blast. We're winding down the day, which is sad because we've grown to love every body here! At least we have the rest of the weekend to continue getting to know you!

After lunch, the group tackled conflict management. Every organization, gay or straight, experiences unique dynamics. Learning how to approach conflicts and doing it successfully can grow your group and ensure its longevity.

How would you approach an individual member in your group? How would you address conflict when approaching a larger group of members? What resources do student organizations have in tackling these challenges and seeking solutions?

These are important questions made a little bit easier if one has a sense of their own leadership and conflict management styles. People deal with conflict and other difficult situations in different ways. Being aware of your own personality as well as the personalities of your fellow student leaders can make a response to conflict run more smoothly.

The group is having phenomenal conversation on all of these complex issues. As we get closer to the end of our day-long institute we'll take all of these conversations and bring them to a head, asking each of our student leaders to draft an action plan for creating change on their campuses and in their communities.

Identifying challenges, seeking success
Students discuss in small groups issues with which they've experienced a challenge or issues with which they've already experienced success.

What is a leader? What are the qualities and characteristics of a leader? Their values and beliefs?

Young adult and student leaders at Campus Pride's Queer It Up Young Adult Leadership Institute at Creating Change today are answering that question.

According to our students, leaders can be well-rounded, have a reach-for-the-stars mentality, supports the grassroots, is strong and passionate, outspoken, dedicated and responsible, respectful and understand, a good listener, and confident, courageous and brave.

But leaders come in all sorts of different shapes, sizes and styles. Circumstances also call for different types of leaders: for example, a single person can't be in expert in every field. That's why group work, collaboration and alliance building is so important.

And, one last important characteristic to note: Leaders are human, like you and me.

Draw it out: What is a Leader?

The Campus Pride team and our phenomenal young people attending our day-long institute today are off to a great start! Bright minds, conversation and faces: We're happy to meet you, too!

About 40 young people are at the Queer It Up Young Adult Leadership Institute today. They're from high schools and colleges alike and looking to build their leadership skills. Throughout the day, we'll guide them through several activities: Facing challenges and working toward successes on campus or in their communities, leadership style, conflict management, inclusion and more.

At the end of the day, each student will have the chance to draft an action plan to create change back at their campuses or in their communities. It will be an inspiring day, indeed!

Photos: Who Am I?
We all come to the table with multiple identities. Who we are impacts how we interact with the world. This session lets our young people delve a little deeper into who they are and what identities they bring to this group and your organizations.

REGISTER NOW

2010 Regional LGBT & Ally College Conferences

Every year thousands of LGBT college students and their allies meetfrom coast to coast to network, learn and celebrate with PRIDE. Choose from several LGBT national events and regional conferences across the United States. REGISTER NOW.

Feb 19-21 -- Midwest BGLTA College Conference
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
http://www.mblgtacc.org

Feb19-21 -- Western Regional LGBTQIA Conference
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
http://www.comeoutwest.org

April 2-4 -- Power of One Northwest LGBT Conference
Co-hosted by Washington StateUniversity and University of Idaho
http://www.nwlgbtleadership.wsu.edu/

Apr16-18 -- Northeast LGBT Conference
University at Buffalo – http://www.nelgbtc.com

Campus Pride is a Proud Partner

Believe In -- Campus Pride. Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. It exists to give "voice and action" in building future LGBT and ally leaders. More information online at www.campuspride.org