The LBGT Issues Group is starting a new program to provide mentors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) students who want to know what it's like to be LBGT in the world of work.
Some of the questions that undergraduates would like to be able to ask include, "How do people treat you if you are 'out' at work?" "Are some companies safe and some not?" Faculty, staff and alumni/alumnae are needed to serve as mentors, to talk one-on-one about these and similar questions.
Potential mentors are asked to submit a bit of information about themselves. The LBGT Issues Group will then make this information available to students. An interested student can then initiate contact with one or more mentors who might be helpful. Some mentors who participate may be contacted by several students and some by none. Contacts can last over a period of time or for just one conversation.
The official kickoff of the LBGT Issues Group Mentor Program will take place at the panel discussion "Openly Gay After Graduation" on Thursday, Jan. 25 from 7-9pm in the Bush Room (10-105), sponsored by the Alumni Association. Local business and academic leaders will be members of the panel. Discussion topics will include general social challenges associated with being "out" at work, and the legal rights of gays and lesbians in the workplace. Refreshments will be served.
To sign up to be a mentor, fill out the form at http://web.mit.edu/lbgt/mentor/mentor.html. More information is available at the web site or via e-mail.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 24, 2001.
