NACURH Programming on the Go DVD

Submission Cover Sheet ***Please save this document as: Region_School Name_Program Title

Title of Program:____LGBT Dating Game_________________________________________

Presenters Name: __Glenn Ayars__________________________________________________

School Name: ____Southern Methodist University________________________________________

Contact info: _____gayars@smu.edu___________________________________________________

1. What kind of program is this? Please HIGHLIGHT one of the following NACURH U: President NCC NRHH First Time Delegate THEME:

Diversity & Multicultural Awareness Current Issues Personal Growth Team Building & Transitioning Start to Finish Programming Passive Programming

2. Please provide a brief description of the program.

This program is designed to give residents an opportunity to discuss the social justice issues of the LGBT community in a safe and fun environment. The game consisted of three RAs behind a curtain acting as the potential dates for the contestants who were played by the residents in attendance. During the game, personality traits were described by the host for each potential date behind the curtain. The questions ranged from neutral questions to questions that have stereotypes attached to them. Sometimes these stereotypes were true about the dates behind the curtain and sometimes they were not. After the traits of the dates behind the curtain were described the contestants had a chance to ask yes or no questions to each of the dates still keeping the identity of the dates secret. After all of the traits and questions were asked, the contestants tried to guess what gender/sexual orientation the dates were behind the curtain and then picked one to be their date. This process was repeated three times for three rounds of play, and each round had a different set of identities behind the curtain. At the end of the game, Karen Click talked with the group about stereotypes and their validity in the real world and showed the residents that stereotyping is not always accurate.

3. Who was the program for? Name your target audience.

This program was intended for the residents in the Fine Arts Community at Southern Methodist University. The Fine Arts Community is a four class community consisting of a majority of fine arts majors and an array of other majors on campus.

4. How much did the program cost? Who funded it? Please provide a brief budget breakdown.

Total cost was $0.00.

5. How many people were involved in planning the program AND how long did it take to plan?

It took two people to plan this program. Total planning time was about 4 hours. This included the creation of the concept of the program. There was also time took meeting with the outside resource from the Womens Center for Gender and Pride Initiatives and discuss the program and how to include the resources that were available including facts and statistics related to the program.

6. Why was the program started on your campus? How does it benefit the university and/or

community population?

This program began as part of the Fine Arts Community's LGBT awareness initiative for the Social Justice Week program at SMU. A game show theme was chosen for the North Area's LGBT initiative, and as part of the theme, the FAC chose to create a Dating Game program to discuss a variety of issues related to LGBT awareness.

7. What were some pros/cons of the program? How could the program be improved? The actual activity and game ran smoothly and was very well received. There did not seem to be any show of offense taken nor was anyone uncomfortable during the game. The discussion afterwards was very informative thanks to Karen Click. The program successfully connected to the discussion of stereotypes in the LGBT and straight communities. Some of the cons for this program included certain logistical aspects as well as publicity and participation. There could have been a better set up for residents to be seated to make sure that none of the dates were visible from behind the screen. Publicity could have been much stronger and visible. Although the discussion went well some of the residents in attendance for the program did not participate but rather watched and were non-responsive.

8. How could this program be adapted for other universities?

The biggest factor that would allow this program to be adapted at another university would be the universitys view on LGBT issues and initiatives. With that in mind this program is very transferable because of the fact that no specific resident is put on the spot and has to share his/her choices of dates. The resident never has to feel self-conscious or uncomfortable about the choices that he/she made. It also gives the one who is implementing the program the option to bring in outside resources like those from an LGBT center or Womens Center like this program did.

9. Additional questions, comments, notes, or concerns:

Glenn Ayars RA

Alyssa Veteto RA

Fine Arts Community

Southern Methodist University

Round I

Date 3

Enjoys watching sports

Listening to reggae music

Hanging out with friends

Date 2

Loves to go shopping at all the best stores

Being held tight while watching scary movies

Traveling around the world

Date 1

Loves to fly

Enjoys woodworking

Taking dance lessons

REVEAL!!!DATE 1

DATE 2

DATE 3

Straight Man

Gay Man

Straight Woman

Round II

Date 2

Loves art history

Going to the opera

Listening to classic music by candle light

Date 3

Loves NASCAR

Hanging with the boys

One day hopes to be pediatrician

Date 1

Enjoys long walks on the beach

Eating pepperoni deep dish pizza

Surfing on the weekends

REVEAL!!!DATE 1

DATE 2

DATE 3

Gay Man

Gay Woman

Straight Woman

Round III

Date 2

Hates the color green

Eco-friendly

Wants to join Peace Corps to help those in need

Date 3

Loves

Action movies

Chinese food

Reality T.V. shows

Date 1

Cant get enough of T.V. dancing shows

Loves to read anything in magazine form

Enjoys driving for the sake of driving

REVEAL!!!DATE 1

DATE 2

DATE 3

Gay Woman

Gay Man

Gay Man

Lets Talk

How did the program make you feel?

Why do you think this program is important?

Why this program???

Action Awareness Advocate program

Social Justice Week

LGBT issues

Game shows

Dating Game

Pyramid

Family Feud

Jeopardy

Action Awareness Advocate program

Social Justice Week

LGBT issues

Game shows

Dating Game

Pyramid

Family Feud

Jeopardy

Materials Screen

Sheets of paper

Participants

Signs

Paint mixer sticks

Pens/pencils

Markers

Preparation Advertisements

Banners

Flyers

Outside resource

Karen Click

Womens Center for

Gender and

Pride Initiatives

Three bios for each round

Stereotypically accurate/inaccurate

Neutral

Screen

Dates sit behind

Use Yes/No signs from behind

Implementation

Program

executed in

order of this

presentation

Top 10 dating sites

match.com chemistry.com perfectmatch.com eharmony.com yahoo.com friendfinder.com matchmaker.com christiancafe.com metrodate.com sugardaddie.com

Undergone two lawsuits due to

discrimination based on sexual

orientation which is illegal in

business practice according to the

Law Against Discrimination.

Neither case was found in

violation of the law. As a result

however, eharmony.com created

gay dating website,

compatiblepartners.com and

include information on minority

groups visible at the bottom of

their homepage.

match.com chemistry.com perfectmatch.com eharmony.com yahoo.com friendfinder.com matchmaker.com christiancafe.com metrodate.com sugardaddie.com

http://www.top10bestdatingsites.com/

Heteronormativity

Dating shows

The Dating Show

The Newlyweds

Advertisements

McDonalds new gay ad

The Advocate - Don Thompson, the number 2

executive at McDonalds, spoke about the

companys French TV commercial featuring a

gay teenager, and he says such an ad would not

run in the United States because of different

cultural norms.

Heteronormativity

Education

History

Despite cultural understanding and

diversity integrated into history curriculum,

historical figures, unless otherwise stated

are automatically assumed to be

heterosexual. Most grade school history

textbook literature does not even include

words such as: hetero/homosexual,

straight, or gay.

Anything Else???

Ponder

What are your perceptions of LGBT issues at your college/university and in your communities?

How do you think this program would impact your audience at your college/university? How would you modify this program if your

audience required such modification?

What other innovative ways could you present an LGBT program in your community that reflects their needs?

Thanks!!! Glenn Ayars

gayars@smu.edu

Alyssa Veteto

aveteto@smu.edu