Feast on Equality 2019

On Friday, the University celebrated the fourth annual Feast on Equality – an event that raised more than $100,000 for at-risk LGBTQ* youth at UK and created awareness surrounding issues our LGBTQ* youth face.

With the help of countless student workers, a wonderful dining staff, event organizers, and attendees, we paved a path of excellence to support and advocate for our students, regardless of their identities.

This includes the leadership of Tim Burcham, Chair of Feast on Equality, as well as Lance Poston, UK’s own Executive Director of the Office of LGBTQ* Resources.

Of course, our event would not have been successful without our sponsors. Their decision to invest in the future of our LGBTQ* students is crucial to our institution as we build and nurture what’s wildly possible.

It’s events such as these that remind me of the rich and vibrant individuals, who together comprise and make possible the rich tapestry of people, ideas and perspectives that is our campus.

I am grateful to serve a place and community that continues to make impressive strides to create a place of belonging and acceptance.

And, this year is a special one for our campus, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of integration at the University of Kentucky. Lyman T. Johnson, the first African American student at UK, often said that he felt he lived half of his life in the darkness and half of it in the light.

Fighting to gain entrance into the University of Kentucky, he used his education to infuse light into the lives of all he encountered.

And, indeed, it is our responsibility, as the University for Kentucky, to empower our students to do the same.

In my role, I’ve witnessed a simple but powerful idea come to fruition: anyone can find a place at the University of Kentucky. And, your actions – big or small – matter.

Because of our campus and community partners, UK will be able to continue supporting people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

Their generosity will allow UK’s Office of LGBTQ* Resources to continue to provide educational, social, and supportive programming; coordination for LGBTQ*-related groups and clubs on campus; and a comfortable, accessible space for anyone interested in a place to talk or listen.

That is why a place like the Dinkle-Mas Suite is not simply a place.

It is a haven, a family, a home.

It is somewhere students can go for advice, guidance, and camaraderie during their time in college – a time that is transformative and sometimes confusing or difficult.

Let us remember in our journey forward that we each have a role to place in making our students and each other feel welcome and that they belong.

Let us take our experience at Feast on Equality and use it to be champions for our LGBTQ* peers. Because everyone – regardless of their identities – has a place here at UK.