Seeing the change one person can make in their community is eye-opening. Eye-opening in that the rework of the original is improved for the better. With this assignment, we both had in mind a certain type of person we wanted to meet. We both wanted someone who was bettering the community, first off, but also someone being affected by the change they are enacting. We saw the importance of giving a voice to a cause that isn’t being heard very loudly. Arlene Goldbard in her Essay, “Human Rights and Culture: From Datastan to Storyland” perfectly articulates why it is important to give attention to special causes, because, “Until this new reality settles into normalcy, the old order will push back”. This means to say that until these new changes made by people in the community to better the community are made, nothing will be improved.
Knowing a little about the difficulty of LDS LGBTQ members here at BYU and the struggles they sometimes go through trying to live through trials and fear of rejection, we wanted to find someone in the community actively trying to improve the lives of these members, so that’s when we contacted USGA. This club is dedicated to help, improve, and act as support for LGBTQ people here at BYU. It is meant to act as a resource for people to feel safe and wanted. The unique and motivating objective of this club made us really excited to want to learn more--even more, share the story of someone in this club: Addison Jenkins, current USGA president.
We met Addison for the first time the day of the interview, but right away, we saw the light, enjoyable way he carried himself. He was really comfortable to be around, and we got to hear some touching stories. Being able to learn about Addison and the way USGA had affected him throughout his process of coming out and being gay at BYU was very inspiring. His experience made us realize how important it is for people like Addison to have their story, their cause heard; there are people in the community who can be greatly lifted and helped by hearing his, and other people like his, story. There aren’t any other real resources and supports for LGBTQ people here at BYU, making his story that much more meaningful to the community.
Recognizing the concerned, involved members of the community is energizing. The way people like Addison give rise to themes and support in the community helps us see that there is a way to make a positive change in the world around us. That is why it is crucial to give notice to maybe sidestepped, unnoticed, or disregarded issues--to give the chance to be changed, be improved upon. Learning to help share stories that inspire, that improve certain notions or pre-established ideas can help in this process of gaining a better understanding of an issue and seeing how someone in the community is working to improve upon it.
Marely Lee and Jaye Abhau
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