Tucked into the third floor of Baker University Center lies Ohio University’s LGBT Center. Stacks of books line the back wall. Pride pillows sit softly along the space’s many couches, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers play from a stereo next to a large TV.
It’s not a big space, but it’s a safe and comforting place for those in the community who need it.
“We like to keep notes of encouragement over here,” Director Micah McCarey said. “If someone is having a bad day or just needs a pick me up, you can leave a note and pick one up to encourage one another on a piece of stationary.”
McCarey might be new to the position, but he knows how to get things done while encouraging others to be the best versions of themselves.
What’s new
Upon taking the interim position in December 2019, McCarey knew things needed to change and his previous position as the assistant director of East Green and Diversity Initiatives prepared him for his permanent position in Baker 354.
“In housing and residence, I was in charge of a more broad approach to diversity,” he said. “It really is not the same sort of latitude intersectionality that I get working here in the LGBT Center.”
McCarey said race, gender identity, sex and other demographics play a large role in the LGBT Center.
But it’s not always easy to talk about the issues that matter, so when McCarey got settled into his interim position, he brought in the CARE model for his staff.
The CARE model combines four elements: community engagement and proactiveness, strength and weakness inquiry among staff, radical inclusion and education.
McCarey explained that he didn’t immediately immerse the staff in to the CARE model during the transition, but could tell that it was going to be an essential force to enhance inclusion in the university setting.
“In my professional career, even as a graduate student, I haven't seen anything so effective,” Kyle Serrott, a graduate student studying political science, said.
Serrott also helps connect the community and graduate students to the resources that the LGBT Center has to offer.
“I really think the model and form of leadership has enabled (the LGBT Center) to be more accessible to students and community members and has led to more involvement,” he said.
This involvement is also something McCarey emphasized. The LGBT Center is attempting to connect members of the local community, and even Southeast Ohio.
McCarey wants to cooperate with other organizations in the area like Out in Athens to reach a new level of inclusiveness in the community.
Serrott has worked with Athens City Council and various city leaders to achieve the same goal.
“We really want to inform city leaders of needs (in the LGBT community) that they might not be aware of or are taking seriously,” Serrott said.
McCarey said the transition into director was especially easy thanks to the support of both undergraduate and graduate students involved.
“We really complement each others’ skill sets,” he said. “We have productive conversations about things that need to be discussed and we share a deep commitment (to the LGBT community).”
Amenities for students
McCarey wants to turn words into actions, or transform what he calls “lip statements” into action.
“Our peer-to-peer involvement is really helpful,“ he said. “In all, we have nine total students who work here.”
The LGBT Center is also exploring options for including local high school students in its Queer Prom and Pride Graduation traditions, but details aren’t set in stone, McCarey said.
“To me, as a young adult it would have meant so much to have people to look up to like that,” he said.
To be more proactive, the center has many resources available to students looking for help, or someone to talk to, even if it means hanging out in the center in between classes.
McCarey wasn’t originally expecting to take on the role of director, but has since been able to picture himself growing in the position, and has watched others grow too.
“I’m confident in the framework we’ve created here and excited for the work we can accomplish here and in the community,” McCarey said.
