Hey
everyone! I’m Daniel Kort, a sophomore majoring in psychology and neuroscience,
and I’ll be president of Blue Devils United this year. I’m so excited for
what’s bound to be a very special time for our organization. With the new
Center for Sexual Diversity’s completion, this year marks a high point in the
visibility of LGBT life at Duke. As president, I’m committed to ensuring that
Duke remains a safe and awesome place for everyone, regardless of sexual
orientation and/or gender identity. In
order to accomplish this, I plan to focus on generating a strong bond among
LGBT individuals, allies, and the rest of Duke’s campus. This blog will serve
as an important component of that mission.
To all
of the first-year students out there, welcome to Duke! It was just a year ago
when I was in your shoes, scrutinizing the degree of acceptance on campus,
hoping to find my niche as an out and proud individual. I can thank Blue Devils
United for a great degree of my personal growth over the past year, as the
community has fostered my development as an aspiring advocate and activist.
My first
vivid memory of Duke’s strong affirmation of diverse sexual orientations and
gender identities goes hand-in-hand with one of my very first memories of Duke
itself. When I visited campus for the first time as an eager p-frosh on Blue
Devil Days, the election for Amendment 1 (North Carolina’s gay marriage ban) was
looming. Even though the amendment passed and I was deeply saddened like many
others in the community here, the weeks that led up to the election that May
featured an outpouring of support from students and faculty on campus. Here is
a photograph that I took of Friedl Building on East Campus during Blue Devil
Days in April 2012.
Thank
you so much for reading. I’m looking forward to hearing from and meeting all of
you! Join us at our general body meetings every other Wednesday, and don’t
hesitate to shoot me an email if you’d like to grab lunch or coffee to hear
more about Blue Devils United and LGBT life at Duke.
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