Multicultural competence in student affairs is an exclusive resource that guides professionals in the field of student affairs so that they are able to develop a model that incorporates all multicultural subjects. However, multiculturalism is a wide field therefore; gathering for all these issues is a challenging task to the education professionals.
Programs and policies have been developed to address issues of multiculturalism. Issues of race, class, religion, gender, age and abilities have been given priority. It is an obligation of student affairs professionals to address multicultural issues in institutions of higher education. Student affairs professionals have been in the forefront of the quest to create more welcoming and affirming campus environments and have always addressed issues of alienation and hostility in the campuses (Pope, Reynolds & Mueller, 2004).
Most higher education institutions have neglected the need to address the issue of lesbianism and bisexual students. Diverse array of student clubs and organizations have been initiated to address multicultural issues in most universities. However, they have not achieved the objective of addressing the issue of lesbianism.
Lesbians, gay and bisexual people are always discriminated and harassed especially in the learning institutions. This oppresses them in every aspect of their life. It is therefore the responsibility of student affairs professionals to set up policies which help them to live their aspired life. This issue has never been given a preference by most institutions, yet it poses an overwhelming danger on the operation of learning institutions. Programs and policies have to be set up which addresses this issue in totality.
One of the projects that can be employed to curb the pandemic posed by lesbianism and bisexualism is the use of programs for sexual minority students. The program helps in recognizing the sexual minority students in institutions of higher education. Initialization of such programs helps in the organization of educational workshops, sensitivity counseling and provision of accurate information to lesbian students (Henning-Stout, James & Macintosh, 2000).
The use of support groups is also a remedy to the glitch. Support groups help in the improvement of self esteem and the provision of assertion to students affected by stigmatization. Support groups have counselors who are experienced in dealing with social issues. They can decide to provide counseling service to students having issues of sexual orientation or refer them to outside agencies if need arises.
Sexual minority as a multicultural issue can also be addressed by formulation of policies that help in protecting the sexual minority group. Examples of such policies include the no name policy and no discrimination policy (Henning-Stout, James & Macintosh, 2000).
To enhance the effectiveness of such policies, offices should be initiated where the accounts of discrimination and pestering can be handled. These offices will also help in the provision of support services and information to minority sex groups. Staff training should also be conducted in the institution so that it will increase their awareness on how handle cases of multiculturalism among staff.
An umbrella commission should also be formed to furnish advices to all other bodies addressing issues of sexual minority. The function of the commission is to monitor all other activities pertaining lesbianism. They can also help in proposing ideas and projects that strengthens educational programs relating to lesbian and bisexuals issues. In addition to this, the commission will help in providing advices to the board of the institution on the recommended legislation influencing the sexual minority groups.
References
Henning-Stout, M., James, S. & Macintosh, S. (2000). Reducing Harassment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth in schools: School Psychology Review 2000, Vol.29, No.2, pp.180-191.
Pope, R., Reynolds, A., & Mueller, J. (2004). Multicultural competence in student affairs (pp. 98-162). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Print.