Theme:
"Cultivating Our Queer Community: Learn It, Love It, Live It"

Mission Statement:
The mission of the 2009 Western Regional LGBTQIA College Conference is to educate and empower queer youth, students, families, professionals, community members, and allies by providing an all inclusive space to dialogue about critical issues, to network with other leaders, and to mobilize our community from the ground up. We strive to examine our communities and organizing through a social justice lens. We are committed to creating a conference that addresses issues of homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia, biphobia, gender oppression, racism, sexism, ableism, classism, religious oppression, and all other forms of oppression.

Goals and Objectives:
On Valentine’s Day Weekend 2009, we hope to hold a conference where we can come together as a community under the themes of unity, love, and empowerment. With the goal of preparing ourselves to create change on a local, state, and nation wide level, we aim to create long lasting relationships with queer and ally organizers, activists, and community members from the western region. Additionally, we aim:

• To provide a place for people of all identities to feel safe welcome and comfortable
• To create greater visibility and awareness about issues in the queer community
• To create relationships and build bridges between and within different communities
• To educate, empower, and heal ourselves, each other, our communities, and our campuses