Mayy 22, 2007
PERSON TO KNOW: RYAN ROEMERMAN
The Advocate
By Joseph Huff-Hannon
Ryan Roemerman, 24, is not only helping rack up victories for LGBT students, he’s proving to be a serious figure of interest for at least one 2008 Democratic presidential campaign. His gig: He’s the cofounder and director of the Iowa Pride Network, an umbrella group of high school and college gay-straight alliances in the state.
What are some of the network’s biggest successes
to date?
Our school climate survey, which we released at
the end of 2005, found that 83% of the state’s
LGBT students said they had been verbally harassed
because of their sexual orientation. The survey really
provided the impetus and the background for the
[School Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment Act], which
was just passed this March. The law protects all
students from bullying and harassment. We’ve tripled
the number of gay-straight alliances in Iowa, and
really increased the number of students who are aware
of their rights and resources.
What is your favorite part of the job?
I love watching students grow as leaders. I
travel around the state and get to meet with student
groups all over. I’ve also been meeting with
other groups in the Midwest—I just went to Nebraska
to help launch a Nebraska Pride Network.
How does Iowa hold on to its LGBT youths when
it’s not exactly an LGBT mecca?
Iowa is small enough that you can have an impact
and really see the fruits of your labor. Our goal is
to make Iowa the best it can be, a welcoming place for
LGBT people, [where] they can run for office and not
have to face discrimination in the workplace or in housing.
It’s part of a long-term goal here, which is
also to acknowledge the creative class and how
important that is for our local economy.
Iowa is a bellwether state for Democratic
presidential politics. Have any of the candidates
reached out to you to help secure the LGBT youth vote?
I recently had a meeting with the Obama LGBT
outreach person here—I was invited to their
headquarters and met a lot of the staff. I may be
meeting with Obama in a few weeks. I haven’t decided
on a candidate yet, but, hopefully, I’ll get to
talk to all of them.
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