Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a five-part series profiling leaders of diverse communities on and off campus in Athens.
Just as the Ohio University LGBTA community is multifaceted, so is its center’s director.
Delfin Bautista, who was hired in April, identifies as a unique crosswords of spirituality and ethnicity. Although Bautista performs as male, they prefer to be identified by gender-neutral pronouns, as they identify as dual-spirited, possession of both a male and female spirit. Dual-spirituality falls under the trans* umbrella, which includes identities such as transgender and transsexual.
Bautista is also Hispanic, an ethnicity which makes up 1.8 percent of the Athens County population, according to the 2012 U.S. Census.
“(Leaders should have) a speaking position,” said David Descutner, interim vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion and dean of University College. “(Bautista is) a member of both communities, so (they) can speak with authenticity.”
Descutner confirmed the recommendation that the search committee made after meeting all the candidates and said that Bautista was the overwhelming choice.
“(We were looking for) both an idealist and a pragmatist,” Descutner said.
Bautista was hired to replace center director Mickey Hart, who had worked in the position for 11 years. Although Hart was an “institution in and of himself,” Bautista said people have been receptive of his new ideas and perspective.
“It has been a clean slate,” Bautista said.
Bautista, since coming out in their early 20s, has been involved in a series of volunteer and advocacy work. One of the more radical excursions was a bus ride to protest anti-LGBTA collegiate policies, which resulted in two arrests for non-violent civil disobedience.
However, this did not hinder Bautista in the hiring process.
“The exact phrase from the search committee was, ‘Well, this was the type of person that we’re looking for, someone who really does practice what they preach,’ ” Bautista said.
Since entering the position, Bautista has been developing LGBTA education and programming, aiming to start discussions about faith and spirituality and trying to meet the needs of OU’s international student population.
Paige Klatt, a sophomore and the vice commissioner of LGBT Affairs for Student Senate, said Bautista advises her and commissioner Taylor Hufford on budgeting and event coordination.
“It’s a diverse group and everyone wants something different,” said Klatt, who is studying chemistry and pre-med. “(Bautista is) willing to work with just about everybody (on new ideas for the community).”
eb104010@ohiou.edu
@EmilyMBamforth
