Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference

We Will Not Be Erased: Resistance and Resilience

October 25, 2025 | 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM | Commonwealth University - Bloomsburg

The 18^th Annual Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference Committee cordially invites undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff, civic activists, and independent scholars to submit proposals for our upcoming conference. You may submit on a wide range of queer topics of interest, including those related to this year’s conference theme, We Will Not be Erased: Resistance and Resilience.

Our keynote speaker is Hil Malatino, author of Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad.

On January 20, 2025, some Americans were suddenly unrecognized by the US Government. With a single signature, gender identity was reduced to a couple of inappropriate, outdated biological definitions. Subsequently, there has been a constant attack upon and revocation of regulations and protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The law is being weaponized against LGBTQA+ people. We face the potential loss of employment, education, health care, and federal entitlements simply because we do not fit into a convenient artificial social category. Ironically, this oppressive atmosphere tends to catalyze action in a resilient community. We have the inertia of almost sixty years of positive change promoting community, connectivity, equity, and inclusion. We need to be vigilant and resist further degradation of our movement and ourselves. This is a call to come together to tell our story and organize. Please consider the following questions carefully and contribute to our conference and hence, our cause:

Considering recent political events, which groups in our community need the greatest protection?
How can we foster more inclusive internal community discourse to enhance our gender and sexuality organizations?
How do we encourage students to be proud of who they are and represent others who may struggle to find that pride?
How can we combat self-harm among our members?
What tools for resistance or rejuvenation have you created in your community or campus? Are they effective; can they be improved?
How have different queer identities been represented in art, film, media, literature, and more?
How do we organize to influence change on our campuses and in our communities?

Please join this conversation as we reunite in friendship and build action plans for the future. Submit your work and ideas. These can include workshops, research presentations, demonstrations, panel discussions, and interactive games. We are very open to new and timely ideas. Please email MidAtlanticLGBTQA@commonwealthu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Clay Corbin (he/him), Conference Chair
Gretchen Osterman (she/her), Academic Advisor
Damien Marken (he/him), Commission President
Asa Kelley (he/him), Conference Operations Coordinator

Submit Proposal

GHOULS Just Want to Have Fun!
Drag Show

Come to town early and join us for the annual Equality Alliance Drag Show the night before the conference!

Conference Information

Group Registration

To reduce confusion and streamline communication, we require groups who intend to pay together to designate two contact persons that will be held responsible for arranging payment for all attendees in their group. We recommend that a Faculty or Staff advisor accompany each student group. If you are not an officer or advisor for your group, please ask them to complete this form first. To ensure all registrations are processed correctly, please click the button below and follow the instructions provided to register your group.

Registration Fees

Regular Registration, $40 per person - Through Friday, October 17, 2025
Late Registration, $50 per person - Beginning Saturday October 18, 2025
Commonwealth University Student Registration, $15 per person

Notice!

Completion of the registration process constitutes agreement and obligation to pay applicable registration fee.
Cancellation for any reason after Friday, October 17, 2025 will forfeit any refund.

Please see the Payment Methods & Policies section below for additional information.

Conference registration fees may be paid by Cash, Check, Credit/Debit Card, or Department Chargeback. All registration fees must be paid in advance or upon arrival at the conference or participation will be prohibited unless arrangements have been made in advance.

Completion of the registration process constitutes agreement and obligation to pay applicable registration fee.
Cancellation for any reason after Friday, October 17, 2025 will forfeit any refund.

Credit/Debit Card Payments

To process your registration payment via our secure online marketplace:

Visit the Commonwealth University Marketplace.
Click "Conference Registration" (or "Late Conference Registration")
Enter the number of attendees you wish to pay for.
Click "Add To Cart"
Enter the First Name, Last Name, and Email Address for each attendee.
Please note: Email address must match the address used on the individual registration form.
Click "Continue"
Review the information entered.
Click "Checkout"
Enter your email address.
Click "Continue Unregistered"
Enter your payment and billing information.
Click "Continue"
Click "Submit Order"

Personal or Institutional Check Payments

Checks should be made payable to "Commonwealth University" and note "LGBTQA Conference" in the Memo.

Please mail checks to:
LGBTQA Resource Center
101 Kehr Union Building
Commonwealth University - Bloomsburg
400 East 2nd Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815

Cash

Cash payments will be accepted during regular business hours in the LGBTQA Resource Center (KUB 101). If paying by cash, please print your confirmation email and attach to payment.

The United States, 2025: probably not the best time and place to be trans. Part survival notes, part guide to downregulating panic, this talk explores the emotional texture of the present moment in relation to the broader project(s) of trans history. It asks after the impacts, both rhetorical and emotional, of reframing trans existence as a very old phenomenon, rather than – as many antagonistic critics have it – a novel contemporary form of “rapid onset gender dysphoria” sweeping both nation and globe. Framing trans history as a consolation in the wake of the decline of faith in narratives of progress, it argues that while situations of crisis are ordinary for trans subjects, so are ingenious and virtuosic tactics of everyday collective care and solidarity that make trans lives more possible.

Hil Malatino is Joyce L. and Douglas S. Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy at Penn State University. He is the author of Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad (Minnesota 2022), Trans Care (Minnesota 2020), and Queer Embodiment: Monstrosity, Medical Violence, and Intersex Experience (Nebraska 2019), and Climbing (forthcoming, Duke 2026). He is also the co-editor the t4t issue of TSQ alongside Cam Awkward-Rich and the "Care Ethics Otherwise" issue of Essays in Philosophy alongside Sarah Clark-Miller and Amy McKiernan. His essays have appeared in Hypatia, TSQ, Signs, and many other journals and edited volumes. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and recipient of the Leslie Feinberg Award in Trans Literature.

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The 2025 Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference agenda will be published soon.

The conference will be held in McCormick Center for Human Services (MCHS) on the Commonwealth University - Bloomsburg Campus.

We recommend that all participants follow these directions to campus:

Take Interstate 80 to exit 236.
Follow Route 487 South approximately 1.4 miles.
Use the center lane at the traffic signal to continue forward, campus is on your left.
Use the second left to enter campus between two large "Bloomsburg University" signs.
McCormick center is directly in front of you, park anywhere in the lot to the right. Reserved parking signage is intended for conference participants.

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A special rate of $85/night is available at Quality Inn Bloomsburg. Please make reservations online using the direct link below before October 10, 2025.

Reserve Your Room

If you require accommodative services to fully participate in the conference, please email MidAtlanticLGBTQA@commonwealthu.edu including the details of your need and list of sessions you plan to attend.

Visit our Conference Archive page for a complete history of the conference.

Presenter Information

The Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference consists chiefly of 60-minute sessions, a keynote presentation, and special events arranged by the Conference Committee.

All members of the community are encouraged to submit proposals for sessions, posters, workshops, art installations, performances, etc. Please see our session type descriptions for guidance while developing your own proposals. Standard and creative presentation formats are encouraged. To explore past programs, themes, and keynote information, please check out our conference archive page for a complete history of the conference.

The conference committee will evaluate proposals based on quality, clarity, and relevance. Undergraduate students are encouraged but not required to include the name of an advisor who has worked with you on your project. Presenters will be notified of their acceptance or rejection in late September. We look forward to reading your proposals and seeing you at our next conference.

Please email any questions, comments, and concerns to MidAtlanticLGBTQA@commonwealthu.edu.

All sessions will be held in academic classrooms which include the following equipment:

Projection screen and speakers
Windows 11 workstation w/ internet access
Document Camera
Laptop computer connection via HDMI
Blu-ray player
Wireless internet access

Does your organization or business have information to share with conference attendees? We welcome organizations participating in the conference that wish to display information about their organization to do so in the lobby throughout the event.

Participation is subject to approval by the Conference Committee.

All participants are required to register for the conference and pay the applicable registration fee.

Please email MidAtlanticLGBTQA@commonwealthu.edu for more information.