While there have been improvements at MSU concerning awareness of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community, there’s still a long way to go before true acceptance on campus can be achieved.

In 1992, the University-Wide Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Issues and MSU published “Moving Forward,” a report that assessed the climate toward the LBGT community and identified ways to improve that quality of life. This weekend, MSUwill host a regional conference at the Kellogg Center to access that the LBGT community’s progress.

While a lot has happened in 10 years and some of the report has become reality, there is more to do.

It seems the overall acceptance of LBGT community members has heightened since 1992. Most improvements - such as creating LBGT hall caucus groups - have been student-driven efforts. Now, administrators need to take the report off the shelf, dust it off and give it the attention it deserves.

LBGT acceptance on MSU’s campus cannot be achieved unless the administration takes part in the battle. LBGT students and allies deserve credit for their ambition, but they can’t do it alone.

Taking steps, such as creating LBGT aides within the residence halls and expanding the amount of staff designated for the community’s issues, are just a couple of things the university can do to make LBGT community members feel accepted and validated at MSU.

Make it happen.