Definition of a ZAP!

A gender-balanced, culturally integrated panel of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning people, as well as heterosexual allies, who come together to share ideas about sex and sexuality as they relate to their lives. ZAP! panels go to dorms, classes, RA trainings, health programs, local schools, and special programs with the purpose of educating and creating a comfortable, informal forum for discussion of issues relating to the LGBTQ and ally community.



What can you expect from a ZAP!?

In short, ANYTHING! A ZAP! is what the audience makes it. You might want to know how to handle a roommate coming out to you, how to come out to your roommate, how people know they're gay, if the word "queer" is safe to use, about the queer activism scene at Cornell, ANYTHING! ZAP!ers integrate their personal experiences with basic knowledge of LGBTQ and straight ally issues in an interactive dialogue with the audience.

If you have questions about the program, if you want to request a panel, or if you want to get involved in future ZAP!s, contact the ZAP! e-board at zap-program-mailbox@cornell.edu



Ground Rules

Before we begin each panel, we feel the need to present a few disclaimers to the audience:

  1. If any members of the press are present at a panel, we request that you please identify yourselves. Panelists may not want to be outed and/or misquoted, so please check with us before putting us in the paper.
  2. Panelists speak from their own experiences, and not as the voice of the larger LGBTQ community. Nor are they experts on ALL LGBTQ ally experiences and lives.
  3. Please take the issues that arise from ZAP! panels out of the room, but names and details should remain confidential due to the personal nature of what the panelists share. If you see one of us on campus, you can go ahead and say "hi," but don't shout "Hey!..There's that Lesbian!" across the Arts Quad.
  4. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like, but panelists reserve the right not to answer if they don't feel knowledgeable about the subject, or if they find it offensive.


List of Upcoming ZAP!'s



Past ZAP!'s