A newly formed student organization at Ashford University – SEEN – will be launched on Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, with a special screening of the documentary film Fish out of Water. 

SEEN is an organization developed to raise visibility and equality for the LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Allies) community. Its mission is “to support, embrace, educate and form a network for our LGBTQA community and our Ashford/Clinton area at large – as an equal, unified group.” The groups’s advisor is Alyssa Oltmanns, Ashford University testing and tutoring coordinator. 

The free screening of Fish out of Water, an award-winning film by Chicago director and producer Ky Dickens, will be shown at 7 p.m. in Mullany Theater and is open to the public. The film explores the seven Bible verses most often used to condemn homosexuality. Theologians from all over the nation are interviewed and a scholarly conversation is launched about Christianity’s traditional opposition to homosexuality.  

Additional upcoming events sponsored by SEEN include a Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 benefit performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, produced in conjunction with fellow Ashford University student organization Women of Color. The performance is in recognition of V-Day, “a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls” (vday.org).

Proceeds from the 7 p.m. performance in Mullany Theater will benefit the Clinton YWCA Women’s Resource Center. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door. 

Any questions regarding SEEN may be directed to Oltmanns at alyssa.oltmanns@ashford.edu or 877.241.9893, extension 7241. 

About Ashford University

Founded in 1918, Ashford University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahlc.org). The University offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs online and at its Clinton, Iowa, campus. The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable online and on-campus programs. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu or call Shari Rodriguez, associate vice president of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513.