Indiana University GLBTAA Online Only Content

Internship Provides Way to Be More Responsive to You

2009-06-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

By: Ryne Shadday

When approached early last year about doing an internship with the GLBT Alumni Association and the GLBT Student Support Service Office, I was a bit skeptical about it being meaningful to both the organization(s) and me. It seemed as if I would not have much to do or that I would would have been doing things that were redundant on the part of the Alumni Association. But given the brave support of one kind and generous alum, I spent a little over a year doing what I love doing best, serving you.

I began my student board position in September 2007. Little did I know, with what then vice president Nancy Kalina told me would just be a small board position with minimal requirements, would become such an engaging and remarkable experience. From being the lowly intern who gets all the jobs and tasks no one else wants to meeting some of the great people who make up this remarkable institution we like to call I.U., I was able to see the good, the bad and the outright ugly parts of Alumni Relations. From meeting President McRobbie (whether he remembers me, I don't know... but at least Laura Burns McRobbie knows me by name!), this years commencement speaker Hon. Michael Kirby, to brushing elbows with former Presidents of IU, the IU Alumni Association and beyond during Cream and Crimson Weekend and Mini U. The list could continue on forever with all the memories that I'm honored to have.

But the work that has been done through this internship has been the most important. Finding programs that best fit the need of our loyal alumni and providing them effectively has definitely proven to be the most beneficial and rewarding of them all and I hope that I have served you all well. Here is a list of programs or initiatives that I helped to lead while at my position... if you haven't had a chance to come to these events, consider doing so, I promise you will not regret:

Reinstated Happy Hours AND promoted expanding them to other cities with IU Alum

Happy Hours now occur in Bloomington every second Thursday of the month and in Indianapolis every third Thursday of the month, except on rare occasions where we're busy and can't have one... this would be one of those months! We've also had a Happy Hour in Chicago and social events in Los Angeles! Keep up on the E-news to find out when and where our next one is!

The Reaching OUT E-newsletter

I know very well that I'm not old enough to say this... but wow, we've came far! An E-newsletter was an idea of mine that I didn't think would work. But it has! We have about half of our membership on our listserv and a monthly E-newsletter was a no brainer to me. What better way to inform and update our membership then by sending online messages?! I hope this has served you well, as I've been the one typing them monthly with the steady, editing hand of my trusted friend and boss, Rachael Crouch working out my many typos.

Web site changes

Our Web site seriously needed help when I landed this gig. Throw in a catchy home page with a revamped look, some content that will keep people visiting month after month (Member Spotlight anyone?), links that work and go to things people want to see and bam, there we are. By the way, if you're on our site, look for the GIVE NOW buttons and help fund our scholarships. Also, if you want to be featured as an OUTSTANDING member in our Member Spotlight, read up on those at http://alumni.indiana.edu/glbtaa/profiles.shtml and e-mail glbtaa@indiana.edu. We have some absolutely amazing members, this just features proudly what work they have accomplished and things they have done for this great university. Oh yes, check out the blog too... here is where you will find posts that can't really go up on our Web site.

In more online news, we have marched into the great Facebook and Twitter market and now have a Facebook page and a place for our tweets! Send us a wall post on Facebook and we might post or tweet and we might tweet you back!(http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1166670009&ref=nf#/group.php?gid=8746112146&ref=ts) (twitter.com/iuglbtaa)

T-shirts and other goodies

The GLBTAA has been in existence for 12 years, we didn't have a brand to be proud of. With a little push from me, we were able to get our first branded T-shirts and water bottles out mid last summer. With a little help from our trusted design team upstairs at the Alumni Association, we became a little more creative and introduced a new brand featured at our GLBTAA Homecoming that you will see on our Web site, mailings and now our T-shirts and other goodies that will come your way.

PS... T-shirts are $10+S&H, the model of the shirt will be on our Web site soon and you can e-mail glbtaa@indiana.edu to reserve yours. Also, water bottles should be up and at 'em if enough interest is shown to have them back.

And Much More

Being responsive to you... That has been the most important item of all of these. What do you like best? What do you want to see us do? Do you feel like we serve you in the best manner? What is the thing that makes you check with us often?

I hope, more than anything, that the things I have done during my time here have served you well. I can go on about the tiny things that I have done, but the items above are the things I am proud of most. I couldn't have done any of it without the wonderful supporting board of directors I have had the pleasure serving with over the last 2 years. I couldn't have done it without a need to have these things be done. In August, Solomon Hursey will take my place as the second person to have this internship, and I'm sure he will do a great job. It has been, hands down, right along with working for my dad in his construction company, the most beneficial learning experience I have EVER had. When I am able to in the coming years, I will do my part to do as the benefactor of this internship did for me, and make sure that those after will have a chance to help in this great adventure of ours. Thanks for letting me have a small part in it, I will still be around, hopefully in September as a regular board member. Keep up the good fight, and Happy PRIDE!

Finding My Voice: Black, Gay, and Proud!

2008-12-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

By Byron Craig

I’m Coming Out!
When I came out a long time ago, I began walking into places that at times were welcoming and at times hostile. When I came out it was like I was suddenly liberated. Free from the oppressive bonds of navigating my hidden identity. I was fortunate. Having two other gay-identified brothers, I at least had them. Before coming out there was no place I could turn to in my small town for support. Sandusky, Ohio had no support system that I knew of at least, certainly not the church and certainly not school. Although I had my brothers, it took me a long time to find my voice. But I finally found my voice and I want to share it with you by way of telling my story the best way I know.

My Voice, My Vice?
Sugar, I am a drag queen in every since of the word. When I came out, I really came out. As an undergraduate student in the early eighties (I was only five at the time, mind you), I lived, honey. In fact, I lived so much that I nearly killed myself. At the height of the HIV/AIDS scare, I dwelled in those venues where it was quite possible to contract the virus because of the unprotected types of activity going on in those dark, backwoods I hid in. So, what saved me? I woke up one morning after having the most fabulous dream. Well, it was more than a dream. I was recalling my life growing up with a real life diva.

In my dream that night I remembered every fierce dress, fierce hair style, and flawless Ebony Fashion Fair product used to make my mother’s luscious ebony skin glow. She was fierce baby; so much so, she fabulous that for special events, her hairdresser came to our home to beat out her hair. Her dresses were elegant and came in every style and color—black, brown, green, yellow, and yes, even ruby red. They were at times sequined and sparkled as she and my father stepped out for an evening with friends. Every outfit had a special handbag, the shoes, and of course jewelry that was just perfect. She was the ultimate drag queen, honey!

But, what I remembered most in that dream was her ability to burn in the kitchen. She could cook, baby. Every bit of soul food you could imagine, she could make it. Recalling the way she moved in the kitchen, with perfect precision and always putting the needs of her children first, cooking was next to fashion for her. To me, this was the perfect order of life for someone who was so classy yet who had had to navigate and negotiate herself out of the racist south. It made me go gaily forward and I stopped going to the trails. I wanted to be her…to be the ultimate drag queen, baby!

But, it was her voice that woke me up. She always spoke the truth. She not only spoke through her words, she spoke through her cooking, her flawless hair, her clothes, and the way she moved through her world. What I didn’t know was that I had inherited her voice in those ways that made her the ultimate drag queen. She loved hard and showed it through her voice. Her voice that was her cooking and ability to create beauty out of anything was the voice I wanted. Now when I cook, I cook as if it is my voice and I use that voice to get what I need. Like the grand dame of drag The Lady Chabliss says in her memoir Hiding My Candy, if you can burn in the kitchen, you are saying a lot of things. Know what I mean?

Live At IU!
As I approach my fifties, I only perform for small crowds when I cook and when I do drag. But my voice exists in a very different venue these days. Teaching at Indiana University, I have found new ways to express who I am. In the classroom I make it a point to identify myself on the first day of class every semester. I think it is a disservice to hide anything so important from my students. But I undertake this in much the same way I remember my mother finding and using her voice. She lived very out loud. From the way she dressed to the way she cooked for her family and friends, my mother’s voice was first and foremost open and honest. I live my life in the way she instructed. I live by her example. My voice is part of her living legacy…one she shares with all three of her gay sons. I refuse to let myself be silenced and I live in the beauty she gave to all of her children. So, why would I live quietly? I am out and I want the world to know. That world is my classroom and this campus and I go into the world every morning LOUD and FIERCE!

Moving Equality Forward in 2009: A Gay Activists Inside View

2008-12-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

By Dan Coleman

It’s nearing the end of 2008 and it is not hard to notice that the LGBT community is still lacking equal rights in the United States. The movement has been heading forward with the addition of marriage in California and Connecticut, though Proposition 8 has currently stalled equal marriage rights in California. Even with the slight setback in California we at least have a more LGBT friendly and inclusive president. At this point it is difficult predicting where the future of the movement is headed, and as a gay community organizer, I think I have a clearer picture of that future.

Let’s take a step backward and look at this past election. The most costly ballot initiative campaign took place in California with a price tag of around 70 million dollars. Fair-minded candidates took offices all over the United States and in Ohio, where I am stationed, we specifically saw this first hand in the flipping of our State House to a more progressive group. President-Elect Barack Obama ran a very successful campaign. He did so many things well and there are many lessons that we need to take from this.

First, millions upon millions of dollars can be raised on five-dollar donations. This element-giving gives power to the individual knowing their small contribution made a significant difference. Second, is reaching out to the communities that are traditionally ignored. I don’t think I once canvassed in a neighborhood that wasn’t considered lower income this season. While canvassing and talking with voters, they informed us of how much people were reaching out to their communities to engage them in the process. It is uplifting and it was the “change” that Obama had to have statistically. Third, the LGBT community came OUT in significant numbers across the United States. We had a presence and if you think it wasn’t noticed, remember Obama’s speech election night when he mentioned “gay or straight.” Please note that I understand and support our community being as diverse politically as possible. I am looking at the success of this campaign as a learning opportunity for the LGBT movement in America.

Now with these three lessons in our pockets, let’s look at 2009. This is a year of promise for our community. There are many inside conversations about the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the passage of ENDA (let’s make sure it is all inclusive). California’s marriage equality is now back in front of their Supreme Court for a second round. As I write this I have a small hunch that Proposition 8 will be struck down due to the entire ballot initiative being done incorrectly to the state constitution. And many Equality organizations are spending their time with positive legislation and are gearing up for a year of LGBT wins and successes across this nation.

One other major change in 2009 comes from the grassroots web-organization “Join the Impact.” This is a national movement started via the web. Nothing but a wiki website and the hopes that grassroots organizers would catch on and share their anger and frustrations over California. The “Join the Impact” group reminds me of the #1 and #2 successes of Obama’s campaign. Involving those that traditionally have nothing to do with the LGBT movement and now watching them harness the power of a community coming together and seeing their individual contribution as valid and vital. After speaking at the Prop 8 rallies I know that these newly engaged LGBT people are looking to get involved and this movement needs both the organizational work and the work of the grassroots leaders and followers. I always remember this as I organize the LGBT and allied communities in Ohio, we’re all in this together. Let’s learn from our successes – and failures – as we move toward Equality in 2009. And together is how we can make this country a place where everyone can feel at home!