LGB1998_1.pdf
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Part of Event Educates, Celebrates Homosexuality
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SPECT
A STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
VOLUME47
MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1998
NUMBER 71
Event Educates,·Celebrates Homosexuality
By ROB GRANT
Spectrum Staff Writer
"Out, Proud and Loud" was the chant
heard throughout the second annual Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Association conference held this weekend. Education and
unity were the aims of the event, which
saw participation from all over the tristate area.
SA Vice President Rob Kubiak kicked
off the event with an opening speech.
"Out, Proud and Loud '98 is special for
many reasons; it is a conference that
opens minds and brings out understanding, awareness and acceptance of the
issues that face many gay, lesbi an and
bisexual individuals in today's society,"
he said.
The events began on Friday night with a
women's comedy trio called Utopia
Roaming. They performed avant-garde
skits to help explain the life and meaning
of lesbian women. The performances
were highly sexually oriented, featuring
large vulva, tongue and breast replicas
imitating sex ual acts. The trio travels
around the state performing for audiences
of all ages.
Jayne Weber, a member of the trio,
explained that when it comes to children,
"we are a little more contemporary .. . we
use simpler ideas like your dreams."
The nex t morning, workshops dealing
lers Denying
olent Felons
Allen Kennessy, a pre-law student at
SUNY Albany, also supports Jenna's Law.
"These kinds of crimes affect more than
just the friends and family of the victim,"
said Kennessy, "they destroy the comfortable and safe feeling that should surround
the university environment; it places a
black cloud over the entire school."
However, according to Anderson, support for Jenna's Law has not been universal. He said that much of the opposition
to Jenna's Law is based on the philosophy
and purpose of parole.
Accordin to Anderson the "o osition
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One of the events of the "Out, Proud and Loud '98" celebration of US's LGBA
was a play in the Student Union this weekend.
with serious issues such as safe sex, gay
adoption, women's writing and art and
"Queers Locked Up" were held. Organizers said that many different types of people were represented at the workshops but
attendance was predominately homosexual.
In the afternoon, the key speaker of the
weekend, Urvashi Vaid, author of "Virtual
Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay &
Lesbian Liberation," spoke about homosexuality. Her talk centered on what gays
have achieved and where they are headed .
" We have not reached Nirvana . . . .
There are only I 0 states that have gay
rights laws ... we have not won the right
to marry in any state," Vaid said.
After a long day of serious discussion ,
people were invited to go to Club Marcella for a drag show. There was a midget
drag queen, Ice in the urinals and men in
drag in the ladies room.
Consuela, a drag queen from RIT, said,
"Its fun and money." He explained that
when in drag, the men are to be treated
like women. "When I'm in the bar and
with customers I want to be called by my
drag name, Honey," said Consuela.
The final morning of the conference
featured more workshops and concluded
with a resentation by hoto ra her Car-
olyn Jones. Jones published a book of
photos called "Living Proof: Courage in
the Face of AIDS," which depicted people
living positively with AIDS.
She told the story of each person in the
photos to help remind people that they can
live with· AIDS. · During her presentation,
some members of the audience shed tears
over the stories and photos.
Bhavana Chawla, organizer of the conference, said, "We want people to come
share, care, smile, be warm and educate, . .
. . we want to raise awareness." She said
the event was not only for gays but for
everyone with a thirst for understanding .
DeeDee Sprague, a freshmen at Syracuse University, came to attend the event
and said it was definitely worthwhile .
"It's been . fantastic, an opportunity to
learn from each other and not just because
you're queer ... a big melting pot of people with one thing in common," he said.
Another Syracuse freshman, Billy
Clarke, criticized only the organization of
the event. "It could have been a tiny bit
better organizea," he said. A few of the
conference evaluations indicated the same
and also harshly criticized the conference,
based on the length of several of the events.
Overall, however, organizers hailed the
event a success.