Lesbian And Gay History On Exhibit In The HUB

10-7-97
University Park, Pa. -- "Lesbian and Gay Issues at Penn State, 1971-1996: 25 Years of Progress" is on exhibit through Oct. 21 in the HUB Research Area. The exhibit was created by the Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity and University Archives.

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, the exhibit tells the story of how events during the last 25 years influenced the University--changing it from a homophobic climate into one that today is supportive of its gay, lesbian, and bisexual faculty, staff, and students.

In honor of the opening of the LGB History Exhibit, the Commission on LGB Equity is sponsoring a short program, "PSQ: Activism Then and Now," followed by a reception at 7 p.m. today, Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the HUB Gallery Lounge.

The featured speaker will be John Bell, who will talk about his observations on the changes in Penn State's LGB community and LGB activism through the years. Bell is a former co-director of the Lesbian Gay Student Alliance and chair of the Education Committee of the CLGBE. He currently serves as a volunteer for the Education Committee and is employed by the Office of Continuing and Distance Education. The talk and reception are open to the public.

Other LBG events this month are:

-- Oct. 9: Felicity Hill, Australian activist, will speak on "How to Be an Activist," sponsored by Coalition of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Graduate Students, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Student Alliance, ALLIES, and Womyn's Concerns at 7 p.m., HUB Assembly Room.

-- Oct. 10: National Coming Out Day Rally sponsored by LGBSA, Coalition of LGB Graduate Students, Allies at noon on the Schwab Auditorium Steps. National Coming Out Day is nationally celebrated to mark a day when lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons can make a decision to lead more open lives in terms of their sexual orientation, and to celebrate non-gays who show support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people who are "out of the closet." Oct. 10 commemorates the 1987 March on Washington, which was a turning point for securing rights for LGB in the community.

-- Oct. 11: National Coming Out Day Dance, sponsored by LGBSA and East Halls begins at 10 p.m. in the Mars Room at East Halls. Contact LGBSA at 865-3327.

-- Oct. 12: Affirmation Service, sponsored by VISION and United Campus Ministries at 8 p.m. in Eisenhower Chapel. The speaker is Candace Schultis, MCC Washington, D.C. Contact Karl Synan at United Campus Ministry at 865-7627 for more information:

Oct. 16 -- LGB Speaker Series presents Harriet Malinowitz, associate professor of English and director of Women's Studies at Long Island University, Brooklyn, who will speak on "Disrupting Reality as We Know It: Liberal 'Rights' Discourse and Queer Pedagogy" at 5 p.m., in the Cultural Lounge of Waring Commons in West Halls.

Malinowitz is the author of the book "Textual Orientations: Lesbian and Gay Students and the Making of Discourse Communities" (Heinemann, 1995) as well as a number of articles on the relationships among sexuality, gender, rhetoric, writing, and pedagogy. Also a playwright, and fiction and comedy writer, Malinowitz's 1989 play "Minus One" was recently published in "Intimate Acts: Eight Contemporary Lesbian Plays" (Brito & Lair). She is also the chief writer of lesbian standup comic Sara Cytron.

-- Oct. 16: LGBT Alumni Career Panel, "Out in the Workplace," is sponsored by Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Equity, Career Development and Placement Office, and LAMBDA Alumni and will begin with a reception at 7 p.m. The panel discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Career Development and Placement Center, 413 Boucke.

Alumni from around the country and in several professions will talk about the climate for LGBT employees, including employee resource groups and sexual orientation talk about being out at work and at Penn State, and answer questions from the audience. For more information contact Ellen Houser at 865-2377.

-- Oct. 17 Harriet Malinowitz on "Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Issues in the Classroom," sponsored by CLGBE, 10 a.m. in 101 Kern . She will discuss integrating material concerning gays and lesbians into courses.

-- Oct. 18: A semi-formal Homecoming Dance, sponsored by LGBSA, begins at 10 p.m. in the Nittany Lion Inn, Colonial Room. The cost is $10 per ticket prior to the 18th and $12 at the door. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the LGBSA office in 310 HUB.

For more information about the LGB community at Penn State, go to the Commission on Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Equity Home Page at http://blue.ue.psu.edu/psu/ee/lgb/ and the Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Student Alliance at http://trantor.cse.psu.edu/~mccann/lgbsa/ on the Web.

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