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 | | IUB's Indiana Memorial Union |
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We launched a membership drive in July, 2011, when we had 1,085 members. As of February 13, 2015, we had 1,869 members for an increase of 784 members, or a 72% increase. We set a goal of 2,000 and remain optimistic that it can be reached in the near future. You're a member if you are receiving this Newsletter, but please encourage those who are not members to sign up. There are no membership dues. You do not need to be a member of the IU Alumni Association or an IU degree-holder. Students are welcome! Our membership roster is confidential, and we're the only IUAA Affiliate that has a monthly e-Newsletter. What a great way to stay abreast of the news and activities of the IU LGBT community. Anyone can join by going to Membership , or contacting me directly. Also, those of you on Facebook, be sure to follow us at https://www.facebook.com/iuglbtaa
Mike Shumate, Past President
[email protected]
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1. Member Notes
IU Maurer School of Law professor and GLBTAA board member Steve Sanders is co-counsel for an amicus curiae (or "friend of the court") brief to the Supreme Court on marriage equality. In an unusual twist, the client for the brief, the Human Rights Campaign, made the brief available on its web site for supporters to electronically sign, and the brief has garnered over 135,000 signatures.
In developing the brief, Sanders was joined by Roberta Kaplan, the attorney who represented Edie Windsor in her successful challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act two years ago, and Dale Carpenter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. The brief argues that state laws banning same-sex marriage violate the Equal Protection Clause because they reflect unconstitutional "animus" toward gays and lesbians.
"In our own scholarship and blogging, Dale and I have both explored in various ways how the legal concept of animus -- that is, the desire to use the law to harm a group without sufficient justification -- contributed to the enactment of anti-same-sex marriage laws in most of the country over a very short period of time," Sanders said.
In related news, Kaplan will speak about the litigation campaign for marriage equality at the Maurer School of Law at noon March 26. The free public event is co-sponsored by the GLBTAA.
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2. Maurer Moot Court Team
| Kasimer (left), Cullum and Hasic |
IU's Maurer School of Law and the Maurer LGBT Alumni Advisory Board co-sponsored a Maurer team recently to participate in the Williams Institute Moot Court Competition at UCLA, the premier national moot court competition on sexual orientation and gender identity. The competition provides an opportunity for law students to write an appellate brief on a current legal topic and to argue the case before a panel of judges. This year's question was whether "sexual orientation" is a form of "sex" discrimination prohibited by Title VII. The competition is designed to promote and recognize the finest oral and written advocacy on a significant problem in sexual orientation and gender identity law. Maurer students, Kevin Casimer, Katie Cullum and Eldin Hasic participated in the competition and beat Stanford and NYU before narrowly losing to the University of Michigan in the semi-finals! They gave Maurer its best showing in the six years we've fielded a team!. You represented IU well, Kevin, Katie and Eldin, and we're very proud!
 | | Celebrating! |
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3. GLBTAA Scholarship Campaign
Please continue to "spread the word" about our ground-breaking Campaign, which will help to endow our GLBTAA Scholarship Program. We awarded eight academic scholarships for the 2015 spring semester. Each recipient will be featured in one of our Newsletters. One is covered in paragraph # 6 below. After reviewing another heart-breaking story, we also awarded emergency funds to an IUB student. Since 2005, we have granted 57 scholarships (44 academic scholarships and 13 emergency scholarships) to IU students. Because of your generous support, we will be able to continue providing scholarships well into the future.
Jedidiah Anderson, an academic scholarship recipient, has commented, "I am so grateful that something like this exists. After my partner and I had been expelled for being gay from the country where I had been offered an academic position and he a job, we landed back in the US without any idea of where we would live or work, or where our income would come from. This scholarship came just in time to tide us over financially until we both secured employment and other sources of funding. Because of it, I am now in the final stages of my dissertation. Beyond the material support provided by IU GLBTAA, the encouragement that they have given and genuine interest they have shown in my project at an extremely difficult time in our lives has been inspiring and motivating. I cannot thank them enough." Jedidiah is near completion of his PhD in Bloomington in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures with minors in Gender and Jewish Studies. His project is a study of LGBTIQ identity and activisms in Lebanon, Iraq and Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Contributions can be made online at Campaign Contributions If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Mike Shumate at [email protected] or 858-922-6105; or IUAA Alumni Relations Officer Clarence Boone at 800-824-3044. Again, heartfelt gratitude to everyone for supporting our Campaign.
THANK YOU, IU alumni, faculty, staff, students, allies and our many friends!
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4. MBLGTACC Conference
 | | Some of the Leaders at 2014 Conference |
Once again, students from IUB and IUPUI traveled to the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference at Illinois State University during the weekend of February 13-15, in Normal, Illinois. Our 39 IU students joined over 2,600 other students from around the nation, making this year's MBLGTACC one of the largest conferences yet. While there, students had the opportunity to attend workshops regarding topics within the LGBT community (including body image, activism, identity, homelessness, leadership, HIV/AIDS, language, etc.) and be immersed - some for the first time - in a group of peers. The GLBTAA is proud to have financially co-sponsored the IU delegation. Our IU students have expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to learn more about the LGBTQ community, as well as themselves, and how they fit in. One IU student commented this year, "From hilarious slam poetry, to informative sessions on how to be an ally to the members of our community we don't personally identify with, to learning how to open up ourselves in new ways, the programming offered at this conference was irreplaceable. Personally, I was able to meet other LGBTQ Jews, a point of intersectionality that I hold extremely sacred. These experiences will make me a more effective campus leader and an overall happier, more positive individual." Welcome back to campus! It's gratifying to know you had a fantastic experience. For more information about the MBLGTACC, please
see: https://saapps.illinoisstate.edu/dos/mblgtacc2015/index.php/main/index
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5. Facebook
The GLBTAA has had a Facebook page for some time now, but some of you may not be aware of it. If you haven't already done so, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/iuglbtaa. "Like" our page and follow our Facebook posts regarding news, updates and information about our events.
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6. Academic Scholarship Recipient
 CONGRATULATIONS are extended to Ethan L. Jackson, one of our 2015 Spring Academic Scholarship recipients! Ethan is a senior pursuing a degree in Legal Studies from the Kelley School of Business, with a minor in Gender Studies, at Bloomington, with aspirations to pursue a Master's in Student Affairs and Higher Education, possibly at Colorado State University. Ethan is a Resident Assistant on campus and has devoted considerable efforts with gender identity initiatives at IUB, particularly with the Transgender Advocacy Group. Ethan attended Camp Pride at Vanderbilt University this past July, which brought together over 120 LGBTQ and ally students from across the nation for student leadership, campus organization techniques, social justice advocacy and diversity education. Ethan reflects "With a master's in SAHE, I hope to work with universities and help them create inclusive policies and services for transgender and gender-nonconforming students. Additionally, I plan on using my education to become an even fiercer advocate for social justice as a whole." We're proud of you, Ethan!
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7. GLBTAA Scholarships
GLBTAA Academic Scholarships Academic Scholarships are awarded to IU students enrolled at any IU campus, who are academically strong, as well as active in promoting diversity, tolerance and social justice. Scholarships are awarded to students based upon academic achievement, career goals, financial need, leadership experience, community service and extracurricular activities. Involvement in activities promoting diversity and raising awareness of GLBT and related issues on the student's campus or in his or her community is carefully reviewed by the Board. The maximum award for an Academic Scholarship is $1,000 per semester. An individual student may not receive more than $2,000. The deadline for the Fall 2015 semester is April 15, 2015.
IU GLBTAA Emergency Scholarships
Emergency Scholarships are awarded to those students who experience the loss of financial support when they make the courageous decision to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to their families. Emergency Scholarships help to ensure that students need not choose between their education at IU and living life openly and honestly. Emergency Scholarships are awarded to students attending any IU campus. The maximum award for an Emergency Scholarship is $1,500 per semester, and a student may not receive more than $3,000.
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8. Membership
Encourage your friends to join the GLBTAA. They can visit our website here and join. There are no membership dues, and you do not have to be a member of the IUAA, or an IU degree-holder. We are approaching 1,600 members nation-wide, and we're growing! We appreciate your continued commitment! It is because of you that the GLBTAA is in existence, continues to grow and continues to serve our important mission on all eight of IU's campuses. If you are a member and wish to continue receiving our e-Newsletters, please make sure we have a current e-mail address for you. You can visit https://alumni.indiana.edu/my-iu/index.html to see if your official record, including your e-mail address, is current. Thank you for your support through your membership. We look forward to serving you now and in the years to come. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Clarence Boone, Alumni Relations Officer, at: [email protected] or Mike Shumate at [email protected] .
If not already a member, please consider joining the IUAA by visiting https://alumni.indiana.edu/membership/index.html, by [email protected] or calling (800) 824-3044. By joining the IUAA, among many other things, you help fund the various GLBTAA programs, along with gaining access to IUAA member-only events.
If you would like to unsubscribe and terminate future communications from the GLBTAA, please respond to: [email protected].
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