Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Association

Reaching Out

An e-Newsletter by the IU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Association

Spring!April, 2016
In This Issue
Connect with us!

   

 

 

 

   

   

                                        Spring!
             
 
 
Enjoy the change of seasons and warmer weather and be reminded how grateful the GLBTAA Board remains for your support. Thank you.
 
Mike Shumate, Past President


1. Recent Events
   
Jane Schacter
 
 
 
The IU Bloomington Maurer School of Law last month hosted a lecture by Professor Jane Schacter of Stanford Law School, titled "Obergefell and the Constitutional Canon." Professor Schacter discussed how last summer's Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, compares with other landmark civil rights cases, including Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade. The video of her lecture is available at
The event was sponsored by the Maurer School of Law, the Maurer LGBT Alumni Advisory Board, the American Constitution Society, and OUTlaw. 
 
 
 
 
The first and only undergraduate LGBTQ organization at the Kelley School of Business has gone through a reorganization process this year. Out At Kelley (OAK) was formed in 2008 to serve LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, and their allies who have an interest in business. This past year, OAK has engaged in a range of recruiting, networking, professional development, and social activities. Information about OAK is available on the group's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OutAtKelley/
 
In early March, OAK sponsored "Networking Night" where Nicholas Harris, OAK Event Coordinator, spoke about networking shills, and representatives of five corporations, Ernst and Young, Eli Lilly, Cook Medical, Cummins, and PwC, participated to scout talent and discuss the importance of diversity in the workplace. 
 
More recently, on April 4, OAK organized its first "Ally Appreciation Day", to recognize students, staff and faculty who identify as allies of the LGBTQ community and to help enhance an "inclusive environment" at Kelley and throughout campus. Members staffed a table in Hodge Hall distributing materials, including white t-shirts with the word "ally" prominently displayed in bold, red letters. Posing with signs that read "I'm a proud ally" and "I support inclusion," students and others were encouraged to stop and take a picture to post to social media, expressing their support of the IU LGBTQ community at Kelley and beyond.
Cindy Stone and her Tee 
 
Jason Shader Smith, a junior and OAK member, said he didn't initially feel accepted in the business school at IU. It wasn't until he attended an out-of-state conference that he felt motivated to be his "whole, true self." Jason explained that one of the goals is to bring attention to OAK as a resource for freshmen or students who may be coming out for the first time. "As a top-10 business school in the nation, we need diversity of thought, mind and person," Jason said. "It's one of those things we can do as citizens to make people feel welcome." Hugging and chatting with professors, staff, classmates and supporters as he volunteered at the table, Jason feels, regardless of how many cupcakes or t-shirts were handed out throughout the day, the main goal was to show OAK is proud to be at IU. While social media was an integral part of Ally Appreciation Day, it is hoped that the welcoming message spreads through word of mouth, reaching those outside the members' social media circles. Here is an Indiana Daily Student article covering the event: http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/04/ally-appreciation-day-connects-lgbt-students-faculty 
 
OAK will soon be holding elections for the new school year and assessing this year's objective of re-energizing the organization. Anyone wishing to become involved, including alumni, should feel free to use [email protected]  

2. Did You Know?
 
  
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Austin, Indiana, a small community with approximately 4,200 people, continues to receive national attention for a HIV outbreak. The number of people testing positive has now exceeded 185. A needle exchange program was approved and extended to Scott County in April, 2015, under which more than 10,000 needles have been distributed. Nearly 400 people have signed up for the program. Similar programs are now also available in Fayette, Madison and Monroe Counties under a state framework.
 
Diane Janowicz
IU's School of Medicine recently received a grant to study HIV patients' access to testing and treatment in the current outbreak in Austin. The two-year, $200,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse will be supplemented by funding from the School of Medicine. Partnering with the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the School of Medicine will implement a program called Treatment as Prevention, a program developed by BC-CfE. "The current outbreak in this rural setting in Indiana is a potential canary in the coal mine, if you will," says Dr. Diane Janowicz, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the IU School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. "Such an outbreak may occur again given the epidemic of injection drug use that we're seeing across our country." The IU research is designed to implement strategies and technologies previously shown to be successful in British Columbia and will investigate, track, and curb the spread of HIV in Indiana. Janowicz says they hope to use the knowledge they gain from this assessment when HIV outbreaks occur elsewhere in the United States.
 
Beth Meyerson
Dr. Beth Meyerson, Assistant Professor at IU's School of Public Health - Bloomington and Co-director of IU's Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention (RCAP), has been quoted frequently in the local outbreak coverage. Established in 1994, RCAP is located in the Department of Applied Health Science of the School of Public Health - Bloomington and is the only center in the nation that solely focuses on AIDS/STD prevention in rural communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently drafting rules for applications for possible federal funding. "The devil will be in the details" of the CDC's process to identify priority areas for funding, said Meyerson. "Obviously they're not going to have funding for every county that wants to initiate a syringe exchange locally. And many of these counties are very poor," she said.
 
Positive Link, a program of IU Health Bloomington Hospital Community Health, posts current articles on its Facebook page at:
 


3. IUPUI LGBTQ Center
 
Tristan Vaught
 
 
 
As we have reported on Facebook and in our February Newsletter, IUPUI has established a LGBTQ Center. With regard to the new Center, Chancellor Paydar has commented, "These changes signal our campuswide commitment to create an environment where every student, faculty and staff member feels welcomed and included."
 
IUPUI Vice Chancellor Karen Dace has recently announced that Tristan Vaught is the newly appointed Director of the Center. Previously, Tristan served as the Interim Director of the University of Cincinnati LGBTQ Center. In making the announcement, Vice Chancellor Dace commented, "Tristan brings expertise in strategic planning, budget management and program assessment to this newly-created position and Center." Tristan holds both a B.A. and M.A. in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati and brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom to this new role.
 
Doug Bauder, Director of the GLBT Student Support Services office on the Bloomington campus (which this past year celebrated its 21-year anniversary), states "It was a pleasure to meet (and do a little strategizing) with Tristan over lunch during Spring Break. There are various ways in which we can support each other and collaborate together. Our staff is looking forward to spending a day at IUPUI sometime this summer to continue the conversation. IUPUI is very lucky to have Tristan as part of their diversity team!"
 
Welcome Tristan!  

4. GLBTAA Scholarship Campaign
   
Please continue to "spread the word" about our ground-breaking Campaign, which will help endow our GLBTAA Scholarship Program. We awarded four academic scholarship for the 2016 spring semester. Each recipient will be featured in one of our Newsletters. One is covered in paragraph #5 below. After reviewing another heart-breaking story, we also recently awarded emergency funds to an IU East student. Since 2005, we have granted 68 scholarships (53 academic scholarships and 15 emergency scholarships) to IU students. Because of your generous support, we will be able to continue providing scholarships well into the future.  
     
Shane L. Windmeyer, MS '97, Executive Director and founder of Campus Pride, has commented recently about our Scholarship Program, particularly about our emergency grants: "IU remains one of the best campuses for GLBT support in the country. Crisis assistance funding, for example, is now a new benchmark for the Campus Pride Index, and the GLBTAA emergency scholarship is a great example. IU has definitely raised the bar nationally. I'm proud that IU has been a leader in that. IU has always stood as an institution of higher learning that embraces diversity."
   
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!
5. Academic Scholarship Recipient

Congratulations are extended to Alexander C. Van Gorp, one of our 2016 Spring Academic Scholarship recipients! Alex is finishing his law degree as a third-year student at the IU McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.  Alex earned his BA at Ball State University, studying Japanese, Chinese, and Environmental Policy. He has found the time to be involved in a number of activities while in law school. He was president of the Lambda Law Society at McKinney. Additionally, he has volunteered over one thousand two hundred pro bono hours at the Indiana Civil Rights Commission serving as the Clerk for the Deputy Director and General Counsel; has been active, as the program chair of the Indy Attorneys Network and Seminar Coordinator of the Law Student Division of the Indianapolis Bar Association; and served as Event Director of the Circle City IN Pride Festival.  He presently is the legal extern for the Sagamore Institute.  He also is an HIV/STI Counselor and Tester at the Damien Center in Indianapolis. Following law school, Alex is seeking opportunities in the corporate, as well as public interest and non-profit areas. We're proud of you, Alex!       

 
6. Member Note
Eric Gonzaba

Eric N. Gonzaba, a former GLBTAA intern, was recently selected as the 2016 recipient of the National Council for Public History Student Project Award  for his ongoing project, Wearing Gay History  an online digital archive which explores the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities through t-shirts. In reacting to this honor, Eric commented, "NCPH's recognition of Wearing Gay History is a huge honor. It's a testament to NCPH's mission of supporting historians striving to make history accessible. As Wearing Gay History grows, I hope the site continues to serve as a constant invitation to see the past in new ways."
 
More recently, Eric was elected to a two-year term on the Board of Directors of the Rainbow History Project, which collects and promotes an active knowledge of the history, arts, and culture relevant to sexually diverse communities in metropolitan Washington DC. In its release, the Rainbow History Project gave praise, "Eric is dynamic young scholar whose research closely mirrors and fosters the mission of the RHP to preserve the rich history and culture of the metropolitan DC LGBT community."
 
Eric is currently a doctoral student in American History at George Mason University. He received his BA in History and Political Science from IU Bloomington in 2012 and a MA in History and Women/Gender Studies from George Mason University in 2014. He is currently writing his dissertation on gay nightlife and racial discrimination in 1970s and 1980s Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He formerly served as the editorial assistant for the Indiana Magazine of History, one of the nation's oldest historical journals. 
 
While at IUB, he served as the Outreach Coordinator for the GLBT Office and interned for the GLBTAA. "Indiana University inspired me before, during, and after my time there," Eric explained, "and both the IU GLBT Office and the GLBT Alumni Association are perfect examples of how committed Hoosiers are to making the world a more positive and egalitarian place. I'm so honored to be an IU GLBT alum."  
 
 
7. 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.

 

Like us on Facebook

8. Mark Your Calendars   
  
 
The 12th annual Bloomington AIDS Walk, "Light the Night", is Friday, Aprill 22. Check-in will open at 5:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Positive Link. For more information and reservations, please see http://www.btownaidswalk.org/
 
 
Brian Powell, PhD

Brian Powell, the James H. Rudy Professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, will present a lecture on Monday, April 18 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the IU Cinema in Bloomington. The reactions to RFRA and the Supreme Court landmark same-sex marriage case reflect a turnaround in American public opinion that is "one of the most striking changes in public opinion social scientists have ever witnessed," said Dr. Powell. This striking change, and the future directions of public opinion, are the topics of the 2016 Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture, "Public Opinion after Obergefell: What Americans Believe about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Marriage Equality, and Same-Sex Parenting."
 
"Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, many questions remain about Americans' views and beliefs," Dr. Powell said. "Do Americans count same-sex couples as a 'family'? What do Americans believe about same-sex parenting? Do Americans believe businesses should have the right to refuse services to same-sex couples? Is the unprecedented change in American views on same-sex marriage a sign of how public opinion on other social issues will change in the future? I plan to answer these and other questions during the lecture."
 


 
 
We hope to see all IU Bloomington students graduating this spring who identify as LGBTQ, or allies of our community, at the annual Rainbow Reception on Thursday, April 28 from 5:00 t0 7:00 p.m. at the GLBT Office in Bloomington. There is no cost for the reception. And, don't forget to pick up your rainbow tassels! Please RSVP at [email protected] 
  
 


IUPUI is also having its annual Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ graduates (for December 2015 and May 2016) on Thursday, April 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Lilly Auditorium. Attendees should RSVP at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PZC9YP2

 
 
The tenth annual Spencer Pride Festival, "Decade of Diversity," will be held on Saturday, June 4 starting at 10:00 a.m. The GLBTAA is proud to have a booth for the first time this year to welcome all who wish to share in the celebration of this wonderful festival known as "the largest rural LGBTQI gathering in the state." We, of course, will be reminding everyone that IU was named once again to the top 25 LGBT-friendly universities in the nation! Hope to see you in Spencer!. For more information, please see



The Circle City IN Pride Parade will be held on Saturday, June 11, starting at 10:00 a.m. The entire preceding week is full of fun events. For more information, please see http://www.circlecityinpride.org/ccinp-week-2016-announced/
9. 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 2016 semester is April 15, 2016.

  

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.
  
You can learn more about the GLBTAA Scholarship Program and apply online at: http://alumni.indiana.edu/affiliates/glbt/supporting-community/scholarships.html

 

10. 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].



Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Association | DeVault Alumni Center | 1000 East 17th Street | Bloomington | IN | 47408