Annual appeal assists gay and lesbian students
By CAITLIN EARLY
News Writer
Each year, GALA-ND/SMC (Gay and Lesbian Alumni/ae of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College) sponsors a fundraising campaign to support gay and lesbian student groups on both campuses. OUTReachND and the Feminist Collective are groups that benefit from the fundraiser.
The funds from GALA's Annual Appeal support a variety of different student activities, including the organization of forums and speakers. Each year GALA also presents an undergraduate student with a scholarship to recognize his or her work within one of these groups.
GALA is a strong supporter of OUTReachND's struggle to gain recognition by the Notre Dame administration.
"OUTReachND is not choosing to apply for formal recognition on campus this year because we feel, as a group, that our members need us to focus on our support group rather than dwelling on our club's status," said Jeffrey Thomson, OUTReachND co-chair.
GALA has also been successful in placing a number of gay and lesbian student leaders at Notre Dame and Saint Mary's into summer internships with national gay and lesbian organizations and HIV/AIDS organizations.
In a recent letter to GALA members, Kevin Heffernan, chair of the group, wrote, "Our ongoing commitment to supporting the current GLBT students both spiritually and financially — one of the principal components of our mission — has proven key in substantially altering the culture in which current students address questions surrounding their sexuality."
GALA began in the fall of 1993 with the intent to "help educate the academic community about sexual orientation issues and promote solidarity among gay, lesbian and bisexual graduates from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's." The Directors of GALA were former board members of OUTReachND. GALA has since expanded into an organization of more than 750 members.
"GALA is our parent organization, which is responsible for 95 percent of OUTReachND's funding," said Jeffrey Thomson. "The funding we receive from GALA enables us to hold events such as our annual end of the year formal."
While the environment at Notre Dame is, at times, considered "less than supportive" for gay and lesbian students, the University has instituted a number of programs to address the needs of gay and lesbian students in the Notre Dame community.
In the fall of 1996, the University started the Standing Committee for Gay and Lesbian Student Needs to "identify ongoing needs of gay and lesbian students and to assist in the implementation of a campus-wide educational program on gay and lesbian issues."
The committee currently consists of six students, five of which are seniors, and three faculty members, including Sister Mary Gude, Sister Susan Dunn and Father Richard Warner.
"The committee was started in response to the concerns of gay and lesbian students on campus who felt that their needs were not being met by the administration," said Gude, assistant to the vice president of Student Affairs.
The committee is responsible for a campus-wide educational program, CommUnity, in which student members of the committee talk with first year students about issues facing gays and lesbians at Notre Dame. This year the group had the opportunity to present to 10 residence halls.
The Committee was also instrumental in bringing Judy Shephard, the mother of Matthew Shepherd, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in 1998, to speak on campus in the fall of 2001.
Campus Ministry, under the direction of Father J. Steele, offers a number of support services for gay and lesbian students. In the spring of 1995, Campus Ministry started a pastoral initiative for homosexual students.
Campus Ministry sponsors prayer groups, counseling, retreats and Coffee Houses, which give students a chance to speak openly about their sexuality with other members of the Notre Dame community.
Both Campus Ministry and the Standing Committee for Gay and Lesbian Student Needs worked in cooperation this past October to create the prayer cards with rainbow ribbons to celebrate Solidarity Sunday.
"Our single biggest priority this spring will be to attract new members," said Gude, in reference to the five senior members that the committee will look to replace in the fall semester of 2003. "The students are bright, good individuals and are at the heart of this committee."
While there is some overlap between the members of OUTReachND and the Standing Committee for Gay and Lesbian Student Needs, the groups have not yet had the opportunity to sponsor a campus-wide activity together.
When asked about the changes Jeff Thomson, co-chair of OUTReachND, has observed over the past few years at Notre Dame, he said, "It is reassuring that students are becoming more comfortable within their peer groups and dorm friends to share their homosexuality. OUTReachND is no longer the sole support system on campus; it is the bridge between the gay and lesbian students and the rest of the Notre Dame community."
All News Stories for Friday, January 31, 2003
