OUTreach applies for recognition, acceptance doubtful
TIM LOGAN
News Writer
OUTreachND, the unofficial coalition of gay and lesbian students, has applied for official recognition from the University, but both leaders and administrators say the club's chances for approval are very slim.
"I don't think we'll be accepted," said OUTreach co-president Jeremy Bauer.
The group was discouraged from applying by Joe Cassidy, director of Student Activities, but filed its papers last week anyway. Cassidy will make the decision about recognition, and, at a meeting earlier this month, he told OUTreach's leaders their prospects were not good. He still feels that way, he said Friday.
This marks the fourth time that a gay and lesbian student group has applied for official recognition. Each previous time, the application was denied.
"I don't anticipate the outcome is going to be any different," Cassidy said. "I'm not saying they can't apply, but I wanted to be up front about it, saying it is [their] call."
Recognized clubs are eligible for funds from Student Activities and can hold office space in the Club Resource Center in LaFortune Student Center. They also are allowed to post signs on campus and can recruit members at the annual Activities Fair.
"We'd like to be a legitimate organization in the eyes of the school," Bauer said. "It'd make things a lot easier."
OUTreach grew out of Gays and Lesbians of Notre Dame/Saint Mary's (GLND/SMC) in 1998, when the group's leaders decided to change their focus from campaigning for wider gay rights on campus to providing a community for homosexual and questioning students. GLND/SMC had applied for recognition three times, most recently in April, 1996. The group was denied all three times by University administrators who said its beliefs were not in agreement with Church teachings.
But the leaders of OUTreach say their group is not GLND/SMC, and should be judged differently.
"It's less about activism and more about support and creating a community," Bauer said.
But regardless of what OUTreach is about, the chances that the current Notre Dame administration will recognize a gay and lesbian student group are minimal, according to Cassidy.
"While their stance may have changed, I'm not seeing that the University's stance has changed on having a recognized organization for gay and lesbian students," he said.
He said Notre Dame feels that it can better serve the needs of those students through existing programs run by Campus Ministry, the University Counseling Center and the Office of Student Affairs.
The University's efforts to reach out to gay and lesbian students have especially increased since 1996, the most recent time GLND/SMC applied for recognition, Cassidy said. Since then, Notre Dame has created a Standing Committee on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs and several support groups, and adopted the Spirit of Inclusion statement. But in the last three years, the administration has twice decided not to add sexual orientation to the University's non-discrimination clause and has seen two tenured faculty members resign over the University's stance towards homosexuals.
Bauer disputes the notion that University-sanctioned programs are sufficient when it comes to supporting gays and lesbians, however.
"I don't think they serve the needs," he said saying that OUTreach connects with students better. "None of the groups provide gay and lesbian role models."
Bauer and OUTreach co-president Anne Geggie will meet with Cassidy this week to discuss services for gay and lesbian students. They say their group will continue to help homosexual and bisexual students even if its bid for Student Activities approval fails.
"We're probably not going to get recognition, but there are other things we can do to help gay and lesbian students."
Approximately 35 students attend OUTreach meetings regularly, Bauer said, with more than 150 on the club's mailing list.
All News Stories for Tuesday, March 28, 2000
