lAMBDA
Volume 14, Number 2
December 1987
Carolina Gay And Lesbian Association Newsletter
o
©MOFHOBIA ©M T]
mAMFAQ
Every now and again, the campus
has an acute outbreak of blatant
homophobia. We're right now in the
midst of an epidemic.
Past examples include attacks
with baseball bats, thefts of CGLA
banners, and hours of anti-gay pit
preaching. But never before have
the homophobes organized so
strongly to breed hatred against
lesbians and gay men.
What I'm speaking about, of
course, is the petition that reac
tionary Student Congress members
H.F. Watts and David McNeill have
circulated and will submit to the
Student Body President for inclu
sion as a referendum in spring
elections.
This referendum will ask stu
dents to vote on what they think
about the CGLA receiving student
fees. The petition campaign is now
over and the required 10% of
student signatures were collected;
the campaign was, however, marked
by false assumptions and outright
lies. A CGLA member who went to
inquire about the petition at a
table in the Pit was told that
Student Fees were only being used
by the CGLA for social events, like
the annual Halloween Party.
Unlike Watts and McNeill, I was
on the Finance Committee of
Student Congress which approved
CGLA's 1987-88 budget. In fact,
the party in question raised $138
for CGLA programming.
For the record, here are some
facts about CGLA funding:
--1. CGLA raises more than half of
its annual budget of $4400, a
higher percentage than most student
organizations.
--2. About a third of the budget
falls into each of the following
proj ects:
a. LAMBDA, CGLA's newsletter,
which generates most of its own
expense through paid advertise
ments .
b. Lesbian and Gay Awareness
Week, an annual week of programs,
speakers,and cultural events, which
last year had events co-sponsored
by the Carolina Union, the Depart
ment of Anthropology, and the
Carolina Indian Circle.
c. Administrative Expenses,
such as the telephone bill, print
ing & publicity, and the outreach
program.
The Carolina Gay and Lesbian
Association is not a social organ-
ization--any more or less than any
other student organization. Our
several annual parties are used as
fundraisers, and any money spent
on them is recovered with dona
tions. Many organizations have
social events for this purpose (or
simply to have fun). A good
example is BSM's annual Membership
Jam, used to generate members and
dues.
What the CGLA ^ is a support.
(see HOMOPHOBIA page 4)
/i£lMS AT IT AGAIN
The U.S. Senate on October 14
passed an amendment banning the use
of federal funds for materials and
projects in AIDS education that
might "promote or encourage,
directly or indirectly, homosexual
sexual activity." The amendment
was introduced by Sen. Jesse Helms
(R-NC) to the 126 billion dollar
Labor, Health and Human Services
and Education bill, which allocates
close to one billion dollars for
AIDS research and education efforts
in Fiscal Year 1988.
The Helms amendment was passed
overwhelmingly by a 94-2 vote, with
negative votes cast only by Sen.
Lowell Weicker (R-CT) and Sen.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).
All other Senate suppporters of the
federal gay/lesbian civil rights
bill voted in favor of the Helms
amendment, including Sen Edward
Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. Daniel Inouye
(D-HI), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA),and
Sen Alan Cranston (D-CA).
"This amendment's passage, and
especially its support by some of
our friends in the Senate is
intolerable," said Jeffrey Levi,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTF) Executive Director. "Three
days after a March for lesbian and
gay rights which drew over 500,000
lesbian and gay Americans, the
Senate has passed a bill that is
(see HELMS page 3)
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