the Lambda Newsletter
National Coming Out Day Edition
Tuesday, October 11, 1994
Official Pviblication of B-GLAD
Editor: Sara Dunegan
B-GLAD's National Coming Out Day Schedule
lOiOOain music in the Pit
11:00am open mike/coming out stories
11:30am 1st speaker
11:45am 2nd speaker
12:00pm Derek Livingston of NC Pride Pac
1:00pm "Coming Out: An Act of Love'
9:30pm semi-formal $6 BGLAD non-members
Tips for Coming Out
A Wear an openly Gay symbol or button
A Fly a Rainbow Flag outside your home
A Take a straight friend to a LesBiGay event
A Put your lover's photo on your desk at work
A Call "him' a "him' and "her' a "her'
A Hold hands with your partner publicly
A Come out to your family
A Come out to your neighbors and co-workers
A Organize a march or discussion group on
LesBiGay rights
Stonewall 25; Our Story
by Michelle Plexico and Leah Shutt
UNC students were finishing their summer
school finals the day the four of us piled
into Michelle's Nissan on our way to Stonewall
25. There we were, rolling merrily down the
highway when we hit a large piece of metal in
the middle of the road in Virginia. Several
hours later we found ourselves in a Holiday
Inn in a huge rainstorm with no power and no
car. Wo did, however, have an indoor pool with
large rainbow streamers overhead - a sign from
above that wo should continue on our journey.
In the morning, word about the car was not
good, and so wo found ourselves in a rental
car, on our way again with the B-GLAD rainbow
flag across the back window.
We made it to Now York, and after a night
of clubbing, hit Christopher Street and
waterfront area for a day of people-watching
and money spending on gay lemonade, dyke
delectables, and other obviously necessary
paraphernalia. Michelle left for the Dyke
March,, where she exuberantly marched the
unblocked streets of Now York with thousands
of empowered topless lesbians. That evening wo
went for a walk on the pier whore wo saw the
Empire State Building lit up in lavender.
We got up early the next morning to get a
good place to see the Mile Long Rainbow Flag.
Then we went to begin what would bo a four-
hour wait before step-off. Finally, it was our
turn to join the huge crowd of people
marching, which lasted several hours. Patrick
and Michelle made up the best cheer: "C-A-R-0
LINA, We're Gay!' It was powerful, awe
inspiring, and simply indescribable to be with
so many gay people. The most touching moment
occurred at 3:00 when 1.2 million people
became hauntingly silent in memory of all the
people who have been lost to AIDS and hate
crimes. Then, at 3:02 there was a moment of
rage, and we all screamed at the top of our
lungs to express our anger at a homophobic
society.
The march ended at Central Park with a
rally which included: Liza Minnelli, RuPaul,
Judith Light, Carol Channing, Harvey
Firestein, Howard Kushner and Armistead
Maupin.
While waiting for Michelle's car to bo
fixed, four very tired and very
activists spent throe hours at a Denny's whore
the waitress treated us "like kings and
queens'. We finally arrived back exhausted to
Chapel Hill minus one cooler, an oil $500
and some major explaining to
parents. . .
do to Michelle's
Alumni Establish Scholarship
a public announcement
During the spring of 1994, the UNC-CH Gay
and Lesbian Alumni Association in Charlotte,
NC decided to establish a scholarship. Plans
were made to hold the Stonewall Tea Dance at
Mythos on Sunday, Juno 26th. This was a
success, and a profit of about $900 was made
that day.
Contact was made with the Development
Office of the University at Chapel Hill,
asking for a representative to discuss the
possibilities of this scholarship being
established. During May, Ms. Sonya Bruton,
Major Gifts Officer, came to Charlotte for a
meeting with one of the members. Later, in a
letter from Ms. Bruton it was learned that two
GJcL scholarships, or fellowships, were already
in place at Chapel Hill, one in the Law School
and the other in the School of Journalism.
Both of these are funded scholarships awarded
on academic achievement rather than need with
the recipients selected by the departments and
not the financial needs officer of the
university. This scholarship would be awarded
on a basis of need. The new scholarship will
also be available for the students regardless
of their geographical location, whether they
are North Carolina residents or not.
In a letter from Ms. Bruton dated June 13,
1994, she outlined the steps to be taken in
establishing The Pine Tree Scholarship Fund,
one for gay and lesbian students. First, there
must be $20,000.00 pledged towards the
establishment of the scholarship. Second,
there must be $20,000.00 received by the
University to make it a reality and a working
one. In addition to the $900 earned on June
26th, an individual who wishes to remain
anonymous has agreed to pledge $10,000.00
towards the scholarship. The balance of
$9,100.00 will be solicited. The UNC-CH Gay &
Lesbian Alumni Association will be the
official sponsor of the scholarship.
One Man's Tirade
. by Kirk Royal
When I decided I wanted to write a piece
for The Lambda. I really had no idea what I
would talk about. I mean, there's not really
that much that hasn't already been said at one
time or another. But after the last issue of
The Carolina Review came out (pardon the
expression) and after all the (profanity] that
our friend Reverend Gary Webb decided he'd
pull [sic] during the Carrboro domestic
partners debate, I realized that anything
that's already been said obviously hasn't been
said enough.
Let me just start with Rev. Webb's claim
that the vast majority of homosexuals ingest
feces during sexual acts. I personally do not
know a soul who has ever even considered this
act, much less performed it. I'm sure there
are a few people out there who do indeed get