12
(ANNIVERSARY from page 1)
others drew up the bylaws and filled out
the appropriate forms, obtained three
advisors (Seymour Halleck, Barry Nakell,
and Betty Cogswell), and submitted all
this material to the Office of Campus
Life. Much to our surprise, the group was
recognized by the administration without
hassles—just the usual bureaucratic slow
ness. (I think the administration saw us
coming a long way off and knew that such a
group was inevitable.)
That fall we put up posters on campus
about the first CGA meeting. They were
like frat rush posters but had a lambda
across the top and bottom and read "Rush
to the first Carolina Gay Association
meeting in the Craige Green Room on...."
Mike G. served as the first president,
and I believe that Gary G. was the first
treasurer. Meetings were held on the
first Monday of the month in Craige.
Consciousnness raising groups met each
Tuesday evening at the Lutheran Student
Center. One group I lead included such
notables as Bill 0*N., Mike 0., Tom C.,
"Wolf," and Howard F. The other group was
led by David H., who was a graduate
student in clinical psychology, and
included Ken H. and others.
Through the good graces of Dean F. and
Kevin G., who were resident managers of
the Lutheran Student Center) and the
Lutheran campus minister, the center was
also used for coffeehouses on some Friday
evenings. One of the early ones had live
entertainment with Mike 0. singing country
and western songs, including "A Boy Named
Sue," and Steve L. and myself doing a
reading from "Boys in the Band." We also
listened to Teressa Trull singing songs
from the then popular repetoire and some
of her own works.
Mark H. and Steve G. came on the scene
about this time and almost immediately
formed the Social Action Committee. Mark
had been involved in the Gay Youth of New
York before coming to Carolina as a
graduate student in English.
In the fall of 1975 after Tom C. and
another man were asked to leave the He*s
Not Here bar for dancing together, the
Social Action Committee staged a modestly
successful informational picket there that
continued until the weather just got too
cold for standing on the sidewalk and
passing out leaflets.
-Dan Leonard
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(continued from page 11)
Whatever my misgivings about Sen.
Helms—and I have some—I have far more
about turning the Senate back over to the
liberal Democrats and the failed policies
they represent. 1 will vote for Sen.
Helms as much to keep the Senate in Repub
lican hands as for the Senator.
1 realize that my conviction puts me
between a rock and a hard place. 1 get
flak from the gay community for being an
outspoken conservative and making known my
contempt for Democratic policy, and
clearly many North Carolina Republicans
will be ill at ease with gays and les
bians, however conservative, in their
midst, especially the new rightists who
seek to transfer homophobia into legisla
tion. But both camps fail to realize that
a large number and perhaps a majority of
gay men and lesbians believe in tradi
tional notions of family. Even though it
is an option unavailable to the 10% of the
population who is gay, it is a value to be
achieved for it is a good part of the
•WHAT THE HOMOPHOBES FAIL TO UNDERSTAND IS
THAT GAYS AND LESBIANS POSE NO THREAT TO
THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY ..."
basis for the health of American society.
Gay conservatives don't wish to mimic
straight society, yet we also realize that
radical change brings unwanted conse
quences. What the homophobes of all
political persuasions fail to understand
is that gays and lesbians pose no threat
to the traditional family and those who
are productive members of society deserve
to be treated as such.
If my sole interest was in seeing the
passage of federal gay rights legislation,
then perhaps 1 would consider being a gay
Democrat. There are other issues, though,
critical to the survival of the country
and requiring solutions that the liberal
Democrats are unable or unwilling to
provide. 1 shall thus proudly remain a
conservative Republican who happens to be
gay-
-B.T.
1