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Volume 12, Number 4
April/May 1986
Carolina Gay And Lesbian Association Newsletter
©
A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.
— Lesbian proverb
Exorcizing “Isms
5 ?
The most exciting part of Lesbian & Gay
Awareness Week for me was the Thursday
lunchtime workshop "Blacks and Gays;
Breaking Down Barriers." Gwyn Jones and
Robert Reid-Pharr represented the Triangle
Coalition of Black Lesbians & Gays and
CGLA, while Sibby Anderson and Eric Walker
represented the Black Student Movement.
About 35 of us, Black, white, lesbian,
straight, gay, and otherwise listened to
these four people stress the importance of
standing together, listening to each other
and gaining strength against a racist,
sexist, homophobic world.
Racism, sexism, and homophobia don’t
just exist within the heterosexual commun
ity. They exist within the gay and les
bian community, our community. Some
people, as Robert Reid-Ph'arr said in his
presentation, question the existence of a
cohesive gay and lesbian community. While
I do believe there is such a thing as a
gay and lesbian community, I have become
more and more aware of the destructive
(i.e., anti-community) attitudes of many
gay men and lesbians. Because we are an
oppressed minority we should have compas-
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sion for others who share our problems
Unfortunately this is not always the
case.
RACISM
How true is the "separate and unequal'
adage in the gay/lesbian community. Can
we all say that segregation does not
exist? Can we all claim to have never
(see BARRIERS on page 4)
CGLA'Budget Hearings Show Homophobia Alive and Well
As in past years, the UNC-CH Student
Congress slashed the proposed CGLA budget
for the 1986-87 academic year.
During all-day budget hearings on
Saturday, April 19, various representa
tives proposed defunding the CGLA
entirely, even though the Finance Com
mittee had recommended an appropriation of
$1,697. After more than three hours of
debate, the Congress voted 11-9 with one
abstention to allocate $905 from Student
Activities Fees to the CGLA.
During the debate, Jim Wooten, repre
senting District 19, presented a defunding
motion, citing lack of student support and
what he saw as the CGLA’s antagonistic
attitude.
Other representatives supported
Wooten's motion, citing a poll taken by
Rob Friedman, Jody Beasley, and Lori
Taylor, all of District 16, showing that
68% of their constituents favored defund
ing the CGLA.
Student Body President Bryan Hassel
said citing student opinion did not hide
the real motivitation for the defunding
motion, which he said was moral
opposition.
Drawing a parallel between opposition
to gay rights and opposition to the Black
civil rights struggle, Hassel said, "The
mission of Student Government is to serve
the best interests of students, but that
doesn't necessarily mean what students
think is right."
But Kari Trumbull (District 17) said
student opinion could not be dismissed and
that student government should not be
funding a personal preference group.
Brad Torgan of District 4 said the CGLA
was needed to help gays deal with the
hostility they encounter.
Student body treasurer John Williams
said CGLA had been fiscally responsible.
And he and Torgan said CGLA could not be
expected to raise a larger percentage of
its budget than it did in '85-86. Torgan
suggested a compromise funding level of
$1,120, but this was rejected.
CGLA chair, Jim Duley, said the final
allocation of $905 was "totally unaccept
able," especially after the CGLA had been
so fiscally responsible and the Student
Congress was working with a surplus.
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