Page 2
October 2000
Why the Lambda?
The origins of the Greek letter growp| of the gay rights
/flmbfia'suseasasymbolforthegay moyefehtror^ the fact that the
community are a bit unclear. We GLBTcommurdty is on a "different
know for certain that lambda was wavelength" from the rest of the
adopted by the New York Gay Ac- world. Perhaps most amusing
tivists Alliance in 1970 to represent suggestion for lambda^s origins is
the growing gay liberation move- presented in /||t0;jbiook "Out for
ment. Four years later, the lambda Good;" the book claims that a
gained international popularity graphic desi^er thought that the
when the International Gay Rights lambda looked ?like a .person kick-
Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland ing through a door, and thought
adopted it to symbolize their that image was a fit metaphor for
cause. According to the "Flags of the struggle of the entire gay com-
the World" website, varying theo- munity.to come out of the closet. ^
ries exist as to why lambda, specifi- NoW/ the real’question; why our
cally, became the chosen symbol. maga;^e. Lambda? ^
Some suggest that because lambda
is the Greek version of our letter
"L", it can stand for "liberation";
some point out that in physics
lambda symbolizes both energy and
That question's a little bit easier
to answer. In the words of two of
our editors:
"UNC's queer community is in
dire need of an outlet for expres-
wavelength, so it characterizes the sion. We need to be able to express
ourselves so that other people can
understand who we really are and
how the world around us affects
us." — Anonymous
"The reason that we decided to
bring back Lambda after two years
of non-circulation is because it is a
good outlet for queer students.
Also, Lambda can help to unite
GLBT and allies in order to create a
stronger community." —Jesse
Davidson
We couldn't think of a better way
to celebrate the first National Com
ing Out Day of the new millennium
than by bringing back UNC's only
GLBTA magazine. So whether
you're in, out, in-between or allied,
we present you today with our new
and improved Lambda.
It's good to be out —and it's
good to be back.
C^Vf>U5 )
Yeahf we do lots of service*
But did you know we also...
• Plan Race Relations Week and Human Rights Week?
• Raise awareness about the criminal-justice system?
• Promote healthy body images for women, and lots more!
.. .in addition to providing the physical resources that other
campus groups, like Lambda, need to make their voice heard.
Interested in learning more? Stop by the Campus Y anytime.
We’ve ool our hands full* ¥fhy aren’t you here?
http://camDus-v.unc.edu/
962-2333