Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / Feb. 18, 1998, edition 1 / Page 3
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Februflrg 18,. 1998 3. Alum speaks on homosexuality and the law by Siizyn Smith On Saturday, February 7, Alumni Association President Lindsay Thompson, gave a talk on “The Law and How it Ap plies to Gays and Lesbians,” in Granville Main Lounge. The talk drew several dozen people. It was sponsored by Family and Friends, St. Andrews’ gay- straight allaince. He began by reading a lengthy passage from Martin Duberman’s memoir, Cwrei. The selection focused on Duberman’s visit to St. An drews a few months after he’d come out, and the warm wel come he received, a welcome in cluding a beer bash and an at tempted seduction. “Coming out just in itself is a political act,” Thompson, a Seattle-based attorney, said. His talk focused on the premise that gay couples could do anything that married couples could do, only with more trouble. “Marriage is the lynchpin of social organiza tion,” Thompson said, “Thou sands of benefits flow from it.” Thompson explained that bequesting jointly owned prop erty to a partner was a simple matter for married straight couples but rather complicated for gay couples. He described how in Ha waii the legislature was trying to put together a “marraige light” program where one could declare someone else one’s life partner and reap all the benefits of marraige. Unfortunately, there were so many benefits to marriage and they were so delicately en twined into everything from the tax code to the rules governing who can be forced to testify in criminal proceedings, that the task has proved nearly impos sible. “The unintended conse quences of the law fall like domi noes through life. Nobody ever thinks it through,” Thompson said. Thompson expects to see the number of gay and lesbian couples trying to acquire the benefits of marraige for them selves and their partners in crease. “From a lawyer’s stand point, it’s a wonderful oppourtunity.” Thompson said. Although Thompson was officially the speaker at a meet ing of Family and Friends, many people who don’t normally at tend matings of Family and Friends came to hear him. Brunnenburgers had a blast in Don Tirol (Continued from front page) Sizzo and Brigitte were the next two people I met. Sizzo was one of our professors, and he is as brilliant as his mother, Mary. Sizzo seemed aloof, at first. It was only on one of'our dlass trips that we got to know another side of Sizzo. We were on our way back from Vischgau when we got stuck in a bus strike. Sizzo then made a few calls and arranged a private bus to pick us up. We had a few hours to kill until then, so Sizzo suggested we have dinner. We found a really cozy little restaurant and talked. Sizzo told us about his college experiences and shared a lot of Tirolian jokes with us. It was great. We weren’t even upset about the strike after that. Brigitte, Sizzo’s wife, was everyone’s idol. We, as in the girls, wanted to be just like her. She is beauti ful, charming, sweet and a great cook. Don't forget! The sticker campaign continues through^4;^^\ March 8 She is a good hiker and climber, and she dressed to perfection. She would go out of her way for us. At the end of the trip, she even made us a Thanksgiving Din ner. She made us feel so welcome. Niki and Miki, Sizzo and Brfgitte'’s children, were like our kid brothers. Niki was ten and Miki was fifteen. Niki was the naughty one, always up to some thing or other. Miki was very quiet. Dur ing our stay, he barely said two words to me, except on the last day, when I learned he had a very practical outlook on life. All of us were feeling sad about leaving, but he told us it was an end to just one circle in life. That is true. Until Italy, I had not met a single person who could come close to my mother’s culinary skills. Graziella’s food was out of this world. Lunchtime was such a revered event for the group. Then there were Radu and Mirela. They were from Romania and helped out in the fields and around the castle. They were so sweet, but it was hard to have a conversation with them. They hardly spoke any English, and my Italian was non-existent, but we managed somehow. Lastly, there was Zep. He was the gatekeeper of the Brunnenburg museum. He did not speak any English either, ex cept one word we understood, which was “Hallo.” That was the only word we ever exchanged. The rest was all ac tion. It was funny, but he was a nice old man. That was the family; now let us talk about home. We lived in the croft, a farmhouse. It was a hop, skip and jump from the castle doors. It was tiny, and all the doors were built for people as short as me. The walls were so thin, everyone knew what was going on at eVeiy nibiifeh'f of the'day’. Tfiefe \^er^ no secrets. We were like one big happy family. At times, we wanted to kill each other, and other times, we were so glad there were twelve other shoulders to lean on. We got really close and found friends for life. We went to places like Florence and Venice. Together we saw some of the world’s most beautifiil sights. That ex perience was unreal. By now you must have a feel for the place. Now let us talk about our schedule. We had classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday was our day of work. We would spend this action-packed day weeding with a sickle or working around the castle. It was tiring and we grumbled a lot, but that was the day everyone really bonded. It was because we had to en gage in a lot of teamwork in our chores and had to depend on each other. We had three-day weekends, ev ery student’s dream. That was mainly to give us a chance to travel and experi ence the country. Sunday afternoon was a very special time for the group, as we spent it with Mary. We had tea with her, and sometimes Miki or Niki would join us. It was a time when we indulged in rich pastries and talked about poetry. Someone would either read some of their own work or a favorite writer of theirs. At times, we would meet some of Mary’s distinguished friends, and she would al ways introduce us as her family. Italy was particularly memorable because of i»U-these people we met and lived with. They brought so much to our stay there. I suppose everyone in the group learned a little something on this trip. Some, a little tolerance; others, a little perseverance. It is to be expected. There are some, though, whose life has taken a whole new direction. Neverthe less, we all have a little prize to take back with us, one that we can adapt to our own surroundings. Italy went by too fast for us, and all we could do was shed tears about it. We have to realize that this is just one page in our book, and we just have to keep on turning. We can’t forget Italy or our lovely family. Even if we do, we have twelve others to help us relive the whole thing over and over again. So? Interested? Skip Clark is currently accepting applications for Fall 1998 Semester in Btunnenbuig. Ifyou're inter ested, drop by and see him in LA 154, or call him at ex tension 5249 for an ap plication and informa tion.
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