Sunday, March 30, 2008

This Week: GAYpril! Begins and More!

Dear Community,

Purdue Queer Student Union has a busy week ahead! Due to the large volume of activities and events to be announced this week, I will send out this one email instead of flooding your inbox. Please make sure you read all the way through so you don’t miss out on anything!

GAYpril! begins on Tuesday! Full calendar at:
http://pqsu.blogspot.com/2008/03/gaypril-celendar.html


*QSU Meeting Monday- Change of location!!!*

Purdue Queer Student Union will be holding our weekly meeting at the Latino Cultural Center this Monday in order to take a tour and check out the facility. The meeting will be at 6pm and the tour will be at 7pm, so I’ve you’ve never been over to the LCC before, this is a perfect opportunity for you to come see it with us.

*Sex on the Mall Planning Meeting Tuesday*

Anyone interested in helping with “Sex on the Mall” is invited to come to the planning meeting on Tuesday at 5:20pm in the QRC (Stewart G20). We need volunteers to help work the tables, as well as coming up with games and displays. If you can’t make the meeting, but still want to help, please contact Lauren Sivak (lsivak@purdue.edu).

*Homo Estás* - Tuesday, April 1st, 7:30pm Meet @ QRC (Stewart G20)

Come join the Queer Student Union for a fiesta at Chipotle! Join us in the
Queer Resource Center at STEW G20 on Tuesday at 7:30pm to walk with us to Chipotle restaurant to socialize and enjoy burritos. What better way is there to kick off GAYpril?

*Joto: Coming Out Latino* - Wednesday, April 2nd, 7-9pm Armstrong B061

An event sponsored by Embajadores focusing on the issues of coming out and being gay in the Latino culture. For more information contact Luis Balcazar (lbalcaza@purdue.edu).

*That’s So Not Gay Forum* - Thursday, April 3rd, 7pm Krannert G016*

This forum explores the history of the incorrect and derogatory usage of "that's so gay" and similar phrases in society. Join in a discussion about issues relating to the Queer Community including the history of inappropriate phrases in common use. Come to participate in the discussion or just listen. To be discussed: slang from the past to present, duration of the trends, how it affected our lives, the current context of "that's gay", and how to stop it. Any other questions, please email arsteven@purdue.edu. Also - did we mention free pizza?

More GAYpril! events coming soon!!!


Clare Ford
Activist Chair
Queer Student Union

Saturday, March 22, 2008

GAYpril! Calendar

GAYpril! Events:

(Printable calendar available here)

Tuesday, April 1st
Homo Estás
7:30pm Meet @ QRC (Stewart G20)
We’re having a fiesta to kick off GAYpril!
Meet in the QRC (Stewart G20) at 7:30pm to walk with us to Chipotle to eat and socialize.

Wednesday, April 2nd
Joto: Coming Out Latino
7-9pm Armstrong B061
Sponsored by Embajadores
An event focusing on the issues of coming out and being gay in the Latino culture

Thursday, April 3rd
That’s So Not Gay Forum
7pm Krannert G016
This forum explores the history of the incorrect and derogatory usage of "that's so gay" and similar phrases in society.

Sunday, April 6th
Culture Shock
3-6pm PMU South Ballroom
Sponsored by PSUB
Organizations from around campus will come together to celebrate diversity with booths, presentations, and more.

Monday, April 7th
Munchies on the Mall
11:30am-1pm Memorial Mall
Bring your lunch outside and have a picnic with us to enjoy the beautiful weather!

Monday, April 7th
QSU Meeting
6pm QRC (Stewart G20)
Get involved with QSU!
Our meetings are always open to new members.

Wednesday, April 9th
Gay Jeopardy
7pm Matthews 210
Co-sponsored by Pride Lafayette
October 11th every year is this national event. Know the answer? Test your knowledge of the LGBTQ community at this game-show event!

Friday, April 11th
Damien Center Benefit Dinner
6-8pm Wesley Foundation (435 W. State Street, West Lafayette)
Sponsored by Delta Lambda Phi Pledge Class
Tickets are $5 for this spaghetti dinner to benefit DLP and the Damien Center, which offers supportive services to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS

Saturday, April 12th
Ultimate Frisbee
1pm Meet in front of RSC
Enjoy the spring weather with us! Meet in front of the Co-Rec to play Frisbee, or if it rains we will go inside for Wallyball.

Monday, April 14th
QSU Meeting/Election
6pm QRC (Stewart G20)
Come get involved! We will be electing new officers at this meeting for Fall 2008.

Tuesday, April 15th
Sex on the Mall
9am-3pm Memorial Mall
Sponsored by VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood)
Join us for this annual sex education event, where campus groups will host informational booths and games to educate about STD prevention, contraceptives, and safe sex.

Thursday, April 17th
Dinner and a Movie
7-9pm Armstrong 1010
Sponsored by ALLY
Free food and a film, need we say more? ALLY will be showing Genderbender, a series of short films spanning the spectrum from comedy to documentary, followed by a discussion.

Friday, April 18th
Day of Silence
6am-6pm
Speak Out: Breaking the Silence
6pm Academy Park
Day of Silence is a national event where people spend the day in silence to raise awareness of the silence LGBTQ people face every day. We will break the silence at the Speak Out, where people can share their stories. Day of Silence kits with information and speaking cards are available in Stewart G20.

Friday, April 18th
DLP Event at The Muse
10pm The Muse
Sponsored by Delta Lambda Phi
The brothers of Delta Lambda Phi bring you an 18+ event at The Muse. Cover charge applies.

Wednesday, April 23rd
Study Break Coffee Night
7-9pm Vienna Espresso Bar and Bakery
Need a break during Dead Week? Come relax, see old friends and meet new ones at Vienna Espresso Bar and Bakery.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

This week's community events

Reminder: Purdue Queer Student Union and relevant community events sponsored by other organizations are always listed and kept up to date on the QSU Calendar.

For the week of 3/17:

Gods and Gays: Bridging the Gap
Lawson Computer Science Building, Room 1142
Thursday, March 18
6:00 - 8:00 pm

Join us for this film screening and discussion with producer Kim Clark,
sponsored by the DRO and the Office of the Dean of Students. From the
film’s website: “God & Gays: Bridging the Gap explores the religious
struggle reconciling sexuality and spirituality".

This event is part of DiversiKey's "Intersections: A Student Conference
on Diversity" series of events. For more information about DiversiKey
and the rest of the conference, visit http://www.purdue.edu/diversikey/.

and another event from the same series:

Crossing Borders: Students Connecting Across Difference
Stewart Center, Room 310
Wednesday, March 19
2:30 - 3:20 pm

This event is part of DiversiKey's "Intersections: A Student Conference
on Diversity" series of events. For more information about DiversiKey
and the rest of the conference, visit http://www.purdue.edu/diversikey/.

Sunday NYT article about Transgender students in college

In the Sunday New York Times, there was a long article written about transgender and genderqueer students at women's colleges such as Barnard College, Smith, and so on. The article is available at this link: When Girls Will Be Boys.

I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of the article and its attempts to broaden the general public's knowledge about these often blacklisted topics. While Purdue is a co-ed school, many of the points touched upon in the article are also relevant at our school (gender-neutral bathrooms, forms, ENDA, and so on).

If you find any interesting reviews, news, or articles you think would be appropriate for the QSU weblog, please send an email to the webmaster (bburg@purdue.edu). And as always, registered Blogger/Google users can leave comments on non-announcement posts.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Queer Student Union receives a new front page

In order to provide more timely information to online visitors, we have set up an embedded blog on the mainpage of the Purdue Queer Student Union website. Here you can find updates concerning upcoming events, past events, and other opportunities.

If you have an item you would like to be shared on this community news feed, send an email to the webmaster and it may be posted, if it is relevant or helpful to constitutients of PQSU or the community at large.