THE SUMMER CAMP
EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT...

"I have come to realize that without Campus Pride & Camp, I would have never felt the true empowerment that I feel everyday. I would never have truly voiced my opinion on what is needed on campus. It is because of Camp that my fire can never ever again be put out. It is because of Camp that I know even if only small changes are made, I will still be leaving my campus better off." -- Roxie Schmidt, (Camp Class of 2009) University of Wisconsin -- Eau Claire

CAMPUS PRIDE
SUMMER LEADERSHIP CAMP

July 20-25, 2010
hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN

REGISTER NOW
Learn more online at www.campuspride.org/camp.asp

SPACE IS LIMITED
Register Before April 16, 2010
for Happy Camper Discount Rate

Campus Pride organizes the only Summer Leadership Camp for LGBT and Ally college students. The five-day camp experience works to develop stronger undergraduate student leaders and safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. Participants have the opportunity to learn valuable campus organizing skills, coalition building and strategies for creating change at colleges and universities.

Believe In -- Campus Pride. Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. It exists to give "voice and action" in building future LGBT and ally leaders. More info online at www.campuspride.org.

Tonight ESPN senior writer LZ Granderson speaks at Bowdoin College as part of the Campus Pride Voice & Action Award recognizing outstanding LGBT and ally college leaders across the country.

OUTmedia awarded George Aumoithe, Jr. of Bowdoin College a FREE Speaker of his choice for winning the national honor.

LZ Granderson lecture: Men, Manhood, and Mayhem: The Real Reasons Behind Homophobia in Sports
Friday April 9, 8:00 pm, Kresge Auditorium (Visual Arts Center)
LZ Granderson is a senior writer adn columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, as well as a regular contributor for ESPN's Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take. He is perhaps the most visible openly gay sports journalist in the nation.

Campus Sponsors; Department of Art, Athletics, Bowdoin Men Against Sexual Violence, Bowdoin Queer Straight Alliance, Gay and Lesbian Studies Program, Office of Residential Life, Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, and Student Activities. For more information, please contact kstern@bowdoin.edu.

LZ Granderson's visit to Bowdoin is sponsored by OUTmedia in honor of George Aumoithe '11 winning this year's Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award. For information about the award and George's leadership and activism please go to Campus Pride and Bowdoin News. For information about OUTmedia please see www.OUTmedia.org

DON'T FORGET -- BE QUEER, BUY QUEER INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONTEST

I have a good feeling about Spring 2010. I’ve been investigating the other schools in Worcester, thinking about something maybe a little Prom-esque we could share? Yeah, I dig it.

This blog caught me after all the action of last semester, so I’m excited to take you all along for the adventure that will be this year. We have our Week of Awareness to plan, fundraising through Day of Silence/Night of Noise, and hopefully some good movie screenings and an inexpensive speaker here and there. I’m personally looking forward to some serious collaborating, so I’ll keep you all posted.

And I've heard a few whispers about a gay skate night at Roll-On-America. That’ll make for an interesting blog, and one step closer to my dream of creating a gay roller derby team. :)

I know I had already touched upon it, but now that school’s out and all my pictures are uploaded, I wanted to mention more about Clark’s Trans Day of Remembrance this year. One of OPEN’s main goals next semester will be making the campus more Trans-friendly and aiding legislation meant to help Transgender individuals, so I thought it might be helpful for myself as well to recap. It was a multi-faceted event, and we had a vigil, signs, tabling, and a push to make more of our restrooms gender neutral.

I had hardly realized the vigil was happening until it was over. Being the busy-body I am, I had been too worried about its production than actually experiencing it. After everyone had gotten their tea lights, we stood around in a circle and read off stories of Trans victims. I was counting to see how many we had gone through so I’d know when to make the closing remarks (thinking: “Five? Yes, I think that was the fifth. Seven more? Wait, was that sixth? Oh no…”), when I heard a few sniffles. It was frigid out; my nose was running too. “Okay, twelfth. That’s the last one. No, actually one more. Alright.” And then it hit me. There were sixty people crowded around a circle, and they hadn’t all just come down with colds. Nope, people were crying; people were genuinely moved. And that’s when those sniffles hit me too, and we concluded the vigil.

Hey everyone! Sorry about the brief hiatus; finals and papers have got me bogged down like never before. Just one more week!

OPEN finished up our semester with a lovely holiday party. We’ve been collaborating with several other clubs and events, including CureFest— a flea market type event with artists and vendors from the area, with a portion of the proceeds went toCentral Massachusetts Health Awareness Services in honor of World AIDS Day. We also worked with VOX (student advocates for Planned Parenthood) at their annual Sex Fest—a FUNdraiser promoting sexual health and awareness (we had a “Pin the Gender/Bender on the Person” game table!).

I feel really good about this semester. It’s been an eventful one for OPEN, and a monumental one for me.I can’t help but feel like the tireless hours I’ve put toward the organization have helped us bring about some majorly successful events. The intimate relationships I’ve worked to create and maintain with the members have been a great source of joy, and my Executive Board and I have become very close friends. I’ve learned a lot about what are realistic goals, what are not, and why realizeability shouldn’t always be my main concern (a queer’s gotta have dreams, ya dig?). It feels really good to look back on four months with great events and member turnout and think, “Wow, I helped make that.”