THE MICHIGAN DAILY NEW STUDENT EDITION PERSPECTIVES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1994 Page 9B Lesbian Gay Bisexual Programs Office 'U' office works to improve life for gays, lesbians By RONNI SANLO The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Programs Of- fice (LGB) at the University is undergoing exciting changes as it embraces a future of clarity and positiveness for the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. Among the changes are the initiation of new programs *nd services, the opening of the James Toy Library, expanded opportunities for volun- teers and extended office hours. LGB will be co-sponsoring several major events during the school year, including pro- posed concerts by Kate Clinton, Melissa Etheridge, the Indigo Girls and Phranc. Na- tional Coming Out Day on October 11, will be observed by a week of programs and activi- ties including a celebration of local heroes and history. LGB will remember brothers and sisters lost to AIDS at the World AIDS Day events on December 1. We will honor Martin Luther King by offering a major event featuring lesbian, gay and bisexual African Americans. Weekly movies, brown bag discussion lunches, book salons and coming out support groups will be on-going throughout the year. The Educational Outreach Program will offer a personal growth workshop in addition to the facilitated seminars available to class- rooms, offices, departments and to the com- munity at large. There will also be panel discussions specifically geared to students who are conducting research on lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The James Toy Library, named for the person who founded LGB in 1971, will house books, magazines and organizations' news- letters. The library will be an inviting and safe place in which students may study, conduct research or simply read. The library and the office, with expanded office hours to include evenings and Saturdays, will be exciting places in which volunteers may contribute their time and talents. Volunteers are also needed to staff infor- mation tables for LGB at such places as Festifall and informational fairs, to facilitate peer support groups and to participate on the LGB speakers' bureau. When entering the LGB Programs Office suite on the third floor of the Union, people will find a three-foot by five-foot Rainbow Flag, donated by Common Language Book- store; a lounge area with newspapers, pam- phlets from campus and non-campus organi- zations, bulletin boards with housing and re- source information; and a diverse and friendly staff who cares about the well-being of les- bian, gay and bisexual people at the University. To meet our goal of building coalitions on campus, we have initiated the Queer Steering Committee, an organization consisting of rep- resentatives from the many lesbian, gay and bisexual student, faculty, staff and alumni groups at the University. We are also working with non-LGB groups to promote a spirit of inclusiveness and diversity throughout the campus community. We welcome not only lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but also families, friends and people who need information. Our telephone number is 763-4186. We look forward to meeting you. - Sanlo is director of the University's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Programs Office. , How to survive college and macaroni 4 By JEAN TWENGE "College," a high school senior once said to me, "is like summer camp with less rules." Welcome to the world's most ex- pensive'summer camp. Well, you'll be learning calculus and Marxist theory instead of canoe- ing and macaroni art (whose idea was that, anyway?), but there are some similarities. ' *The Apache cabin was never as exciting as the dorms. You'll make fast friends, lose some through the inevitable vicious gossip, and keep others for life. Those childhood con- versations about who likes whom, how hard the spelling test was, and why they never got off Gilligan's Island will morph into dining hall conversations about who's sleeping With whom, how hard the physics test was, and how the characters on Gilligan's Island represent the seven deadly sins, and this shows once and for all that the religious freaks control the media. Your parents will both want you to leave so they can finally sleep at night and do what they want, and not want you to leave so they can sleep at fight and do what they want. You ight feel the same ambivalence - though it's great not telling anybody where you're going and when you'll be back and the license plate number of your friend's car ("What if it's stolen, dear?"), you might miss Mom the first time you oversleep for class. After all, every class you miss is costing you about $65 in tuition (that's out-of- state, but you in-staters will spend the difference driving back home.) This is where the part about "less rules" comes into play. Sure, you no longer need a hall pass to go to the bathroom and you can even (gasp!) chew gum in class, but there's a dark side to this blissful freedom. Take money, for instance. Accord- ing to my American Heritage "Col- lege" Dictionary (that's only kind they ake, which is why you need to go to aollege, I guess) definition four of "bounce, v." is "what college stu- dents do with checks." It used to be that a $5 allowance a week was pretty cool, and now you've got thousands of dollars just sitting there in your checking account. Just don't do what your humble columnist did as a first year in college and fly to California on it. A couple of beers at Rick's your *udget can probably handle, but splurge too much and you'll be whining for more money on the phone to Mommy and Daddy. But with some luck you'll end up knowing more than yourparents, which is thewhole reason they're spending all of this money. You might even learn some things in the first few weeks that will amaze them. Of course, not every- ne has a father like the one I overheard t the bank last summer - when the teller gave his daughter her ATM card, he asked incredulously, "You mean she's going to get money out of a machine?" I restrained myself from asking to see his rotary phone, though I would have settled for pellbottoms and a CB radio. --Twenge is a Daily columnist and a second -year graduate student in psychology. United Asian American Organizations . .s Asian Amencan leaders join forces By HUGH MA The United Asian American Or- ganizations (UAAO) is a coalition of Asian American groups created by University student leaders to serve the interests and needs of the Asian American student community. Estab- lished in 1990, UAAO now maintains a dozen member organizations repre- senting a spectrum of backgrounds and interests that embodies the com- munity. UAAO membership is open to any organization with interests in Asian American issues at the Univer- sity. Along with representatives from member organizations, UAAO is composed of an executive board and other interested individuals ranging from first-year students to graduates working together for the Asian Ameri- can community. UAAO acts as a central advocate for Asian American concerns and pro- motes awareness of the community's interests in all aspects of campus life. UAAO has helped in the estab- lishment of an Asian American Stud- ies Department, aided organizations in receiving much-needed funding, held an Asian American Pride March and participated in the yearly plan- ning and execution of Asian Ameri- can Heritage Month. It is in these activities and in the cooperation of student leaders that UAAO serves the Asian American community. Equally valuable are the combined experi- ences and knowledge of the individu- als and groups who compose UAAO. Throughout all its activities, UAAO is motivated by the desire to inspire strength and pride in the Asian American community. UAAO strongly encourages those with inter- ests or questions to become involved with UAAO or any Asian American organization on campus. -Ma is newsletter editor for UAAO. Hues: minority studen search for ideni By THE BAKER-MANDELA CENTER BOARD In he winter of 1987, the campus exploded when Black students, sup- ported by other progressive students, organized to fight against blatant rac- ist attacks and institutional racism at the University. Students formed the United Coalition Against Racism (UCAR), which presented Univer- sity officials with a list of demands to make the University more accessible and equitable for people of color. The Baker-Mandela Center(BMC) is a multi-racial, student-run facility initiated by UCAR. The center's pri- mary goal is to encourage research and activism regarding issues of race, class, gender and sexuality and to challenge Euro-centric, racist, sexist and homophobic paradigms. Since BMC was created through political struggle, the underlying phi- losophy of the center is to think in order to act. We try to create theo- retical work that can be of practical use. That means engaging in educa- tional projects that have direct con- nections to struggles being waged on and off campus. Since most people of color are excluded from universi- ties, channels must be created through which "scholarly" work is made ac- cessible and relevant. We were unable to include all mi- nority organizations in this section, but wehope the following listgives you some idea of the breadth and scope of some of the groups on campus. The Asian American Associa- tion was founded to provide a more accepting environment for Asian Americans on campus, especially to overcome stereotypes and combat the University's lack of commitment to Asian American issues. Alianza, the Latino Student Alli- ance, began eight years ago as SALSA, the Socially Active Latino Student Association. Students formed the group out of the need for a Latino community when Latinos were so few and isolated on campus. It has been a source of Latino activ- ism on campus since its foundation. The Armenian Students' Cul- tural Association bears a dual torch: to preserve the cultural roots of its members and to educate others about the 1915 Armenian genocide. The Black Student Union spon- sors the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March down South University. The group works to ad- dress issues relevant to the Black community and Black students. The Hellenic Students Associa- tion began several years ago with a The Baker- Mandela Center is a student-run resource and research facility. The goal is to encourage the study of the issues of race, class and gender. EVAN PETRIE/Daily t groups Ity political focus. Now, HSA strives to maintain the spirit of Hellenism and modern Greek culture. The Hindu Students Council (HSC) is an international forum to promote an understanding of the Hindu culture and heritage. Every year HSC celebrates various Hindu festivals such as Diwali, Pongal and Holi on campus with either a traditional religious cer- emony or folk dances. The Korean Students Associa- tion works to promote Korean/Ko- rean American unity, pride and cul- tural awareness. The Native American Student Association was formed with a com- mitment to promote the interests and awareness of Native Americans at the University. Together with Mi- nority Student Services, members plan the Ann Arbor Pow-Wow, which is among one of the largest pow- wows in the country. UMAASC, the University of Michigan Asian American Student Coalition, serves as a voice to pro- tect and advance Asian American interests as well as to foster coopera- tion between cultures and races. By fighting racism, discrimination and ste- reotyping, UMAASC hopes to dispel inaccurate preconceptions and promote a positive environment for all races. BnivkenskodK I Michigan Women's Issues Network... Brings All Women Together Join The Umbrella Network For Women Find Out! Get Involved! Make a Difference for All Women Call 840-2512 or via e-mail @ M-W.I.N. Core Group ilr-1r !''In.nr1\rtv CAME-14g." Im m