Friday, May 3, 2013

Meeting Minutes May 3rd


  • No profs responding for dinner :( Maybe talk to Prof. Sparks and Prof. Su?
  • Big news this week:
    • Jason Collins, the current NBA player, came out 
      • First active athlete to come out
      • Robby Rogers, a soccer player, came out while he was not playing anymore. Now wants to join the LA Galaxy team
      • Why so few in professional sports?
        • Stigma against sports, so even if interested, queer people turn away from professional levels
        • Highly sexualized environment
  • LGBT-friendly traveling: American Airlines, Delta, Hilton
    • They have Gay and Lesbian travel pages online
    • Perhaps they allow for transfer of travel funds among partners, as opposed to just "family"

Pictures from the Breaking the Silence Barbecue, '13!







Jozi made this amazing rainbow cake!

Minutes April 5, April 12

April 5

  • April 19th - Alex Sanchez the writer will be here from 7-9pm
  • BBQ on April 19th from 5:30-7pm for Day of Silence
    • Talk to dorms!
    • Buy coals, lighter fluid, find cars to go on Thursday
    • Fridges? Freezers? Make a google doc of shopping list and car list 
    • Jozi will make a rainbow cake!
  • Funding request through Cameron - Brianna Stansberry at Pitzer
  • Sex Positive shout it out day on April 27th - any interest in helping? 
    • Need help making cookies and posters the week before
  • Dinners? Dean Maggie, Prof. Dyson, Prof. Yong, Prof. O'Neill
  • ASP dinner? 
  • "gay? fine by me." shirts are in
    • $6 for a new one if you already have one
    • wear them during ASP
    • table for shirts
  • Ally training on April 8th, 5-7pm in the Aviation room
  • 2 Supreme Court cases started, outcome in June


April 12

  • Jozi will write the check to Jacey 
  • Barbecue:
    • Have an extra driver! - when do we want to buy things? put up shopping times on the google doc
    • Contact Sontag/Case/Linde/West for barbecues
    • Use Scott's fridge for things
  • Lots of off-campus interest for "gay? fine by me." shirts, so we should buy a lot and sell them
  • Officers for next year? email prism-l
    • Kevin and Jozi for president
    • Izzy for documentarian

Crush for Your Crush Pictures!



Friday, March 8, 2013

Minutes 4/8/2013


Minutes 8 March 2013

Collaborating with OID for a queer-related project during GAYpril.
-What about that party we were thinking about planning?
   -Not necessarily queer related.

Coming up on the 28th of March is the first dialogue of Expectations of
Identity series, which focuses on giving queer people of color a space to
speak to their experiences.
    -6-8 PM at the Office of Black Student Affaris (139 E. Seventh Street)
    - The next will be on the 28th of April

"How do we validate ourselves in the midst of everything?"
-What does it mean to validate oneself?
    -Good self image?
    -(Self) Validation- to what extent is it an internal and external process
    -The struggle to maintain your sense of self when, perhaps, one is not
    being supplied to you?
        -Or more the struggle to maintain your sense of self when it's easier
        not to.
-What is validating oneself to others?
    -Explaining some aspect of yourself to others.
    -Does it have some element

A break from the philosophical discussion

THE BARBECUE
-When is the barbecue?
    - ~Halfway through Gaypril: April 19, the Day of Silence
    -Is that something we might want to do with OID as our collaboration?
-What do we need for the barbecue?
    -Besides, obviously, things, we will need lots of fridge and freezer space
    from PRISM members.
    -THERE SHOULD BE A RAINBOW CAKE
-Difficulties: other groups want to have stuff on the Day of Silence (what?!)
    -Alex Sanchez event?
    -AQUA wishes to have a party on that day.
    -Both are probably fine, given the demographics likely involved.

Should we do some kind of thing for Claremont High school GSA? We can get
their contact information.
    -A tour that focuses on queer culture on the college?
        -Normal tours don't handle that sort of stuff (to our knowledge)
    -Numerous difficulties of legality and logistics
        -Perhaps some sort of field trip after their school ends?
        -Talk to Dean Guy and Bernoff?
    -This might benefit from collaboration with OID?

We must know more about Chance's HYPOTHETICAL PARTY
    -Is alcohol definitely to be a thing?

What is the current status of our finances?
    -Dinner with Professor Burnoff cost $233
    -How many more of these can we while still supporting the barbecue and the
    faint possibility of CHANCE'S PARTY

On April 8th, OID is doing ally training in the aviation room 5-8 PM
    -there will be multiple sessions.

ASP (admitted students program) approaches: do we want to do something for it.

At 7:30 in Platt on the 8th of March (today) there will be the Queer Men's
Social in Platt. There will be SNACKS.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Minutes 2/22/13

  • Dinner with Prof. Bernoff this Thursday
    • Prof. Yong in March
    • Dean Maggie also interested
    • Others? Prof. Dyson? Angelica?
  • Co-sponsor Pitzer workshops that Jacelyn presented the week before
    • Agreed to give $100
    • Jozi will front the money?
  • Let's throw a party!
    • Probably a private party
    • In May sometime
    • Venue: Case courtyard, probably
    • Student DJ? Know anyone?
  • Let's do more outreach-y things! 
    • Local GSA's can tour around Mudd with us!
    • Get help of Angelica, admissions
    • May take more than just this semester to plan
  • Campaigning! 
    • For example, against the idea that men who have had sex with men can't donate blood
  • Current events:
    • CMC: tore down posters for the QRC party that said "Are we men or are we dancers?" - rewrote them to say "Your a man, act like one" (with the incorrect spelling and all)
      • What can we do? Nothing really at this point. No further aggressions after that, and it's being filed as a hate crime
    • Uganda - Anti-Homosexuality Bill says "imprison homosexuals for life"
      • Stephen Fry challenged the bill on Ugandan radio 
    • 1 of the prime candidates for pope, an African man, says "in my country, homosexuality is not a thing"

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Meeting Minutes - 2/15/13


  • We have been invited to a Progressive Dinner among 6 Claremont Colleges resource centers
    • March 1st, from 5-7:30
    • Travel from one location to another and eat everywhere!
    • If we're interested, we need to add a list of clubs. Also, we can do a 1 minute presentation about the work we're doing here
  • A student from Pitzer student (Josie?) that has embarked on a large project on being mindful of people's personal space with two of her friends
    • 3 components: community discussion, artists/activists doing workshops, and a performance 
    • They are fundraising for the workshops
    • Currently, 4 workshops have been confirmed - first one on March 9th by Mia Mingus
    • They currently are trying to raise another $1250 
    • We will give between $100-200, and we will probably need someone to front the money when we decide
  • Current (and old) Events:
    • Illinois state legislature passed gay marriage, and now it's off to the Democratic Senate
    • Great Britain also did, a few weeks ago
    • New York Times article on how more universities are adding gender reassignment surgery under the insurance policies
      • Has Claremont done this yet? We don't think so...
    • A high school in Indiana suddenly switched to straight couples only for their prom
      • Cause of parents' petitioning
    • Missouri school said dates must be where a "girls take boys and boys take girls." When they got a negative response, they apologized and said it was mainly to stop people from circumventing the singles' rate
    • Orrison Scott Card said in 2004: "If gay marriage is legalized, civilization will collapse" 
      • More recent, similar statement as well
    • In Ghana - article called "A Tsunami Called Homosexuality To Destroy Global Moral Fiber"
      • Allows more ways for the U.S. to exploit other countries
      • How does South Africa feel about homosexuality? - Okay with it
    • Two retired soccer players came out as gay today (independently)
    • (As opposed to bad athlete news:) Oscar Pistorius (the disabled Olympian) accidentally (maybe) shot his girlfriend
    • Pope resigned - too old and sick to continue his post
    • Russia NP banning homosexual websites
    • Iceland has a ban on online porn because promotes abuse 
    • Nordic country is the first to restrict lap dancing on feminist grounds 
      • Part of a large sexual feminist movement in Europe
      • U.S. (or at least CA) has a rule that strip clubs with fully nude dancers cannot serve alcohol