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!

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.

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"

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

Meeting Minutes 2/8 - Guest Appearance from Dean Sumi!

• In three weeks' time, we will have dinner with Prof. Bernoff
• Details still to be hashed out
• Funding for Alex Sanchez - Mexican American author, writes gay teen fiction. 
• QRC wants to bring him to Claremont
• Asking for $100
• Approved
• Boy Scouts was considering allowing gay members and scout masters
• Decision has been deferred until May
• Atheists aren't allowed to be Boy Scouts either
• In both cases, you are simply considered to "never have been a scout"
• Movie Night at 8:30 - Paranorman
• Mormonism will probably reverse position on gay rights eventually using a "revelation"
• Currently, LGBTQ people can be members but must abide by Mormon rules - including heterosexual marriage and having children
• Tabling for Crush for Your Crush:
• Saturday dinner: Nicole at 5pm, Natasha at 6pm
• Sunday dinner: Kevin M. 
• Monday lunch: Karen
• Monday dinner: Jozi
• Tuesday lunch: Kevin H. and/or David 
• Tuesday dinner: Chance and/or Natasha
• Buying soda: sometime soon with David? Anyone else with a car that is free Tuesday evening or Wednesday?

Minutes 2/1

• Campus of Queer Leaders meeting was at lunch!
• If a meeting of 7C queer groups happens, the topic of discussion should be acronyms. LGBTQQIATS? It's getting out of hand. 
• Gaypril stuff - calendar for events due by March 11th
• Event with alumni - Does anyone know of alumni to contact? 
• Crush For Your Crush
• Email about tabling will be sent out soon
• First soda free, any extra $1. Off campus deliveries are also $1
• Poster?
• Dinner with profs/faculty? 
• People will talk to Prof. Yong, Prof. Bernoff, and Dean Sumi
• Fix ASHMC page about Prism officers
• Should we make a prism-presidents-l? Or an external email? That way we won't have to refresh the contact address
• We have a flag for Prism now! 
• Film screening for Perks of Being a Wallflower is delayed because of the Duck! show

Minutes 1/25/13

• Introductions/What did you do over break?
• Let's do Crush for your Crush again
• Program that allows students to send an anonymous crush soda with a note to anyone for free. Additional sodas cost $1 each.
• Need to table next week
• Lots of professors want to have dinner with members of Prism. 
• Prof. Bernoff definitely interested
• Other professors? - Prof. Yong, Prof. Dyson, Dean Sumi
• Gaypril is coming up in a little while. We should not be outdone by the other colleges! Plans:
• Let's have a career forum
• Ally training?
• Other things to do this semester? 
• More movie nights! Anyone know of good movies?
• Anyone who wants to go to the Western Regional Conference at Santa Cruz near the end of February, let Chance/Kevin know! The QRC is sponsoring it.
• Tonight, Bring a Friend to the QRC Social. Chance is walking down at 7pm
• Current events:
• Russian state Duma is banning "gay propoganda" and it's backed by the parliament
• They are also weeding out gay recruits
• Rhode Island is starting to weigh approving gay marriage
• It will be the last New England state to approve it
• An email will be sent out about changing the date of meetings soon!

Catch-Up Minutes!

11/16

• Transgender Day of Remembrance on Tuesday
• body outlines in blue tape representing the number of people who were killed in the last year due to hate crimes against trans* people
• over the weekend: plan to flyer and finish body outlines
• Angelica is doing a Trans101 workshop in the Aviation Room
• It's been a year since DADT was repealed, so now academies have a lot of LGBT students
• The talk on being genderqueer and Jewish talk tonight

11/30

• We answered questions for a project that analyzed the way religion (specifically Christianity) and LGBT issues coincided at the 5Cs
• some questions asked:
• Is religion necessary?
• Has anyone felt oppression from religious groups?

12/7

• Supreme Court has agreed to take up 2 gay marriage cases from NY and Cali (Prop 8)
• United States vs. Edith Windsor (from 1996)
• trying to repeal DOMA
• federal government will not withhold gay marriage (currently up to each state)
• if DOMA fails, then no state can have anti gay marriage laws
• Decisions will come out in June 2013
• CA has passed a law to ban conversion therapy (an attempt to "cure" homosexuality) for minors 
• main argument against law is that it violates therapists' free speech
• most find this "therapy" invalid since homosexuality was removed from the DSM in the 70s
• Queer Burlesque - talk about how it went

12/14

• What events should we throw next semester? Still lots of money!
• big welcome back event?
• Univ. of Iowa added a question on its application about being LGBT
• specifically: "Do you identify with the LGBTQ community?" 
• does this include allies?
• Elmhurst College had this on their application at one point too
• use it for giving students information about campus groups/housing
• when will Mudd start asking this as well?
• we should start reporting statistics in our literature and brochures
• always say we are very queer friendly, but don't advertise it
• will it be used to fulfill a diversity quota?
• Affirmative action? Thoughts?
• necessary. not the best solution but best we have
• need small community at a school to attract others from that community
• LGBTQ will be treated similarly soon?
• Iowa recently passed gay marriage
• Boeing, which has offices in a state that just passed gay marriage (Seattle, WA?), refuses to extend benefits to same sex couples :(