Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 12:45:48 -0500 (CDT) From: Kevyn D Jacobs Subject: EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY: GLARE News (fwd) News from Equality KS member GLARE in Emporia (Reprinted from the Emporia State University Bulletin, Oct. 10 1994) Educational forums highlight activities for month by Christine Cutrer Correspondent Emporia State University's Gay/Lesbian Alliance for Resource and Education is recognizing this month as Gay and Lesbian History Month by educating students, faculty and administrators about gay and lesbian history. GLARE is sponsoring two educational forums this month. The first, entitled "Out and About" is at 6 p.m. Tuesday in MU Mainstreet. This will be a chance to focus on the daily contributions of a gay administrator, a gay faculty member, and several gay students on campus, Dugeon said. The ESU Gay/Lesbian Alumni chapter will host a similar panel, "Out and About - ESU Alumni" at 2 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Sauder Alumni Center. One of the featured panelists will be Howard Moses, a '79 graduate of ESU, who is one of many openly gay presidential appointees in the Clinton administration. He serves as deputy of Special Education in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. According to Shane Windmeyer, GLARE programming director, public figures who are out of the closet help other gay persons. "People like Howard Moses would have helped me in my coming out process. He's a good role model to have. It's nice to know we have administrators out there who are gay," Windmeyer said. According to Windmeyer, GLARE is the only gay/lesbian group in a 50 mile radius, so they try to reach the campus as well as the community. According to Windmeyer, ESU has always been supportive of the gay community on campus by offering Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days (GLAD). National Coming Out Day is on Tuesday and has been a nationally recognized holiday for 10 years. [sic] GLARE plans to promote NCOD this year, Connie Dugeon, co-director of GLARE, said. According to Dugeon, the purpose of NCOD is to encourage people who are thinking about revealing the fact they are gay to come out. The day is designed to heighten awareness and give the gay community more publicity and support. GLARE will have a booth offering educational material to students on Tuesday in the Memorial Union Mainstreet. According to Dugeon, coming out is beneficial to all members of the gay and lesbian community. "It is a very frightening thing to do, but it is a very liberating thing to do," she said. Dugeon said the most important thing to remember when "coming out of the closet" is no right, wrong, or easy way to do this exists. She said if people take it badly, it is not because a person did it wrong. "Some people will take it badly no matter how you tell them. Coming out is something that helps all gays and lesbians everywhere and it makes your life a lot simpler," she said. GLARE is not pressuring people into coming out of the closet, according to Dugeon. "The last thing GLARE is trying to do is to force people to come out before they're ready," Dugeon said. GLARE will be circulating publicity materials, postcards, posters, and t-shirts in support of the gay community and coming out. They are also making Safe Zone signs available to any students, faculty, and administration. Safe Zone signs are triangular symbols printed on signs. The symbol is to make students aware that gay and homophobic people are welcome to speak with the sign bearer about any problems or questions. This is a reassurance to the student that the subject will be handled in an educational and professional manner. GLARE was started by J. Bryan Jackson in the '90-'91 school year. Jackson was a student at ESU and wanted some support for the gay community. He founded GLARE to give resources for support and education to everyone, not just gay people. GLARE's goal is to educate the entire ESU community and the surrounding area by offering written materials, educational materials, films and panels which are sent to classes and residence halls. The organization also has forums for question and answer sessions. [The paper was accompanied by two ads for GLARE: one depicted Alexander the Great and deplored the fact that he would not be allowed to serve in today's military forces due to the ban on Lesbian and Gay personnel; the other included a photo of Amanda Bearse from Fox's Married with Children TV series, encouraging people to come out for National Coming Out Day.]