UA organizations celebrate Gay Days
Taniah Tudor
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. there will be a showing of the documentary "Before Stonewall," which tells the stories of gay and lesbian Americans beginning in the 1920s until the Stonewall Riots in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1969, according to the P.R.I.D.E. Web site.
The reaction in Greenwich Village began the Gay Liberation Movement, and the first Gay Pride Parade occurred the next year, according to the site.
There also will be an informational table in front of the Arkansas Union from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Laigaie said.
The purpose of the table, Laigaie said, is two-fold - one, to educate those on campus about the presence of programs such as P.R.I.D.E., and two, to reach out to those who are still hiding.
Laigaie said the celebration is mostly just about raising awareness, but she and other members also are looking for allies, which are straight supporters of the GLBT community.
"People seem to think you can't be a member of P.R.I.D.E. if you aren't gay," Laigaie said.
Spreading awareness about homosexuality is something that needs to be done, said Ryan Lawson, a freshman psychology major.
"There is still a lot of prejudice in general toward both sexes, but men in particular," he said.
Lawson wasn't sure the campaign to spread awareness would be successful, he said.
"I think by the time you're in college, you're set on your opinion," he said. "You already have an idea about it."
Nikki Settelmeyer, a graduate student, said she thinks there should be awareness for all oppressed groups.
"I think a college campus is an ideal place because students come here with preconceived ideas that they got from their parents, and they need to be exposed to things that they aren't used to hearing about and form their own opinions," she said.
Laigaie said people in the GLBT community have false perceptions of how safe it is to be openly gay in Northwest Arkansas.
"[People think] because we're in the South, in the Bible Belt, it can't possibly be a safe place to be," Laigaie said. "They don't seem to realize Fayetteville is different and even inside the campus community is different."
The reaction in Greenwich Village began the Gay Liberation Movement, and the first Gay Pride Parade occurred the next year, according to the site.
There also will be an informational table in front of the Arkansas Union from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Laigaie said.
The purpose of the table, Laigaie said, is two-fold - one, to educate those on campus about the presence of programs such as P.R.I.D.E., and two, to reach out to those who are still hiding.
Laigaie said the celebration is mostly just about raising awareness, but she and other members also are looking for allies, which are straight supporters of the GLBT community.
"People seem to think you can't be a member of P.R.I.D.E. if you aren't gay," Laigaie said.
Spreading awareness about homosexuality is something that needs to be done, said Ryan Lawson, a freshman psychology major.
"There is still a lot of prejudice in general toward both sexes, but men in particular," he said.
Lawson wasn't sure the campaign to spread awareness would be successful, he said.
"I think by the time you're in college, you're set on your opinion," he said. "You already have an idea about it."
Nikki Settelmeyer, a graduate student, said she thinks there should be awareness for all oppressed groups.
"I think a college campus is an ideal place because students come here with preconceived ideas that they got from their parents, and they need to be exposed to things that they aren't used to hearing about and form their own opinions," she said.
Laigaie said people in the GLBT community have false perceptions of how safe it is to be openly gay in Northwest Arkansas.
"[People think] because we're in the South, in the Bible Belt, it can't possibly be a safe place to be," Laigaie said. "They don't seem to realize Fayetteville is different and even inside the campus community is different."
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