LBGT group allies itself with activism
The group will participate in Banned Books Week, among other events.
By Jesse Trimble (Contact)
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Queers and Allies has revamped its gay pride night and will also engage in more activities than in the past.
GTV replaces Pride Night
Queers and Allies is starting the semester off at the Granada with “GTV,” formerly known as “Pride Night.”
Korrie Johnson, Topeka junior and activities coordinator for Queers and Allies, said the name was changed to “GTV” because the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St., had recently been renovated and now included a light and video display system. She said the “G” in “GTV” didn’t necessarily stand for gay, but could also mean GranadaTV because of the new equipment.
“It will be just like pride night, but better,” Johnson said. “We want to make sure everyone knows that anyone is welcome, and it’s not just for the gay community.”
Johnson said the new lights and TV equipment gave the Granada more of a dance club feel.
Last night at the Granada, Queers and Allies hosted a drag show. Participants dressed in drag, requested a certain song from the DJ, then performed the song on stage.
There is no cost for current Queers and Allies members for each Wednesday’s “GTV.” For everyone 21 and older, the cost is $5, and for those underage, the cost is $7. For every person, $2 goes to Queers and Allies to help support future pride nights and events. “GTV” is scheduled for every Wednesday at the Granada, and Queers and Allies will officially host “GTV” the first Wednesday of every month. The lobby opens at 9 p.m. The event will start at 10:30 p.m. and last until 2 a.m.
“I’m very excited about this semester,” Johnson said. “Mainly because we completely revamped our constitution last semester and we added a pride week and an activism coordinator.”
Increased Activism
Johnson said that Queers and Allies had never done activism events in the past, and that they were actively doing a lot more to increase visibility in the Lawrence and KU communities. They have also started to coordinate activities in Kansas City.
Megan Vail, activism chair from Topeka, is planning activities for Queers and Allies for this month, which includes readings of banned books for national Banned Books Week from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3. The first banned book reading will take place at The Toy Store, 936 Massachusetts St. An officer from Queers and Allies will read “And Tango Makes Three,” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
The book depicts two male penguins living in a zoo who want to be parents. The two bring an egg-shaped rock to their nest and begin to take turns keeping the rock warm. The penguins’ zookeepers replace the rock with an actual penguin egg. The book is based on a true story that took place in New York City’s Central Park Zoo.
“It’s really important that we show people that these books aren’t scary,” Vail said. “Usually the books are just about love.”
Vail said the reading would be primarily for the 6-to-10 age group, and Queers and Allies would continue to read banned books if the first reading had a good turnout.
Vail said that although banned books usually focused on racial topics, many books across the country were being banned because they had a homosexual theme.
Rachel Gadd-Nelson, Kansas City sophomore and spokeswoman for Queers and Allies, said she was really excited about banned books week because the queer community could relate so much to it.
“Every year banned books (week) focuses on the fact that the book has something to do with the LGBT community,” Gadd-Nelson said. “But we felt there was a need to focus on the fact that it’s not just a gay theme.”
Gadd-Nelson said the group would mainly be reading children’s books and members were excited about adding other books to the list.
Discussion
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***correction***
Queers and Allies has done numerous amounts of activism projects in its past and even in recent years. Unfortunately, there have been few people involved who have been motivated enough to take action as an elected position.
Rock on Q&A and Megan, but don't forget your Q&A history. The queer history at KU is what makes Q&A stand out as one of the University's significant student organizations.
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