Groups honor GLBT services

Organizations throughout the Bloomington community are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services office this week with lectures, concerts and social events.\nBlacks Like Us, an organization supporting black GLBTSSS community members, kicked off the anniversary's festivities Tuesday night with an event called "Are We Hiding?" a discussion of black gay and lesbian representation in media.\nChristian de la Huerta, author of the award-winning book "Coming Out Spiritually," gave a lecture Tuesday addressing gay people and their roles in religion, according to a statement released by the GLBTSSS. \nMany organizations co-sponsored this lecture in support of the GLBTSSS office, including the Affirmative Action Office, Center for University Ministry, Commission on Multicultural Understanding, Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, La Casa, Latino Enhancement Cooperative, Lutheran Campus Ministry, OUT, Trinity Episcopal Church, Unitarian Universalist Church and Unity of Bloomington.\nThese organizations support the office by making small financial contributions as co-sponsors of the events, said graduate student Kendra Clarke, program coordinator of the GLBTSSS office.\n"We have a great number of allies and supporters around the community," Clarke said, "and that's wonderful."\nSenior Michaela Martin-Almy, president of OUT, a student-run social support group for GLBT students, said though the GLBTSSS office and OUT are distinct organizations, collaboration to put on events for this week is helpful.\n"Mostly what (OUT does) to help out is give publicity for the events and getting our members to help out," Martin-Almy said. "Two separate groups working together helps us reach a lot more people."\nThe events continue at 7:30 p.m. Friday with a concert at the Willkie Quad Auditorium. Singer-songwriter and IU alumna Laura Connallon will open the concert, followed by The Matthew Auschebee Experiment and singer-songwriter and senior Denise Dill will cap the night off.\nSaturday between 4 and 6 p.m., the GLBT Alumni Association will hold a happy hour at The City Grille in celebration of the anniversary. The GLBT Alumni Association is an organization founded in 1997 through which GLBT alumni can connect socially and financially support the office because it receives no University-based funding, said Kim Davis, president of the GLBT Alumni Association.\n"We're having the happy hour as an informal way for GLBT alumni to come together and talk and have a few drinks before going to the 'Kinsey' screening," Davis said.\nCarol Fischer, assistant coordinator at the GLBTSSS office, said the office is also supporting the world premiere of "Kinsey," the major motion picture based on Alfred Kinsey, his research on human sexuality and the institute he founded at IU. The film screening is at 8 p.m. at the IU Auditorium, and tickets are available for $20 at the auditorium box office.\nThe 10th anniversary celebration week will wrap up with a reunion reception between 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Frangipani Room at the Indiana Memorial Union, but the celebration and support for the GLBTSSS office students will continue all year, Fischer said. \n-- Contact staff writer Lori Snow at losnow@indiana.edu.