Partying with PRIDE

Saturday marked the final night of this year's PRIDE film festival, which displayed films taking on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. \nThe event was held at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in support of the GLBT community. The films shown tackled GLBT issues in ways that typical Hollywood movies tend to leave out.\n"It's great to get it out there. Indiana's such a conservative place, it's good to let them know we're here," said freshman Sara Whitmer.\nThe fifth and final set of film screenings began at 7 p.m. to a nearly full house. The screening started with some short films, which received mostly positive reactions with a few exceptions.\n"I came here last year and I'm not too happy with it this year," said James Turner, a sophomore at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. "(The films) were too artsy and some didn't make much sense."\nTurner did, however, agree that the final, full-length film "The Gymnast" was superb.\n"The Gymnast" is a feature length film about a woman trying to figure her life out -- from aging to infertility to her own sexuality. Amidst all her confusion, she develops a love for performing Cirque Du Soleil-like acts.\nThe cheering and clapping created an atmosphere of audience involvement that would not be seen at a normal movie theater. \n"It was more like a play," said sophomore Ben Zamojski. "It was so much more than just a movie; it was a way of life portrayed on screen." \nAfterward the crowd made its way into the auditorium to be surprised by Dreya Weber, the actress from "The Gymnast," who performed her aerial act.\nAs soon as she dismounted, the dance party began.\n"This party's amazing," said Emily Cohen, vice president for the OUT GLBT Student Union. "We didn't have this big of a party last year. In terms of guests, there are a lot more people."\nThe positive energy of people dancing throughout the auditorium and on stage brought the GLBT community together. Straight people were not excluded from the events, however,\n"There are a lot of straight people that come and have a great time," said Barniak.\nThe dance party was still in full force with no signs of stopping as it neared 1 a.m. \nAs PRIDE continues to grow, organizers of the event hope so does the acceptance of GLBT lifestyles. The support that was exhibited among members of the GLBT community is the purpose of PRIDE and has proven to be stronger than ever.\n"It was wonderful, especially that it resonates throughout the gay community," said graduate student Thomas Reichherzer.