GLBT alumni revisit IU for Spring Homecoming, PRIDE Film Festival

IU’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Association Homecoming wrapped up Sunday with a seminar titled “Rainbow Law and Money: Planning for Your Future.”

IU Alumni Association Director of Programming Rachael Jones McAfee explained the GLBTAA Homecoming weekend is scheduled in January to coincide with Bloomington’s annual PRIDE Film Festival. The festival ran Thursday through Sunday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and showcased more than 20 films with themes relevant to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

“It is such a wonderful draw for our community, and we’re just capitalizing on it,” McAfee said.

While the GLBTAA also recognizes IU’s football homecoming in the fall, McAfee said this schedule allows alumni to take in a range of relevant events during one weekend.

McAfee said IU’s GLBTAA has about 1,100 members. Attendance at this weekend’s events was consistently higher than previous years, McAfee said.

On Friday, McAfee said nearly 100 GLBTAA alumni enjoyed a social at the Kinsey Institute while viewing the featured exhibit “As We See Them: Exotic and Erotic Images from Modern Alternative Process Photographers.”

Saturday’s events included a tour of the Cook Hall and a silent auction at Grazie! Italian Eatery. McAfee said preliminary totals showed the auction raised at least $2,500 to benefit the GLBTAA. A portion of that donation will go toward undergraduate scholarships, including an “emergency scholarship” reserved for students who are cut off financially after coming out to their families.

Alumna Sue Spell traveled from her home in Texas to attend the Homecoming events. She said the entire weekend was worthwhile and gave her an opportunity to see how her classmates’ lives have changed since graduation.

“It’s nice to meet the other people and get involved in terms of being visible,” she said.
Spell said the GLBT community at IU has become bigger and more viable since her time as a graduate student in the Jacobs School of Music.

Sunday’s seminar at the Indiana Memorial Union focused on legal and estate planning issues for the GLBT community. Accredited domestic partnership adviser Mark Adams discussed asset transfers for domestic partners, while Bloomington-based attorney Paige Freitag explained estate planning options. Local CPA Dana Bement presented tax information tailored to GLBT couples.

Although the specifics of same-sex law can be murky, McAfee said the topic was an important one to feature.

“This is something that the rules and regulations and the tax codes are constantly evolving,” McAfee said.

Alumnus Michael Stephens said he attended the seminar to learn about planning for his future.

“It’s very consequential for later on down the road,” Stephens said.