Spirit Awards honor service to IU GLBT community

This weekend marks the fourth annual IU GLBT Alumni Association Celebration Weekend.

For the first time, the annual Spirit Awards will be given by the GLBT Student Support Services in conjunction with the celebration weekend. Since 1999, the awards have been given to those who embody the strength, character and spirit of the GLBT Office.

This year two individuals and one organization will receive Spirit Awards.

CYNTHIA STONE
When Cynthia Stone first came to Bloomington in 1973 as an undergraduate student, she said campus was a less accepting place for those who identified as a member of the GLBT community.

“When I was a gay student in the ’70s at Wright Quad, you had to be closeted,” said Stone, now a faculty lecturer in the Kelley School of Business. “I’ve been pretty out for the last 20 years, but back then, it wasn’t a safe place to be out. We’ve come a long way in the almost 40 years I’ve been here.”

In those nearly 40 years, Stone has been with IU in some capacity, from working as a secretary at the University during graduate school to serving on the Board of Trustees in the early ’90s to lecturing in the Kelley School.

By serving on the IU Board of Trustees in 1993, Stone became the first openly gay member of the board.

While on the board, Stone fought for the creation of the GLBT Student Support Office on campus. At the time, controversy surrounded the idea, and it took much convincing of the board by Stone to allow for the office’s creation, Doug Bauder, GLBT office coordinator, said.

“She had to work hard in making sure they knew it was important,” he said. “She’s a force. She’s a big woman with a big heart. We owe her a great deal of gratitude.”

The GLBT office is now entering its 18th year on campus.

“I’m very proud of the office,” Stone said. “It’s an oasis that a young, shy gay student coming from the Midwest can say ‘Oh wow, I can go get support and get the resources I need as I find my way in my college years.’”

Stone was also a voice in the 2001 passing of same-sex domestic partner benefits. She served on a task force commissioned by former University Chancellor Ken Gros Louis to research and study the issue.

“I happened to be very affected by the University not having benefits for faculty and staff that were in same-sex relationships,” she said.

It was here at IU where Stone met her late partner, Donna Payne.

“The reason I stayed in Bloomington is because I met my late partner,” she said. “In 1974, she worked in the office at Wright Quad. She and I struck up a friendship and stared dating. We were together for almost 20 years.”

Payne died in 1995 of cancer before the policy was implemented.

“We can now take care of our loved ones,” she said.

However, that comfort is not completely secure, Stone said.

“We’re always looking over our shoulder that our politicians might decide that state universities shouldn’t offer health insurance to gay faculty and staff employees,” she said. “IU and Purdue do the right thing, but what if a more conservative politician passed a law that denied those benefits?”

As she approaches retirement, Stone still serves as a faculty advisor for the groups Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality and Out at Kelley. She also said she continues to advocate for the GLBT community on campus, with the help of others.

“There’s been a lot of change. We’ve come so far,” she said. “And many, many people have worked on these issues. I’ve been privileged to roll up my sleeves and work alongside them, and the University is a much better place for it.”

ROB DECLEENE
Rob DeCleene, a 1994 IU graduate and immediate past president of the IU’s GLBT Alumni Association, is also one of this year’s Spirit Award recipients.

“One the most humbling things about winning the award is that the office wasn’t there when I was at IU,” he said. “I was closeted throughout my undergraduate career. I always wonder if my life would have been shaped differently if this office existed. I’ve been able to make up for that by working with them.”

DeCleene first started interacting with the GLBT Office when working at the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was put in charge with promoting Bloomington as a gay tourist destination.

Since that initial interaction, DeCleene went on to serve on the GLBT Alumni Association board, which eventually led to two consecutive terms at president from 2007 to 2011.

“Creating this weekend that is taking place was one of the proudest achievements,” he said. “It was a fledging thing at first.”

He worked with the GLBT office and the heads behind the PRIDE LGBTQ Film Festival to boost attendance and grow the weekend celebration.

“The award and weekend is fun and all, but the best part will be seeing old friends and just having a good time,” he said.

And while he has moved to South Bend, Ind., DeCleene still maintains ties with IUB’s GLBT office.

“It’s very important, especially to me, to work closely with the office,” he said, “because they do help kids when it comes to coming out and figuring out how it will affect them for the rest of their lives.”

ILLUMENATE
Nationally known as Mpowerment Project, Illumenate is a Bloomington-based organization that specializes in providing a safe environment for gay and
bisexual men.

The community group has been around for nearly two years and, in that time, has promoted a message of safe sex through social events and the distribution of nearly 25,000 condoms.

“We provide a safe place for young gay/bisexual men and a sex-positive approach to HIV intervention,” Mpowerment Coordinator Patrick Battani said.

The organization is driven by a core group of seven to 10 gay and bisexual men between the ages of 18 and 29, which is the target audience of the group.

Six principles, which include a social focus, community building and empowerment, guide the group and its activities.

Group members were honored and surprised to receive the award, Battani said, because they just do what they love: community building.

“The LGBT office is one of the greatest things,” Battani said. “For us to be a group that embodies their spirit and their work is such a great honor and accomplishment. It means a whole lot to use because we really do admire the work that they do.”