Speaker Series: Straight Up–Preview Pt. 2

Hi again!

Just a reminder that our last Speaker Series: Straight Up is this Wednesday at 8 p.m. We have a great panel lined up representing many different voices in the allied community, including Linda Hellman, a board member of PFLAG NYC.  Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is an organization dedicated to supporting the LGBT community by supporting its greatest potential supporters–the parents, families, and friends of people in the LGBT community.  So don’t miss out on this Wednesday’s Speaker Series and your chance to hear what Linda and our other great panelists have to say about being an ally!  In the meantime, check out these great videos about PFLAG, including one in which Obama tells the organization’s story to a roaring crowd!

“Tonight somewhere in America a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall asleep–wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember.  And soon perhaps he will decide it’s time to let that secret out.  What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends, and his teachers, and his community–but it also depends on us.  On the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”

CQA’s Speaker Series THIS WEDNESDAY!

Come join CQA, QuAM, and MAGNET (Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People) for a night of discussion and exploration of the (mis)representation of transgender, transsexual, and intersex people in the media.

The event will consist of a panel discussion followed by Q&A with the audience. Light refreshments will be available.

Our panelists are:

Ashley Love – Organizer of MAGNET (Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People)
Noah Lewis – Staff Attorney at Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund
Deb Sprague – Writer-Producer: Premiere Radio Networks
Kyle Lukoff – Barnard alum

In honor of Gender Rights Week, this discussion will focus on the depictions of transsexual, transgender and intersex images in the media. Come out to hear our panelists discuss the presence, representation, and misrepresentation of the entire gender spectrum in the media and beyond!

Where: 304 Barnard

When: 7pm on Wednesday, October 13

RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1096260247#!/event.php?eid=167056236638349&index=1

FIRST GENERAL BODY MEETING: SEPTEMBER 12 @ 2pm

Hi CQA Fans,

Intercultural Resource Center on W. 114th Street

Here are the details on our first meeting! Everyone is welcome to attend. You’ll get to meet this year’s board, as well as

learn about the dozens of opportunities to get involved and start your own LGBTQA initiatives within CQA.

Where: The Intercultural Resource Center (IRC), floor 2 conference room

Address: 552 W. 114th Street (across from Lerner Hall)

When: 2pm on Sunday, September 12

Please email CQA president Sean Manning Udell (smu2106@columbia.edu) with any questions that you might have about the meeting.

And First Friday is TONIGHT!

Tell President Obama and his DOJ to NOT Appeal the DOMA Verdict

As you have probably heard, yesterday a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled part of DOMA to be unconstitutional (the part defining marriage as between a man and a woman!). Because the federal government was the defendant in this case, President Obama can direct the Department of Justice to stand down and refuse to appeal this historic victory.

Please sign the petition (link below) started by the Courage Campaign this morning urging President Obama to let the ruling stand. Also, forward this link to your friends!

http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/DontAppeal

Why Only Marriage Equality Will Do: The Fight for Same-Sex Marriage

Join the Students Advancing Marriage Equality (SAME) Campaign in welcoming Marriage Equality New York (MENY) to Columbia on Wednesday, April 21 at 9pm in Fayerweather 313!

Marriage Equality New York is one of the largest non-profit advocacy groups for marriage equality in New York State, and we are honored to have Gary Steinkohl (Vice President of the Board of Directors and Education Director for MENY), Brian Silva (MENY Events Director), Jake Goodman (MENY activist), and other MENY members come speak on campus.

Their presentation is titled, “Why Only Marriage Equality Will Do: The Fight for Same-Sex Marriage” and will be focused on some basic “Marriage 101:” Why Marriage Equality NY is fighting for the right of every person to enter into a civil marriage with the person of their choice, regardless of their gender, and the challenges achieving this.

Please join us for what is sure to be a great presentation (with free snacks and compelling discussion)!

Sponsored by: The Activist Council of the CU College Dems, The Columbia Political Union, Barnard Q, Columbia Queer Alliance, National Marriage Boycott, The International Socialist Organization, and Everyone Allied Against Homophobia