Gay/Str8 Alliance at Foothill College

Welcome to Foothill GSA 2007!

2007 Gay/Straight Alliance Meetings will be held in Room 6406 on the Foothill College Campus at noon every Wednesday (except finals weeks, school holidays, and summer quarter).

Everyone is welcome -- gay and straight, students and faculty, men and women, bi and trans.

Our mission is to unite students, faculty, and staff of all genders and sexual orientations against hate.  We are here to act as a bridge between queer, straight, and differently-gendered communities on campus.

By holding discussions, events, and joint meetings with other clubs, we hope to foster communictation, understanding, and respect for all.

Minutes for Wednesday, May 23 meeting

Minutes for Wednesday, May 23 meeting at 12:00-1:00 p.m. in Room 6403 1 GLBT Heritage Month is only two weeks away, so we spent the majority of the meeting reviewing plans, budgets, schedule and other criteria to make sure our events all run smoothly! 2. Three candidates were nominated for our GSA Alumni of the Year Award (Sylvia Chen, Ed Gunawan, and David Shabtai). The members reviewed the qualifications of each candidate carefully. MSC to give our 2007 GSA Alumni of the Year award for $1000 to Ed Gunawan for his fillm-making, sceenwriting, acting and stagewriting career (all of which focus on GLBT Coming Out and Civil Rights issues).  Ed will also be screening his movie and performing excerpts from his monologue at our GLBT Heritage Event on Tuesday, June 5 from 10:00-11:50. 3. Film: we watched clips from three Turkish Films to see which would be most appropriate to "co-sponsor" during Heritage Month. We chose the film "His Secret Life" by Turkish Director Ferzan Ozpetek, and voted $200 (MSC) for pizza and soft drinks at the screening. Screening will be scheduled for Tuesday, June 12 at 12-1:30 in the Chinese Heritage Room.

GLBT Heritage Month 2007 Events and Speakers

Muslim American Author Samina Ali.  Monday June 4 from 10 - 11:50 a.m. in the Chinese Heritage Room (hosted by Lankford's English 1B). Samina Ali is a straight author whose award-winning novel deals directly with the taboo subject of male homosexuality in the Indian Muslim community.  Ali is a former Foothill College English Instructor and the recipient of the Pris de France for the Best Foreign Novel in Translation 2006 -- among many other literary awards.  Reception to follow.

• Foothill Alum, Actor, and Author Ed Gunawan.  Tuesday June 5 from 8-10 a.m. in the Chinese Heritage Room (hosted by Lankford's English 1A class).  Gunawan's short film Still was screened at over 20 International Film Festivals in North America, Asia, and Europe.  It is distrbuted in the U.S. by Frameline Productions.  Reception to follow.
• Native American Author/Film-maker/Professor Greg Sarris.  Wednesday June 6 10-12 (hosts: Lankford E1B, Finnegan E48B) From his award-winning film Grand Avenue to his novel Watermelon Nights, Sonoma State Professor Freg Sarris's work focuses on issues of Native American identity, sexuality, and ecology.  Reception to follo
• Poetry Reading and Raffle.  Thursday, June 7 from 12-1 p.m. in the Chinese Heritage Room (hosted by Foothill's Creative Writing Club).  All student authors who read their poems instantly become eligible for a $100 raffle.  Queer-themed poetry encouraged but not required. The Creative Writing Club will also use this event to debut their newly published Poetry Anthology!  Reception and food to follow.
• Transgender FTM Author Max Wolf Valerio. Monday June 11  9 -a.m. - 12 p.m. in the Chinese Heritage Room (hosted by Lankford's E1A and Platts' Psyc 21 "Psychology of Women; Sex and Gender Differences" classes ) .  Valerio book The Testosterone Files details his transition from female to male from a witty and controversial perspective.  Reception to follow.
• Gay Professionals Panel.  Thursday, June 14, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the Chinese Heritage Room.  Sponsored by the Foothill/De Anza Gay and Lesbian Employees and Friends organzation and the Honors Insitute. Find out about the lives of openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual professionals and their families here at Foothill College.
•   Lesbian Latina Comedian Marga Gomez.  Wedesday June 13 12-1:45 p.m. in the Library Quad.  Marga will present her health-and-lifestyles comedy entitled "Vitamin L." 
• • Annual Student Drag Show Contest. Wednesday June 13 12:45-1:15 in the Library Quad. $500 in prize money for the top three contestants.  Male and female impersonators all welcome.  Hosted by comedian Marga Gomez.
  • Friday Film Festival. Friday June 8 and Friday June 15 from 12-2 p.m.  (Co-sponsored by the Jewish Club -- JIFF -- and Foothill's Gay/Straight Alliance.  Film titles to be announced.

For Budget information, a draft of our printed Brochure, and a first draft of our upcoming ASFC Budget Commission Proposal text, click "continue reading".

Meeting Minutes for 3/14/07

Gay/Straight Alliance Club Minutes for 3/14/07

1)      Review of GLBT Heritage Month Events planning

·        Our request for $500 for Drag Show prizes was approved by OBD

·        New motion to request an additional $1000 for Gay Native American Author Greg Sarris’s lecture during Heritage Month on Wednesday June 6 (approved by vote of club members present)

·        Updates on contacting comedian Marga Gomez regarding Health Services focus for her appearance Wednesday June 13

2)      Announcements:  Spring Club Day will be held on April 25^th

3)  Meeting adjourned so that club members could attend Women’s History Month Presentation  “Comedy Theatre Featuring Sex Signals”

Meeting Minutes for Weds March 7

Gay/Straight Alliance Minutes

Date: 3/7/07

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Location: Room 6406

It was brought forward that the club request $500 from OBD.  The $500 will be used for rainbow flags and bunting during LGBT Heritage Month in June 2007.  The proposal passed unanimously.

Erin Ortiz stopped by the meeting to discuss time-lines etc. and to get an update on the possibility of having a dance be one of the heritage month events. 

Those present at the meeting went to listen to Maze Taiko perform.

Minutes for Feb 28 Meeting

We had lots of visitors so the agenda didn't go entirely as planned--so elections are postponed until next week.

• First Erin Clifford Ortiz, the Student Activities Coordinator, updated club members on all the cool support services available through the Student Activities office.  These include everything from course units for leadership and participation in cultural events to the schedule for producing our GLBT Heritage Month brochures and posters.
• Mary and Sarah -- who are members of both GSA and the Creative Writing Club -- were present to discuss how we can structure the poetry reading.  After some discussion, we decided to offer an iPod as a lottery-prize (free to anyone who reads a poem).  To be eligible, students can read poems by GLBT authors or one they wrote themselves on a Queer-related theme. 
• The Jewish Students club JIF wants to co-sponsor a film. Mary Ackers-Bell is coordinating the film nights and says she'd be happy to accomodate them.
• Discussion turned next to the possibility of sponsoring a dance during GLBT Heritage month.  We don't have enough funds or person-power at Foothill, but with Nicky's contacts at Billy de Frank Center in San Jose we might be able to pull it off.  Nicky is checking with the planning committee at Billy de Frank and get back to us!

Meeting Minutes for Wedsnesday, Feb 14

1.  GLBT Heritage Month Planning:  we reviewed the current calendar and brainstormed other possible events.

2.  Elections:  We're hoping to hold elections for new officers on Wed. Feb 28.  Officers elected this quarter would serve through spring quarter 2007.

3.  John and Mary were elected as Student Co-Chairs for the GLBT Heritage Month Planning Committee

4.  Movie choices:  we brainstormed titles for next weeks' movies (the consensus was I Want to Be a Cheerleader -- so look for it next week!

5.  Special thanks to Stephanie for buying us sandwiches!

Meeting Minutes for Wednesday, Feb 7

After a brief update on plans for the GLBT Heritage Month in June -- see previous post for details! -- we attended the African American Heritage Month Opening Day presentation by Oakland artist Karin Turner.

Meeting Minutes for Jan 31 2007

11 members present.

I.  Heritage Month Planning:  we currently have three speakers tentatively scheduled for Heritage Month.  Muslim American novelist Samina Ali; Native American author and film-producer Greg Sarris; and nationally acclaimed Lesbian comedienne Marga Gomez.  Disuccusion on whether to host Gomez's performance outside in the Quad, probably in conjunction with the student Drag Show contest.

II.  College President Visits GSA!

Interim Foothill College President Penny Patz joined us for a discussion of the GLBT campus climate at Foothill.  Topics we discussed included

• History of gay rights at Foothill College
• Why we have such a supportive administration
• Foothill's climate compared to other colleges
• Foothill's climate compared to De Anza's
• Staff/Faculty fears of retribution if their sexual orientation became public

GSA Winter/Spring 2007 Calendar

Here's a calendar of upcoming club events through June 2007!  Download gsacalendar_winspr_07.doc