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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1978)
GPA Gay People’s Alliance works to erase loneliness from homosexual community By DAGMAR OBEREIGNER Of the Emerald The isolation and loneliness of gays in Eugene is a picture the Gay People s Alliance on campus is trying to change, says GPA director Carol Queen. ‘ Seventy percent of the work we do with gay people is helping them get to people they can relate to,' says Queen. Finding a supportive peer group is a major problem for gays, whom Queen says must find their peer group, unlike heterosexuals Gay People s Alliance offers services from counseling and legal referrals to a housing board for gays wanting to room with other homosexuals. The office is a place where gays can find others to tafc to, white a rap group held every Wed nesday aids m the forming of a peer group on campus," Queen says. Staffer Anna Santucci emphasizes GPA’s role of "helping gays help each other.’ The larger society's not going to be there for you when you need it," she says. Gay People s Alliance is an outlet for gay people—gays know that what they need is there, especially escape from the isolation they re in,” she adds. Non-gays come in after finding out that a friend or stoiing is gay to team more about the gay lifestyle. Additionally some gays are referred to GPA by non gay fnends. which illustrates that "we re a campus force people know about says Queen, "we have credibility with at least some of the non-gays on campus About two-thirds of those who come into the office are men, says Queen, be cause gay women m the Eugene com munity already have more outlets than men—from karate workshops to a gay women s bookstore—while men s only outlet is GPA. The GPA weekly rap group, however, has about a 50-50 mate to female ratio, she adds About 30 persons visit the office regu tarty, and another 20 come in occasion ally, says Queen. Every term about 30 students come in to the office for re search and to check out books from GPA’s small library. Queen is pleased with the turnout this term. We ve seen three times as many people aswedkt ail last year, she says. The closest those isolated individuals come to being reached, she continues, is during Gay Pride Week, when gays are in the forefront, ' at least in the news paper pages. Gay Pride Week also reaches those non-gays who don't want to hear about ” the gay movement, she adds. The event is held to draw the attention of new students and to involve them, says Queen. Almost one-third of GPA s $2,806 in Incidental Fee Committee funding goes toward the week of events usualy held fail term This year. Pride Week will be held in the spnng, by which time GPA will have been at least "quasi-visiNe ’ for two terms, says Queen. A keynote speaker, films, panels on being gay. and a dance are some erf the activities planned. The week focuses on "cultural and educational events, gives a chance to interact with gay and non-gay students and community, and tries to bring some issues into the open a little bit, " says Queen. Gay People s Alliance has been ac tive since 1969 One of the oldest gay groups in the nation. GPA is also the oldest organized gay group in Oregon, says Queen. Gay People s Alliance moved on campus and obtained IFC funding in 1973. Its basic premise has never charged, says CXioen We are a service to the gay commun ity and an educational service to the non-gay community " What kind of atmosphere for living does Eugene offer to the gay person? Queen says she loves it and says other gays have moved here from larger Caro/ Queen, director of the Gay Peopie s AHiance. says the organization is provid ing counseling and other services to homosexuals to help alleviate the isolation many gays experience About 30 people come into the office regularly and several others drop in occasionally, she says cities, and like its ctose-kmt atmosphere. The Eugene gay community is di verse. she adds but at the same time, when something happens like Ballot Measure 51 last spring, we can pretty much pul together. Measure 51. repealing Eugene s Gay Rights Ordinance, passed, despite the overall pro-gay stance of the university community. The gays are more integrated into the city as a whole because of its size." says Queen, who adds that she still finds that Eugene is an alienating city how ever, in which gays run into conflicts all the time But. sne adds, they seem to be resolved a little easier here Does the GPA foresee any new legis lation for its cause7 “It's more important to put energies in other areas first" says Queen. There's more we need to do before legislation would be really vaM,jyiayt>e by toe time we get that work done, that fond of legis lation won t be recessary at all, she says hopefuffy. ' As long as there are people who don t know what it is to be a gay person, and (Continued on Page 8) Milk assassination leaves nation’s gays leaderless The shooting of San Francisco s first openly elected gay oty official has left gay activists wondering who will emerge as the movements leader Police say the death of Harvey Milk, assassinated Monday along with San Francisco mayor George Muscone. is not Inked to hts homosexuality But many gay spokespersons aren t sure • I would be surposed to find that it had r»thing to do with his being gay,” says Carole Queen, director of the University s Gay People s Alliance That would be too coincidental Queen says Muscone was very sup portive of gay rights and had been elected with help from the city s large and outspoken homosexual community, an estimated one-sixth of the csty s popu lation She thinks the event might be an indi cation that the gay movement is being bom through a phase as serious as that of the black civil rights struggle of the sixties “An assassination—no matter what the cause—is going to bnng people up short, she says Harvey was an exam ple for aM of us we want to treat the incident as toe kind of sooetal oppres sion that we are up against. " Mtfk. the first avowed homosexual elected to the city's board of super visors, led the opposition to an anti-gay rights measure, which was defeated Nov. 7 m the first statewide victory for gay rights m the nation. He was consi dered the movement s leader. Queen says. Dan White, a former supervisor who was one of the most vocaJ opponents of the homosexual community, has been charged with the murders Just prior to the shooting. White ap parently was pleading with the mayor to regain his job as supervisor, which he had resigned. White was the only supervisor to vote against a homosexual rights ordinance introduced by Milk this year, and the only supervisor-to vote against dosing Mar ket Street for the-Gay "Freedom Day parade in June, wtiich drew 240 000 people. The Eugene gay community wifi gather to share their gnef over the shoot ing at a memorial service in the Wesley Center Sunday David PeHttier. new pastor of the Met ropolitan Community Church, will Oe one of the speakers for the service Queen says many gay activists are concerned for their own safety since foe shooting Whatever the cause behind the IdBing. Queen says, one thing is certain The gay community has lost a beloved and respected leader You are invited to the MUSIC MASTERS DISCO Players Are: David A. Haynes Ernest Taylor Edwin Radcliff Disco is Saturday Night, 8:30-12 Admission $1.00 EMU Room 167 DISCO 1444 Pool, Games, Big Screen Beer & Wine! Disco Dance Wed. • Son. Nights 1444 Mata Springfield Disco Donee Lessons (Beginning to Advanced) are going on Now! for infer* tion coll 746-92*7 Special Invitation to 17 of O students Large Pitcher of Miller $1.50
