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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2011)
5 0 JUNE 17,2011 • ir-- v.-v • ». > > . . . -i ' , ;s J !» •} li V ' ** 4 5 [* * . y i .■ •! K i, [ ■ - - ■ - • V '.ih K » •• ■ • pridefiles ■ u v m 6 tv * -< - ! .. '•- - - - ... I 4 Vi- • / - •! br - \ . ' • ''. s - " > 14712 SE Stark S t Portland, OR 97233 DULT VIDEO o™un WWW.JUSTOUT.COM » “Sam is light and energy,” Steele says. “She loves life and wants to dive in head first. You just know it looking at her. And being around her just makes you better, makes you want to be better. W hen we first met it was clear that we would be in each other’s lives for a very long time.” O ther than running Samantha Swaim Fundraising, Swaim and Steele are passion ate about local theater and AIDS/LifeCycle, an intensive seven-day, fully supported bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles held earlier this month. “It was the experience o f a lifetime,” Swaim says. “Team Portland raised over $35,000 for H IV /A ID S programming. We were proud to be a part o f this world-record event that raised more than $13 million, the largest H IV /A ID S fundraiser in the world. As a team we rode 545 miles ... and were so honored to be a part o f such a com passionate and giving community for a week. You have never experienced so much love, joy and heartbreak at once. It definitely tore me down and built me back up.” True Colors name” field to class rosters, intro ducing a “body positive swim night” at the rec center, and forming Queeries, a queer panel that will ad dress classes and events to educate through storytelling. Born in Northern Washington, Amabilis has overcome many chal lenges to get where ze is. “My background is like Pandora’s box,” ze jokes. “I write re search papers on it.” Z ir work with communities o f color is especially important. “Despite the fact that I look white, I am part Choctaw and Cana dian Indian,” ze says. “I grew up in a m ulti racial family and, so far, most o f my close friends have been people o f color. This is who I go to bat for.” So far, “going to bat” has meant making PSU a safer, more inclusive place, which is what Amabilis sees as zis larger goal, “to utilize what privilege I can pull from (the world) to further social justice.” — L eela G inellf . For more information about A ID S /L ifeC y- cle , v isit aidslifecycle.org. —W ayne B und In zis role at PSU’s Queer Resource C en ter, Smitty Amabilis, 32, is on the frontlines of change every day, advocating for trans friendly policies in every area. Asked what ze likes about zir position, ze says, “Everything, except the red tape and bigotry o f Portland State. Oops, I’m proba bly not supposed to say things like that, but I probably have my job because I do.” Amabilis’ irrepressible energy can be seen in the volume o f accomplishments ze and zis colleagues have brought about on campus. Trans students can now get hormone shots or refills at the Student Health and Counseling Center. Likewise, the Q R C is working on making hormone letters and initial prescriptions available at the SHACC. W ith health and counseling housed in one department, Amabilis likens the arrange ment to “one-stop shopping.’’ Another change Amabilis is proud o f is having helped the QRC become more diverse. Along with Jayvin Gordon-Green, the cen ter’s Queer Students o f Color coordinator, Amabilis helped organize the first Queer Stu dents of Color Conference earlier this year. Ze says the center has several goals on the horizon, such as mapping and increasing gender neutral bathrooms, adding a “chosen ^Glass Tobacco Pipes Starting at $2.99¿k * DVDs starting at $4.99^ ^100 Channel Arcade -* ugc Selection of Toys, Magazines, Lubricants, & More! ^ , t . ■ H I piV»Ot \'p i-V 9 t\ noun 1 : a shaft or pin on w hich som ething turns* 2 a : a person, thing, or fa c to r having a m ajor or central role, fu n ctio n , or e ffe c t b : a key player or position* 3 : a space d e d ica te d to the physical, personal, and social health of all men into men. *M e rria m -W e b s te r O nline D ictio n a ry MARTY DAVI PSU Queer Resource Center’s Smitty Amabilis advocates for trans students T rv O T C H A H f C O V ER ED B lin d s I D ra p e rie s I S h u tte rs & M ore pivotpdx.org Have a coffee. Have a chat. Make a connection. SW 4TH & PINE Mention PRIDE and receive a $200 credit on you next order. A m a n d a S to v e r ow nci m Expanded selection of free and low-cost specialty condoms, lube, and more... 503 . 475.3446 w w w .G o tch aC o vered .co m /n o w
