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The Red and Black / Finals • Mond
1990 • 3
AGLA increases local awareness
Fall quarter successful
By LANCE HELMS
Staff Writer
Although the Athens Gay and Lesbian Associa
tion was unsuccessful in having homosexuals
added to the list of protected individuals in the
University’s non-discrimination policy, AGLA Co
director Lawson Sullivan is happy with the group’s
fall quarter accomplishments.
M I feel great about this quarter for a number of
reasons," Sullivan said. “We’ve reached out to a
number of people — we have a lot of new faces this
year. Of course, we try to gear it for everybody, but
it’s certainly getting a lot more student support
than it used to.
‘The fact that there’s an active organization in
Athens indicates to me that Athens is a cool place
to be gay, relatively speaking."
Ric Helton, a University radio-TV-film produc
tion graduate who heads AGLA’s special projects
committee, said the publicity surrounding the
group’s fight for University-wide protection of ho
mosexuals focused attention on AGLA, forcing
members to rethink the way they communicate
With each other.
“We’re working on setting up phone trees for let
ting people know what’s going on,” he said. “We’re
hoping to fine-tune our old system."
Sullivan said, “I think AGLA’s doing a much
better job of being more visible — standing up for
what we believe in and working for what we believe
in.”
Helton, who publishes Athens Ten Percent, the
group’s newsletter, said he’s had to forgo produc
tion of the last two issues due to financial prob
lems. When membership dues don’t meet expenses,
he sometimes uses his own money to get things
done.
“Funding is still a problem,” Helton said. “You
can only pass the tin plate so often.”
AGLA has about 30 members who pay the $5-
per-quarter membership fee, and its budget dried
up in late October during the Gay and Lesbian
Awareness Days program, Sullivan said. Luckily,
speakers came from Atlanta at their own expense
for GLAD.
She said AGLA applied for University funding
too late last year.
“We put in the budget late, which they didn’t ap
prove," Sullivan said. “But we’re going to do it right
next year.”
Helton said AGLA wants corporate donations,
but he compared the likelihood of getting them to
AGLA’s search for businesses to list in a referral di
rectory of providers friendly to homosexual pa
tronage.
“We do want to get more community involve
ment," Sullivan said. “I think we are in many ways
primarily a student organization, but I think it’s
important to get a community base, too.”
Sullivan said AGLA’s on-campus functions, like
its Halloween party, went well.
“I have been beyond pleasantly surprised,” Sul
livan said. “Specifically, the Student Activities
people have been particularly helpful. They didn’t
declare it an official party, so we didn’t have to sign
in and we didn’t have to have ushers.”
AGLA has spent a lot of time trying to develop
the referral directory, a list of local businesses that
welcome gay patrons and are sensitive to their con
cerns, Helton said. But it’s been a long time
coming.
“Several people through several incarnations of
the group have tried to do that,” Helton said. ‘The
people I’ve talked to welcome gay and lesbian pa
tronage, but they don’t want to advertise it*
Businesses have a legitimate fear they’ll suffer if
they solicit homosexual patronage via the direc
tory, he said.
“Part of it is that we’re in rural Northeast
Georgia — but it’s also good business sense,”
Helton said.
The directory won’t be a matter of public record,
but is intended as a resource for the group, he said.
Events slated for the future include a lesbian
and gay film festival and a Valentine’s Day dance,
Sullivan said.
On the special projects side, Helton wants AGLA
to develop a series of educational videotapes.
“It should be useful for health centers, coun
seling groups and people who want to check them
out,” he said.
“What Ric basically wants to do is film a
speakers bureau engagement so that we can reach
more of an audience,” Sullivan said.
Under the speakers bureau program, members
volunteer to talk about gay life. Sullivan said
they’ve spoken to a local church youth group and in
residence halls.
“I think that’s the best thing AGLA does, be
cause ignorance is so unbelievably widespread and
f irofound with relation to lesbians and gays,” Sul-
ivan said. “I think it really helps to see us in
person and see that we’re human."
RA aids students and
keeps busy schedule
By SANDRA STEPHENS
Staff Writer
Brumby Resident Assistant
Paula Life sees her job as a way to
help residents and gain leadership
qualities.
Life, a sophomore early child
hood education major, said RAs
help educate students on what’s
going on around campus.
“We’re their support,” Life said.
‘We’re always there for them.”
Life, who’s from Jacksonville,
said her first quarter as an RA has
been difficult, but she’s learned to
manage her time between classes,
extracurricular activities and RA
duties.
“It makes you stay busy on a
time schedule,” she said.
Life said being an RA helps her
to relate to people her own age as
well as younger individuals, gain
more leadership qualities and tea
ches her responsibility.
“It gives me a lot of experience
working with different types ol
people and understanding their
Tracy St«nb#rf/The Red and Black
Paula Life: Brumby RA.
differences,” she said.
Vernon Wall, residence educa
tion consultant, said Life was one
of 40 students who represented the
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