Final Post of the Semester

After extensive exam studying and what not, I've finally decided that I should post the final GSA blog of this semester.

Our final meeting was more fun than official. I wont really mention the fun part, since it's obvious what fun is.

Our bill to the senate was approved for the money necessary for the concert we're holding on January 31st.

Also, one of our members had been working very hard on getting together the piece of the AIDS Quilt that we want to donate.

Sorry

Like the title says, sorry. I've been so busy and worn out I just haven't even had the energy to go through my notes and post what's been going on with the FMUGSA. Terribly sorry about that, but on the good side I only missed two weeks worth of meeting posting, instead of, well, more.
A quick thank you to all who turned out to the HIV Testing that we cosponsored with the ResLife peeps, we had a lot more people turn out for the free testing than expected, great work.
December 1 is World AIDS day.
Our friends at the center project will be hosting the AIDS Quilt at the beach.
Also there will be a Pee Dee AIDS walk bright and early that we would love to have volunteers for.

If you would like to help volunteer with the Adoption Agency's Day camp, applications are still available.

On another note, we would like to add a panel to the AIDS quilt. Joe did research on it. The panel can be anything that memorializes or brings awareness to the AIDS issue. We want to work on ideas for the quilt.

The next meeting will be November 29th.

Hillary's visit

Okay, last Thursday Senator Clinton wasn't really there, but two of her representatives were. And yes I said last Thursday. I'm a little late in posting this, but I've been really busy. I'm sure you understand.
So on October 25th our meeting mostly consisted of political chat and learning about Mrs. Clinton. Joseph Addams and Jeremy Kennedy were the representatives that were sent to talk with us.
Before they started talking about Hillary's campaign and what not, they told us a bit about themselves and why they decided on Hillary.
Addams told us that he joined because he believes that Clinton has spent her life helping people and that if she is in office, then she can make a difference.
Kennedy, who used to work for the Human Right Campaign, was originally a Barack Obama supporter, but once he heard Clinton speak at an HRC Meeting his mind changed a bit. The Clinton's have always been advocates of the GLBT community and her health care values really stood out to him. He told us that Clinton worked really hard during her husband's time in office to make a difference. Kennedy believes that Hillary can get her ideas through because she knows how to get things done.

After their brief introductions, we jumped right into asking questions about Hillary's stance on things.
-Gay Marriage- Hillary is in full support of civil unions on the federal level.
-Alternative Fuels- Hillary wants to invest in solar energy, Ethanol, etc. Getting those kinds of energies more readily available should then cut back on foreign oils drastically, and should give more jobs to Americans. Clinton sees our reliance on foreign fuels as an issue of national security.
-Bill Clinton's "Dont Ask Dont Tell" Policy- She is very against this policy and has spoken against Peter Pace (yes, i'm clueless as to who this is, if you are too...use Google). Hillary is in favor of the military readiness act that will allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military. She is in full support of overturning this policy.
-Iraq- Clinton promises that once she is in office she will start getting troops out within the first nine days. She recognizes that she can't pull them all out at once, but must do so in a systematical way. (which makes perfect sense to me)
-Foreign Policy- Hillary is for diplomacy over fighting, and will totally use her husband as a diplomatic liaison. Both of them are respected figures abroad, and wish to use this to their advantage. It is Hillary's goal to restore America's respect around the world.
-Illegal Immigrants- Hillary is for stronger border patrol, and believes this will be better accomplished once the troops are back home and better able to serve on US Soil.
-Social Security- She DOES NOT want to privatize SS. She wants to preserve it and will probably try to incorporate it into her health and budget/economic plans.
-Economy- Hillary plans to boost the economy with alternative fuels/energy and put incentives in American products. She is really interested in the technology sector and providing more work training programs, that are more readily available to adults. She believes we need to increase the quality of American workers so large companies do not go elsewhere.
-Education- Hillary believes in giving universal day care and universal Pre-K so that all children get off on the same foot, not just the rich. She wants to address the problems that no child left behind have brought about.
-Outsourcing Jobs- she wants to take the people that are being outsourced and then give them the proper work training.
-AIDS in the world- On the home front: Not a proponent for promoting abstinence. She thinks education is what should be promoted. Educate children, not just tell them NO. Foreign (Africa): Wants to confront the AIDS crisis, starting with taking the time to educate the people there, and invest money in treatment.
-Stem Cells- Hillary supports the use of it. Doesn't agree with Bush vetoing Federal Funding for Stem Cell research. She believes that we shouldn't discount any area of science.
Various: ENDA- Hillary is in full support of ENDA. Stricter standards for 'bad' imports such as the Mattel toys and bad foods. Remember that Hillary has the experience of seeing how the presidential system really works, since she was a First Lady.

Clinton has recently opened an office in Florence. For more information contact Jeremy Kennedy at jkennedy@hillaryclinton.com.

The Gamma Sigma Alliance does not endorse any candidate (neither does HRC yet). We do encourage you to vote though. If you don't vote, you don't get to talk. January 26th will be the democratic primary in South Carolina, and the GSA will have a voting party.

Also, want to say thank you for all who turned out for the Halloween Party on Wednesday, I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance. Meeting tonight at 6pm at the old cafe in the UC. Be there.

October 18th GSA Meeting

Today's meeting was over a lot sooner than usual, but we had less chit chat than normal. Ya' know, people were trying to be good. So, here's your summary, posted on the same day. Yay me!

Okay, first off. A biiiig thanks to everyone that helped in any way with National Coming Out Day!!! We ended up with 176 signs on the boards, and 169 pledges. If you missed it, or just wanna see the pictures taken, all 374 pictures are on the GSA Myspace page. It's worth a look.

This coming Saturday night some members of GSA are going to the Fair at the Fairgrounds, you're welcome to join us there. We haven't decided on an exact time, but call up someone, or post a message here and we'll see about organizing a time.

The Pee Dee Heart Walk is October 27th at 9am, you can still sign up, so JUST DO IT! :)

Big thing...the Halloween Party. It is Wednesday, October 31st! From 8 until 2am. You dont have to stay the whole time, but we encourage you to participate in the costume contest. There is no entry fee, but the award is $50 for first, $30 for 2nd, and $20 dollars for 3rd. The worst that can happen is you dont get anything, but you dont lose anything either (unless you spent an outragious amount on your costume). So make sure you're there. We'll be having friends for sister schools, so lets so them some GSA Love!!!

Joe, and a few more RAs are throwing and HIV Awareness Event on November 5th, and GSA is co-sponsering. People from Hope Health will be there to take HIV Tests, which will be completely private and only take about 20 minutes to go through. From what I understand, it's just a mouth swab. GET TESTED!!! At the end, the event planners will be giving out condoms, so get yours!

Finally, make sure you are at the next meeting if you are into Politics. We will have a representative for Senator Hillary Clinton come to speak with us. If you questions about this particular candidate, or know nothing, then I encourage you to attend.

As a final announcement, we've got a few members of GSA in Taming of the Shew if you get a chance, try to go. (October 25, 26, 27).

Enjoy!
Lheage

Quick Meeting Overview

Eh, sorry it's taken me so long to get last Thursday's meeting information up. It's been in the back of my mind, and we didn't really discus anything new.

We went over, again, the plans for National Coming Out Day. You can read all of the information in more detail in my previous posts. The plan is, if you have a free moment, then you get your butt over to our tent (between FH and CEMC) and help until you don't have another free moment. Simple, eh?

We brainstormed some ideas for our GSA Social, but for the life of me I can't find my notes on it. The social will be in November.

We also discussed the GLBTQQ Fall Festival (aka Halloween Party). Nick will be organizing it. She'll need people to help decorate and what not, so if you see her, volunteer to help with whatever she may need.

We've also got a concert coming up in January (I haven't decided on a date yet). Two very good artists will be coming to Francis Marion, and we get to host it. Yay!
Julia Carroll
and
Corey Houlihan.

Check them out.

So, that was pretty much what we spoke of.

There wont be a meeting this coming Thursday because we have the National Coming Out Day event.

An Informative Thursday

Thursday's meeting definitely came as a surprise to me. I was almost running late, as I hurried into the old cafe and took my seat. The meeting soon started, and to my surprise I found we had a guest. His name was Ryan Cooper and is the Florence organizer for BarackObama. Before I continue further, I will state that the FMU GSA does not endorse any presidential candidate, we have an open forum for anyone wishing to come speak with the GSA.
After Ryan made his introductions everyone at the meeting had a chance to ask him about Senator Obama, and his stance on things. I took notes, and this is what we learned:

• · On Education- Senator Obama wants to focus on early education, that way children have the skills necessary to learn, before they start Kindergarten. The Senator also said that teachers needed more compensation for the great work that they do. It is also necessary, in Mr. Obama's mind to have sufficient funding for Bills when they are passed, and to put more money into recruiting teachers.
  

• · On the War-Obama has always been major candidate to oppose the war. But it still took place, so Barack has proposed a staged withdrawal (little by little) of troops and believes it is important to have a deadline for setting a sense of urgency. He wants the Iraq leaders know that America won’t be there forever.

• · On Poverty Issues- Obama has fought on behalf of the struggling population since before he became a US citizen. He has worked in the community especially in low income area; and he has created after school programs for children,etc. Mr. Obama believes in tax relief to low income people and says that larger companies (IE. Walmart) should offer health care to employees. Barack also wants to remove the cap from higher income people, so they contribute more money.

• · On Health Care- Mr. Obama believes in universal health care; and with universal health care he thinks that people will have to make less doctor trips and can, overall, be healthier.
  There are 5 things that Barack Obama wants: The federal government to take tabs for the most expensive procedures and operations; taking a preventive approach (regular trips) to the doctor (will will reduce the amount of 'emergencies; requiring hospital to document better along with moving from the expensive paper driven system (better with technology like computers); and taking power away from insurance and drug companies. To clarify, he doesn’t want to take up all their 'seats', he just wants to make room for more of them. And hopes to make generic drugs along with cheaper drugs from Canada more accessible.

• · Equality- Barack is for strong civil unions. He believes that every person should have the same rights as a married couple, legally. He believes it should be up to each denomination of the church to decide on "gay marriage," but will push for having civil unions.

• · Fuel- The senator wants more prevalent E85 stations, and is also looking more into ‘corn’ for fuel. He also wants to invest in better research, bring back the smart scientists that have gone elsewhere.

• · Steam Cell- Barack Obama believes in stem cell research, and wants to provide funding for it, along with (again) bringing back the scientists that have gone elsewhere.

• · Social Security- The question is, should we tax the wealthy past $97,000? First off, Barack doesn’t want to privatize social security and he believes that the cap should be removed.
  

• · Foreign Policy- Mr. Obama believes in capability of the leaders in east to fight off Al Queda in Pakistan and elsewhere. He thinks we should employ diplomacy (talking) before even considering war. And since the speaker we had included this in this section, I will too. Barack Obama also supports unions.

• If anyone wishes to learn more about Barack Obama or wants to help in his campaign you can call 843-601-6087. Ryan Cooper was the speaker who came to us, you'll probably want to ask for him. You can also visit their office at 466 West Cheves.
  

Now, the business at hand. A couple more announcements were made at the meeting.

• On October 25th a representative for Hillary Clinton will come to speak to the GSA. If you want to be more informed, you are welcome to attend.

• Very soon, we will have a "mock" showing, or debate, or whatever you want to call it, where we can all get together and talk about the '08 Presidential Candidates.

• · Bill Oberst did a small presentation on Biology on Sexual Orientation last year, will have him again on Feb 7^th. (www.billoberst.com)

In regards to National Coming Out Day:

• We were approved for the space by FH/CEMC near the fountains. We will have two tents, two tables, chairs, trashcans and pegboards.
• It is reserved for 10am until 3pm. You are encouraged to volunteer.
• Based on your class schedules, we will soon make up a ‘schedule’ for when people can be there to help.
  
• The theme will be: “Come out as an ally for people rights…” A lot of people are coming out as allies for equality, you can too...and so on.
• As a note, Jeff Brown of Warehouse 250 will be loaning us the magical grill there.
• Remember, Thursday October 11th is the day!

And that's all I've got for you right now. Meetings are Thursdays at 6pm at the old UC Cafe. You really should come to the meetings, they're exciting.

Also, Thanks to all you came out for PRIDE, we had a blast. If you missed it, you missed out!

September 20th Meeting

On Thursday's meeting we talked mostly about Pride this Saturday. We decided who would be riding with whom. We also discussed the plans for the float, and what people would be wearing. Most of the meeting was like an open discussion.

We lightly touched on the plans for National Coming Out Day. Everything discussed about NCOD has previously been mentioned on this blog. Any new information will be posted when more is known.

Again, if you are attending Pride and wish to follow the main group, the be at IHOP by 7am.

Pride

Pride this Saturday People!!!!

Visit this link for more information

Plans for Pride Week.

Monday

• Order float skirt from ParadeStuff.com
• Order rental items from Complete Rental
• White PVC arch
• 6-43" Columns

• Check prices for things at Hobby Lobby

Tuesday

• Mini Meeting for member and pride volunteers

Wednesday

• Paint trailer and gather supplies
  

Thursday

• GSA Meeting at 6 PM to go over Saturday
• Make arrangements for travel.
• Set time line for Saturday
• Finalize all details for Pride
• Tie Die Pride shirts for group to wear during Pride.

Friday

• Pick rented items from Complete Rental
• Pick up Ferns from Forest Lake Green House
• Pack all Float decorations for transport

Saturday

• Meet at IHOP at 7am for coffee and direction handouts.
• 7:30 am leave for Columbia
  

September 13 Meeting

For any of those GSA members that might have missed the meeting on Thursday, or just for those that wish to keep up with the goings on with GSA I will be posting blogs after the meetings with the notes I took during the meeting.

Pride

Saturday September the 22nd is the Pride Parade. If you are planning to attend and go with the group, then you must be at IHOP on David McLeod Blvd. near the mall no later than 7am. Will are pulling out at 7am, so if you aren't there, you are left behind.
The parade starts at 12 pm and is approximately 1.6 miles so it should last a little over an hour. If you are not going to be on the float you are welcome, no...encouraged to walk with the float. When the parade is over everyone should meet at Finley Park to take the float apart. If you don't know where in the park, just look for all the bright colors.
We will also be entering a car into the parade that will be in front of our float. Miss FMU GSA will be in it.
We will be getting as much ready on the float as possible before the Pride Parade. Please contact Arron or Xzaviar for more information.

Winthrop

On September 29th, members from GSA are invited to go to Winthrop to visit with our friends there. We are invited at a discounted price to a show called "Stop Kiss". It starts at eight. For more info please visit the Winthrop University Theatre Department website.

National Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day is October 11th. We are hoping to have t-shirts and buttons. We will also be Cooking "Out" with hot dogs and probably Vegetarian options. The rule is, if you want food, then you will have to fill out a "Coming out as an alley for...." paper. It is a better way to spread the knowledge of who we are and what we stand for. All this will take place on the lawn of the CEMC/FH.
After the cook out, we are considering a "mini GSA" parade. Big posters would be really fun. Also, we want to take loads of pictures, so look your bestest!

The Fall Festival (Annual Halloween Party) will be on October 31st. More information will be posted as I learn more.

This is for Nick....
MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 20th. THEY ARE $10. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM, NICK WILL GET YOU!!!!

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