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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2001)
October 8,2i| {from Pagi\ (onday, October 8, 2001 mclear weapon ligher alert, Tit acting on tl* Ability of adj tivity occunini ■ world,” of the attack c support froj ■ around k • from congret d the Amenta '4,000 cheers mis at Vete delphia, whet a professiona as delayed s view f he big scree; nts of “USA other stadiui a. Ice involvedil ise inissilfi American as Gen. Richat )mbers a h sea and laai involved, ft 2:30 p.m. El fghanistan. into office loint Chiefs a week aeo, a! ded B-l *rs as well a dnes that hast i the region 3t. 11. opped at le 3ound gran: aeda terrons in easiei official said ary Donald I e strikes wet liminate tie ses and destro / aircraft rs are known: lory' of surface well as shoul- aft missiles. :s in Pakistai .1 damaged tin »wer at the air- m Afgtorf oke om the htih- d of Mull® r, the Talih® es added. —41 TION All About Comins Out Student organizations focus on understanding y educating for National Coming Out Week By Kevin Burns THE BATTALION On Oct. 11, 1987, half a mil lion people marched through the nation’s capitol for gay and les bian equality. In honor of that day, Rob Eichberg, creator of the per sonal growth workshop “The Experience,” and Jean O’Leary, former head of National Gay Rights Advocates, founded National Coming Out Day (NCOD). Since its inception, NCOD has been a day of aware ness and general promotion of gay, lesbian and transgendered equality. Monday, Oct. 8 through Sunday, Oct. 14 will be recog nized by Texas A&M as Coming Out Week (COW). Several events will take place each day, including speakers, a religious tolerance panel and an informal lecture on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered literature. Christina Gonzalez, coordinator of COW and a graduate assistant in the Gender Issues Education Services Office, said the week will focus on making students aware of gender-related topics. “We try to let people know all the resources [regarding gendei issues] and encourage people to visit all the resource tables and come to all the events so they know the kind of support they have on this campus,” Gonzalez said. On the surface, being gay may appear a daunting lifestyle given Texas A&M’s conservative histo ry. Yet, Gonzalez said COW is meant to curb that notion and let people know of the many gay and gay-friendly organizations in the Bryan-College Station area, including Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Assocation (GLBTA), ALLIES, Equal Rights Alliance, the National Organization of Women, Universalist Unitarian Church, The Friends Church, St. Thomas and St. Francis churches and the Bryan-College Station Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays. Gonzalez also said there are various factors of difficulty regarding homosexuality and coming out at A&M. “I think it really depends on your coming out process,” Gonzalez said. “If you are very comfortable with yourself, then it’s really not that hard, but if you are dealing with a lot of coming out issues, then yeah, it can be.” She noted the campus’ lack of organizational awareness and attributes her knowledge of gender issues to her position with Student Services. “I know of all these resources because of my job,” Gonzalez said, “but it might not be so obvi ous for some people if they are in such a conservative environment. They might feel there’s no one there to help them when, in actual ity, there are a lot of people willing to help them.” Bradley Frese, secretary of GLBTA and a senior management major said the organization focus es on student support. “The importance of [GLBTA] is that we provide support for GLBT individuals within the com munities,” Frese said. “At our meetings, we have educational information. We might have some body come in and talk about how to protect yourself. At the last meeting, we had somebody come in and discuss resources available on campus to help GLBT students. “The last purpose is to provide an environment where GLBT stu dents can get to know each other and interact in a social environ ment without a threat of exposure or harassment.” He also said the GLBTA’s practical approach can help stu dents cope with the difficulty of coming out. “If someone is working on coming out, we know about the resources around,” Frese said. “Several members are very out and open about [being gay] and some are more discreet. We have a whole range of people they can talk to and interact with.” Frese described his own com ing out experience as easy but said he realizes many students face more difficult circumstances. “My coming out experience was very different than for most people,” Frese said. “I chose to tell my family first before anybody else knew. I have a very support ive family and it was never a trau matic experience for me. Everyone that I have talked to has been more than supportive about it.” Unfortunately, said Frese, not everybody will have the same feather landing when coming out. “From talking to a lot of my friends it’s not always that way,” See Coming Out on page 5. OttOMALLAM* THE UATTAUON MSC Current Issues Awareness Presents... Bernie’s “Beware of the Binge Beer is expensive. Laugh for free. See what Bernie has to say about your weekend. your ENTS ready veek Iprinting.cofl' ce Display 5 ■pads ng.com olleman) spring semff; exam R: Send vision Iding. Newsroom 3att.com ttalion. Forcam- iseg./tdvertisinS Fax: 845-2678. - $30 for the fa 11 3rd, Discover, or Comedy Hour FREE A DMISSION Tuesday, October 9 7-8pm Rudder Auditorium Pick up FREE tickets at the Rudder Box Office Please contact Joe Williams at (979) 845-1515 for more information. cia.msc.tamu.edu Persons with disabilites, please call (979) 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. ^STUD^ %