by Matteo D. Hudson
Greetings dearest readers! Welcome to the first issue of what I hope will become a Proud tradition in the GSA and a worthy publication for any LGBTQ group. Many of you will not know me because I only just Came OUT last Spring (2007). Therefore, this is the opportune place to introduce myself.
My name is Matteo Hudson. I am a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major concentrating in Public Policy and Administration. As a Senior I will graduate in the Spring (2008) and go on from there. Other than being openly Gay I also have many other roles and have done a great deal with my life. But you will find out more about me--and I you--as the year progresses.
Last Saturday, during the GSA�s first official gathering, I offered to contribute to the newsletter (and vicariously the Movement as a whole) by writing a short commentary once weekly. The idea is that issues and discussions related to the LGBTQ community become available to all. Deciding on the first topic to be discussed in this fledgling column was not easy. After some internal struggle, I decided to share with you ways to be active in the Movement.
Starting this last 11 October 2007 (National Coming OUT Day), I began an awareness campaign I have called "Stamping OUT Homophobia." The intention is simple: to increase awareness and action through simple means. Let me share with you a technique of choice. On every piece of mail I send OUT, I write on the OUTside of the letter several suggestions. The mail always contains the phrase, "Support your Gay/Lesbian community." I then couple that with several suggestions as to just how someone reading this can support our community. The following is a short list and by no means complete:
- Elect Gay/Lesbian (Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, and Questioning) representatives to
government.
- Donate to HIV/AIDS Groups.
- Host an LGBTQ awareness conference at your workplace.
- Encourage Gay/Lesbian sex education in schools.
- Vote in favor of pro-LGBTQ legislation.
- Write your governmental representatives.
- Place a rainbow bumper-sticker on your car.
- Oppose derogatory uses of the words, "Faggot, Queer, Gay, and Dyke."
- Bring up Same-Sex Marriage as a topic with friends and relatives.
- Come OUT of the Closet.
By this point I am sure you have gleaned the general idea. The point is to give people a way to understand and support our community. There are some major advantages to this campaign. First, particularly in the case of bills (the majority of snail mail for most of us), the letter may have to pass by a hundred or more people before arriving. Second, the cost is already incurred by the thirty-seven cents spent on stamps (so virtually free).Third, even if the reader is a Jesse Phelps, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Strom Thurmond-like bigot, the topics of our community will still be on their minds and will likely generate some discussion. Even with the haters, we win a small victory just by increasing our presence.
And so, I leave you with this: be involved in some way. You need not do a lot, just do a little. Well, everyone, that is all I have space to share for this week. Until next time, here's me wishing you a Fabulous and Gay old time.