Sunday, October 7
Comedienne Susan Norfleet
8:00 PM, Gifford Auditorium
Sponsored by Pride Union & the Student Association Whether you are queer, straight, transgender, bisexual, gay or lesbian, be ready to laugh your pants off with a very funny stand-up comedian as we kick off Coming Out Week 2007! Tickets are $3 for SU students and $5 for non-students and are available at the Schine Box Office.

Monday, October 8
LGBT Resource Center Open House
2:00 - 4:00 PM, LGBT Resource Center @ 750 Ostrom Ave.
Sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center Prospective students and their families are invited to the LGBT Resource Center to meet the staff and find out more about LGBTQ culture and opportunities on the Syracuse University campus. For further information contact lgbt@syr.edu.

"Guess the Hetero" Game Show
8:00 PM, Schaffer 121
Sponsored by Pride Union A fresh twist on an old game. Using questions and games, can the audience guess the sexual identities of the contestants? For more information, contact lgbt@syr.edu. FREE!

Tuesday, October 9
Chalking the Quad
8:30 PM, LGBT Resource Center @ 750 Ostrom Ave.
Sponsored by Pride Union Meet at the LGBT Resource Center, then grab some chalk and join us for this Coming Out Week tradition as we mark the quad with LGBTQA affirming messages!

Queer Visual Culture Series - Film Screening of Madame Sata
7:00 PM, Grant Auditorium, College of Law
Sponsored by the LGBT Studies Program Karim Aïnouz's award-winning film about the explosive life of 1930s Brazilian legend, João Francisco dos Santos, aka Madame Satã: drag queen, hustler, gangster, prince of thieves and adoptive father.

Wednesday, October 10
Coming Out Stories
7:00 PM, Kittredge Auditorium, HBC
Sponsored by Pride Union and the LGBT Resource Center Join us in celebrating the coming out stories of your LGBTQ peers! Feel free to share your story in a welcoming and affirming environment. FREE!

Thursday, October 11
National Coming Out Day
Rainbow Bridge
2:00 - 2:30 PM, The Quad
Sponsored by Pride Union Come and join hands with other LGBTQA across the Quad in celebration of National Coming Out Day! 2007 Out and Ally List Sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center Keep your eyes peeled for the 2007 Out and Ally list published in today's edition of the Daily Orange!

The BIG Gay Dance
8:00 PM, Schine Underground
Sponsored by Pride Union Pride Union's dance party returns. Head to the Underground for great times, good music, and a dance like never before. Tickets are $5 for students and are available at the SU Box Office.

Friday, October 12
Relax with Friends
Noon - 4:00 PM, Hang out at the LGBT Resource Center

LGBTA Alumni Homecoming Reception
7:00 - 8:30 PM, LGBT Resource Center
Sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center

Attention Alumni:
Show your pride at Outfest 2007 in the City of Brotherly Love! Stroll through Philadelphia's 14th annual block party in the Gayborhood, then join us at Tavern on Camac for a casual gathering of Syracuse University's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender alumni. Reconnect with old friends and make new ones at this fun-filled event! Partners and friends are welcome, and light refreshments will be served. Orange attire optional.

the time: Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007 4:00- 6:00pm
the place: upstairs at Tavern on Camac, 243 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA

For more information please email lgbt@syr.edu.

The Slutzker Center has come out with its latest newsletter. The center provides resources and valuable links to the international student community. Included in this issue is a memorial for a late friend of the community, safety tips, and much more. For the complete newsletter please click here.

This is an empirical study examining attitudes, feelings, and experiences associated with being an African American who experiences attraction to members of the same sex. Historically, researchers have neglected the lives of African American gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons, and very little research has looked specifically at attitudes, feelings, and experiences that sexual minority persons have based on their race and sexual orientation. The researcher sincerely invites you to participate in this survey to help learn more about the African American sexual minority persons in our community!

To be eligible for this study, you must be an African American who is at least 18 years old, has experienced same-sex attraction, and currently resides in the United States. The survey is anonymous, and takes about 20 minutes to complete. As an incentive to participate, all participants will be given the chance to enter a participant raffle awarding $100 to one randomly selected participant.

There is no more than minimal risk or discomfort expected from participating in this study. If you do experience distress or discomfort as a result of participating in this survey, I encourage you to contact your local mental health professional or one of the following organizations:

National Gay and Lesbian Hotline: http://www.glnh.org/ or call 1-888-843-4564
National resource for suicide hotlines: http://suicidehotlines.com/ or call 1-800-SUICIDE

If you have any questions or comments about this research project, please contact Dawn Szymanski via e-mail at dszymans@utk.edu or via phone at (865-974- 3302). If you have questions about your rights as a participant, contact the University of Tennessee Office of Research Compliance Officer at (865) 974-3466. If you would like to receive a brief written summary of the results when the study is complete, please send a written request to Dawn M. Szymanski via e-mail at dszymans@utk.edu (in the subject line put "AA GLB Results").

The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition is issuing a call to join our members, members of other organizations and numerous individuals in protesting the lavish October 6th annual HRC National Dinner in Washington, DC. Representative Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, will be featured as keynote speaker at the event.

Last week, after a hastily called "whip count" (where the majority party whip polls members of committees or Congress to gauge whether legislation has sufficient votes), Rep. Barney Frank (D- MA) stripped Gender Identity from the original bill. This action was allegedly based on the results of as yet unsubstantiated claims of not having enough support for trans-inclusion.

Recently, Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) authored and circulated a letter signed by more than 150 different state and national organizations and submitted to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi petitioning for a return to one inclusive bill for the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), HR 2015 in its inclusive form.

From this effort has come a new ad-hoc campaign: United ENDA, the new collective of over 150 organizations (www.unitedenda.org ) that have agreed to the principles of explicitly inclusive legislation submitted to Congress.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which claims to be the largest U.S. LGBT civil rights organization, has not signed onto an endorsement of the statement signed by the members of United ENDA, opposing the split of the proposed bill into separate legislation ­ one for sexual orientation and one for gender identity.

"We are very disappointed and angry that any civil rights organization claiming to advocate for our rights can turn their backs on us when the going gets tough," said Ethan St.Pierre, Board Chair of NTAC. "It amounts to a betrayal, since HRC earlier promised to support only an inclusive ENDA."

At the Southern Comfort Conference (SCC) in mid- September, HRC Exec. Director, Joe Solmonese made a promise as keynote speaker that HRC would not only support an inclusive ENDA bill, but would also oppose any attempt at submitting a non-inclusive bill. While at SCC, HRC culled many new memberships and donations from the transgender community. "After removing gender identity from a bill that would have protected millions of transgender Americans from discrimination in employment, the message being sent to the entire Congress and to corporate America is that it is acceptable to discriminate against transgender, intersexed, and other gender variant Americans," NTAC Chair, St. Pierre added.

As a result of HRC's rescission of their promise three weeks earlier, the only transgender ever seated on their Board of Directors, Donna Rose, resigned October 2, 2007 in disappointment. Additional resignations from the transgender community are continuing to come in, including Robbi Cohn resigning from HRC's steering committee for the Carolinas.

In Rose's resignation, she stated, "The relationship between HRC and the transgender community is one scarred by betrayal, distrust, and anger. I have become a focal point for much of that frustration," she noted, adding she "accepted that responsibility with the hope that I could help to change [HRC]."

"I call on other like-minded board members, steering committee leaders, donors, corporate sponsors, and volunteers to think long and hard about whether this organization still stands for your values and to take decisive action."

All those who stand in solidarity with the transgender community, including HRC Board members wishing to make a statement, are welcome to join us on Saturday, October 6th at 4:30 p.m. before the Major Donors Reception. The picketing will continue throughout the General Reception and Banquet.

"We want to ensure people note that this is a non- violent protest, and that we should avoid working to our detriment by being profane or verbally attacking," said NTAC Media Director, Vanessa Edwards Foster. "Icy glares and stone cold silence work well."

"Bring out your unequal signs and let HRC and Barney Frank know that we're quite aware of what they think of us."
The event will take place at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW (near 9th St & Mass Ave) Washington DC. For those coming in from outside of the city, this is on the Green Line at the Mount Vernon Square / UCC stop.

Founded in 1999, NTAC - the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition ­ is a grassroots civil rights organization working to establish and maintain the right of all transgendered, intersexed, and gender- variant people to live and work without fear of violence or discrimination.

In response to this HRC has completely change their direction. Readers can find out more about what HRC is doing to respond by visiting their website at www.hrc.org.