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February 2006 Special Events

Wednesday, February 1

• PRIDE is going to Brokeback Mountain
  6:30 pm, Meet in front of Illini Union
  Yup, the big movie has finally made its way to Champaign/Urbana. Meet us on the north side of the Union, in the circle drive, at 6:30 pm. We're carpooling to the 7:00 pm showing at the Art Theatre, so please be there on time. Following the movie, we'll have a discussion about it.
• QueerGrads: Campus Rec Cheap Skating Wednesday
  7:30 - 9:30 pm
  Mark your calendars everyone. Campus Rec is having one if its cheap skating Wednesdays on February 1 from 7:30 - 9:30 pm. Come have some fun, some falls, some romantic patterns etched into the frozen breath on the walls? Who knows!

Thursday, February 2

• MBLGTACC 2008 Planning Committee Meeting #3
  5:00 pm, Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union) As some of you may know, the 2006 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, & Ally College Conference is on its way, and the staff at the Office for LGBT Concerns has expressed an interest in hosting the conference for the year 2008. In order for this conference to be made possible, we would be required to submit a bid to this year's conference committee to be considered. The university has hosted the conference in the past, but we feel it would be a great opportunity to reintroduce such a large venue to our campus. We will be having a meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm in the Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union). We will be providing food and refreshments for you for attending this meeting. If you are unable to attend this meeting, but would like to be involved in whatever capacity or would like to be kept on the e-mail list, please inform Patrick at your earliest convenience.
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month Planning Meeting
  5:30 pm, Rape Crisis Services, 310 W. Church St. (Near Downtown Champaign, on the corner of Church and Prairie)
  Everyone is invited to come provide their talents, ideas, and skills to April 2006's Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities. For more information, contact Ross Wantland at 333-3137.

Friday, February 3

• Campus Climate Survey Results: What have we learned about the climate for LGBT students? Where do we go from here?
  Noon - 1:30 pm, 403 Illini Union
  For this month's Ally Meeting, Khristian Kemp-DeLisser and Curt McKay, Assistant Director and Director of the Office of LGBT Concerns, will outline the results of last-semester's Campus Climate Survey. They will also answer questions about the results and discuss possible 'next steps' with the results as a guide. Cookies and soda will be served. For more information, contact Curt McKay (333-3280) or Anita Hund.

Saturday, February 4

• Student Activist Conference at University YMCA
  10:00 am - 5:00 pm, University YMCA, 1001 South Wright St. (Registration begins at 9:30)
  All events are rree and open to all students. To register, please e-mail becca@universityymca.org with your name and e-mail.
  • Workshops: Fundraising and Event Coordination, Running Successful Meetings, Publicity/Media Outreach, Dealing with the (University) Bureaucracy
  • Forums: Effective Lobbying, Dealing with Apathy
  • Free Lunch: Roundtable discussions on various topics

Monday, February 6

• MBLGTACC 2008 Planning Committee Meeting #4
  5:00 pm, Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union)
  As some of you may know, the 2006 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, & Ally College Conference is on its way, and the staff at the Office for LGBT Concerns has expressed an interest in hosting the conference for the year 2008. In order for this conference to be made possible, we would be required to submit a bid to this year's conference committee to be considered. The university has hosted the conference in the past, but we feel it would be a great opportunity to reintroduce such a large venue to our campus. We will be having a meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm in the Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union). We will be providing food and refreshments for you for attending this meeting. If you are unable to attend this meeting, but would like to be involved in whatever capacity or would like to be kept on the e-mail list, please inform Patrick at your earliest convenience.
• Debra Davis: Trans Activist
  8:00 pm, Pilling Chapel, Millikin University, Decatur IL
  Millikin University in association with Amnesty International proudly presents Debra Davis, a high school librarian who changed from a man to a woman over a weekend, and changed the attitudes of her students and colleagues in the process! Debra Davis is an award-winning transgender educator and activist. Her dynamic, thought-provoking presentations move and inspire audiences throughout the country. For more info, contact kimberly961@InsightBB.com.

Tuesday, February 7

• Rainbow Coffee House
  6:30 pm, the Etc., Wesley Foundation (corner of Green and Godwin)
  Offers a welcoming, nonreligious, open environment to LGBT and ALLY communities to socialize. Open every Tuesday. If you or your organization is interested in hosting, contact Sara Clemons at for more information. Sponsored by the Office of LGBT Concerns. This week Sue Rankin, who is the researcher who did our LGBT Campus Climate Survey last spring, will be at the Rainbow Coffeehouse to talk to students about her findings. A copy of the DRAFT Executive Summary of the Survey Results DRAFT is included in this newsletter.

Thursday, February 9

• MBLGTACC 2008 Planning Committee Meeting #5
  5:00 pm, Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union)
  As some of you may know, the 2006 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, & Ally College Conference is on its way, and the staff at the Office for LGBT Concerns has expressed an interest in hosting the conference for the year 2008. In order for this conference to be made possible, we would be required to submit a bid to this year's conference committee to be considered. The university has hosted the conference in the past, but we feel it would be a great opportunity to reintroduce such a large venue to our campus. We will be having a meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm in the Office for LGBT Concerns (Room 323, Illini Union). We will be providing food and refreshments for you for attending this meeting. If you are unable to attend this meeting, but would like to be involved in whatever capacity or would like to be kept on the e-mail list, please inform Patrick at your earliest convenience.

Monday, February 13

• Distinguished Lecture Series: Maria Klawe - School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University
  4:00 pm, 1404 Siebel Center for Computer Science, 201 North Goodwin Avenue, Urbana
  Gender, Lies and Video Games: the Truth about Females and Computing
  This talk explores how girls and women differ from boys and men in their uses of and attitudes towards computers and computing. From playing computer games to pursuing computing careers, the participation of females tends to be very low compared to that of males. Why is this? Opinions range from girls wanting to avoid the math and/or the geek image of programming to girls having better things to do with their lives. We discuss research findings on this issue, as well as initiatives designed to increase the participation of females in computing. Reception after the talk in the 2nd Floor Atrium of Siebel Center.
• MBLGTACC Participant's Meeting
  5:00 pm, LGBT Concerns Office, 323 Illini Union
  There will be a meeting of all students who want to attend the big gay conference on Monday, February 13 at 5:00 pm. This is required for those who have already signed up and made their payment. If you are still interested but have not submitted your money, it would still be a good idea for you to attend.
• ILGLBTQSACC Planning Committee Meeting
  6:00 pm, LGBT Concerns Office, 323 Illini Union
  There will be a meeting of all students who want to attend the big gay conference on Monday, February 13 at 5:00 pm. This is required for those who have already signed up and made their payment. If you are still interested but have not submitted your money, it would still be a good idea for you to attend.
• Date Auction
  8:00 pm, Allen Hall Main Lounge
  Q, the Allen Hall LGBT student organization, is holding its annual Valentine's Day Date Auction, their biggest event and fundraiser.

Tuesday, February 14

• Rainbow Coffee House
  6:30 pm, the Etc., Wesley Foundation (corner of Green and Godwin)
  Offers a welcoming, nonreligious, open environment to LGBT and ALLY communities to socialize. Open every Tuesday. If you or your organization is interested in hosting, contact Sara Clemons at for more information. Sponsored by the Office of LGBT Concerns. This week Sue Rankin, who is the researcher who did our LGBT Campus Climate Survey last spring, will be at the Rainbow Coffeehouse to talk to students about her findings. A copy of the DRAFT Executive Summary of the Survey Results DRAFT is included in this newsletter.

Friday, February 16

• Trans/Forming Knowledge: A Transgender Studies Symposium
  University of Chicago
  The emergence of transgender studies in recent years has raised far-reaching questions about the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of gender, women's, queer, and sexuality studies. This day-long symposium invites you to consider the significance and implications of these questions by engaging in a sustained, interdisciplinary conversation with four of the field's leading scholars. Trans/Forming Knowledge is being organized by the Center for Gender Studies with additional support from the Center's Lesbian and Gay Studies Project. It will take place on the University of Chicago campus; please check the CGS website for more detailed information as the date approaches.

Saturday, February 18

• Joni Laurence Performance
  7:30 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church
  Joni Laurence, a Champaign-based nationally touring singer-songwriter, will perform a recording concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church located at 309 W. Green Street in Urbana on Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 pm. Joni will perform eleven new songs that will become her fourth solo recording "a live CD" to be released in this summer. She will be joined by a cast of outstanding local musicians including Matt Stewart on guitar, Josh Walden on bass, Jeff Magby on drums and percussion, and Ryan Groff on vocals. For more information and to purchase tickets in advance visit www.jonilaurence.com/contribute.php.

Sunday, February 19

• Sappho Sunday Potluck for LGBT and Other Queer Women
  4:30 - 7:00 pm, Women's Studies House, 911 S. Sixth St, Champaign
  A monthly event co-sponsored by the Office for LGBT Concerns, the Office of Women's Programs, and Gender & Women's Studies. Meets the third Sunday of each month. Bring a dish to pass. A great opportunity to meet new women and build community. Call Pat at 217-333-3137 for more information.

Tuesday, February 21

• Rainbow Coffee House
  6:30 pm, the Etc., Wesley Foundation (corner of Green and Godwin)
  Offers a welcoming, nonreligious, open environment to LGBT and ALLY communities to socialize. Open every Tuesday. If you or your organization is interested in hosting, contact Sara Clemons at for more information. Sponsored by the Office of LGBT Concerns.
• Pride's Political Committee Meeting
  7:00 pm, Rainbow Coffee House
  PRIDE's political committee will be meeting to discuss the upcoming student trustee elections, and, briefly, Day of Silence. The meeting will be at Rainbow Coffeehouse at the corner of Goodwin and Green. (Look for the Etc. Coffeehouse sign.)

February 24 - March 4

• PLAY: The Normal Heart
  7:30 pm, Center for the Performing Arts Theatre, School of Theatre, Illinois State University
  "The Normal Heart" by Larry Kramer, the landmark 1985 play about activism at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, will be presented by Illinois State University's School of Theatre February 24 to March 4 in the Center for the Performing Arts Theatre. Kramer's controversial work chronicles the early struggles of raising consciousness as the looming AIDS crisis was both ignored by the gay community and silenced by the wider straight community. The Normal Heart will be presented at February 24, 25, 28 and March 1 to 4, with a 2:00 pm matinee on February 26. Tickets are $12 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens and $9 for students and are available at the Center for the Performing Arts box office from noon to 5:00 pm weekdays, by phone at (309) 438-2535 or online. The play is recommended for mature audiences. Group rate will be $7.00 per person if we can have 20 people sign up to go together at the same date. Or it will be $9.00 per student/$12.00 for anyone if you go individually. If you would like to invite someone to go along, group rate is great.

Saturday, February 25 - Sunday, February 26

• The Vagina Monologues
  General Admission tickets available in advance, $10! Come see Eve Ensler's powerful, moving show presented by over 30 of Urbana-Champaign's own women; real women's stories of happiness, passion, violence, and triumph! This event is one of over 1150 benefit productions of the show going on in 54 countries around the world, with all proceeds going to help stop violence against women and girls. The majority of local proceeds will aid A Woman's Fun and Women in Transition, to combat violence right here in Urbana- Champaign. In addition, 10% of our proceeds will go to the 2006 V-Day Spotlight Campaign, the "Comfort Women". The Urbana-Champaign 2006 V-Day campaign is very grateful to the Feminist Majority and the Spurlock Museum for their generous support. Tickets are still available for all three performances, and can be reserved by phone at 618-531-3168 or 217-369-3460.
  • Saturday, February 25 at 2:00 and 8:00 pm, Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana
  • Sunday, February 26 at 2:00 pm, Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana

Monday, February 27

• Translational Biomedical Research Seminar: "Genderbender Discovering the Road to Femaleness"
  Noon, 2506 VMBSB
  By Dr. Joan Jorgensen of Veterinary Biosciences

Tuesday, February 28

• Rainbow Coffee House
  6:30 pm, the Etc., Wesley Foundation (corner of Green and Godwin)
  Offers a welcoming, nonreligious, open environment to LGBT and ALLY communities to socialize. Open every Tuesday. If you or your organization is interested in hosting, contact Sara Clemons at for more information. Sponsored by the Office of LGBT Concerns.
• LGBT Issues Forum for UIUC Student Trustee Candidates
  8:00 pm, room 112 of the Chemistry Annex
  Hosted by PRIDE, a campus organization for LGBT students and their allies. The invited candidates include Nina Fuentes, sophomore in international studies; Chris Kantas, junior in history; and Mike Trojanowski, junior in finance. The forum will begin with a brief introduction by the moderators, sophomore Marjorie Perry and senior Victor Benitez, who is also the president of Colors of PRIDE, a student organization for LGBT students of color. After this introduction, each candidate will give an opening statement, followed first by previously submitted questions from the moderators and then by questions from the audience. The forum will end with closing statements by the candidates.

Events for this calendar are taken from the Office for LGBT Concerns weekly newsletter. Please email all events submissions to Khristian Kemp-DeLisser. Please use the following subject: LGBT Website Event: EVENT NAME. The closer you can match your information to the format used above, the easier you make our tasks.

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