LGBTQA History Month Dinner
Deemed A Success

More than 300 members of the LGBT community and avid allies gathered on Thursday, Oct. 27 to mark the 9th Annual LGBTQA History Month Dinner hosted by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After the Outlinc-sponsored social hour, guests were seated in the ballroom at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Lincoln.

“That's so gay...and gay is good,” said Pat Tetreault, director of the LGBTQA Resource Center at UNL, in her opening remarks.

The dinner itself was a celebration of the community and brought closure to the month full of activities that showcased the successes and hardships felt by every LGBT person.

Emceeing the night were Amy Vanderpool and Steven Soebbing who brought comedy and lightheartedness to the event. The featured musician, Rebecca McPherson, performed piano with vocals and Stacey Waite 'slammed' the audience with a poetry performance.

Lori Thomas, from The University of Nebraska Foundation, took a moment to speak of the Louis Crompton Scholarship at UNL. The scholarship, worth $500 ($250 per semester), is given to one student each year who is a member of the Queer Ally Coalition (or another LGBTQA Registered Student Organization), and/or a LGBTQ/Sexuality Studies minor. Thomas honored Ryan Fette and Fred Schneider, who initiated the scholarship in 2009.

"We are now only a few hundred dollars away from reaching our goal of $25,000, which will endow the scholarship and make it a permanent fixture at UNL," Schneider said. "When we reach our goal, the award will increase to over $1000 each year."

Providing the key-note address was Sarah Schulman, an openly lesbian novelist, historian and playwright. A distinguished professor at the City University of New York, College of Staten Island and a Fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University, Schulman addressed the audience on transforming familial homophobia.

Tetreault deemed the dinner, and the month, a success in her closing remarks, noting the highest-ever attendance for the annual event. She said she looks forward to seeing what next year will bring.

by Riley S. Huskey
Editor
touchémag.com