[From the Spring, 1996 issue of The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Newsletter]
Resource Center Needs Donations. A student-run Gay & Lesbian Resource Center is about to become a reality, but we need your help! Harvard College has provided a room, basic furniture, shelves and $500 towards books. The Open Gate has approved a $4,000 grant for startup costs, the salary of a half-time work-study student and operating costs. It would free up money from the approved budget if we could get donations of additional items, or the money to buy them. The center needs: filing cabinet, two halogen lamps, a coffee table, a couch, a 25" television (Sharp), a JVC videocassette recorder. An older PC has been donated, but the students would prefer a Macintosh computer with fax modem and printer. The Center also needs furnishings such as posters and rugs, and of course books. All donations may be made to The Open Gate, Inc. and will be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please contact Hugh Russell at [email protected] to offer whatever you can. This is an opportunity for alumni/ae to help improve g/l/b life for Harvard undergraduates .
The Newsletter Turns Fourteen. 1996 is the 14th year of publication of The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Newsletter. The Winter issue was Volume XIV, No. 1 (also known as Volume XIII, No. 4), and this is Volume XIV, No. 2. Eric Rofes AB '76 founded the Newsletter; the Caucus took over responsibility a few years later. The deadline for the next issue will be September 15. Send submissions to [email protected] or to our P.O. box.
Playwright Terrence McNally visited Harvard in February under the auspices of the Office for the Arts' Learning From Performers program, coordinated by Caucus member Thomas Lee. McNally, author of "Love! Valor! Compassion!" and the current Broadway hit "Master Class," met students and other guests at a dinner hosted by the Signet Society on February 27, and held an informal work session with the undergraduate cast and production staff of his play "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," which will be presented in the Adams House Pool Theatre in May. On February 28, McNally participated in an informal discussion with students, faculty, staff and the general public in the Dunster House Junior Common Room.
D.C. Chapter Flourishes. The newly-formed District of Columbia Chapter of the Caucus is pursuing a number of plans: It has designated volunteer contact people from the College and each of several graduate and professional schools to be available to students planning to work for the summer or after graduation in the D.C. area - chapters in other areas may wish to follow this example. It is exploring with the local Harvard Club the possibility of sponsoring a joint event. Barney Frank has agreed to be the speaker at its first quarterly dinner, on May 3rd. And its first volunteer event will probably be the Names quilt in the fall. Its joint social with U. Penn. in March had good attendance. Get in touch with Tom Kelly '86 - [email protected] for more information on the D.C. chapter.
Lavender Lunch And Discussion Group. Lesbian, gay and bisexual faculty, employees and friends meet on Thursdays in Room M4, Boylston Hall (enter through Ticknor Lounge) at 12:15 p.m. for a brown bag lunch and good talk. For more information contact Brian MacDonald at [email protected].
Law Group Meets. The Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Alumni/ae Committee of the Harvard Law School Association held its Annual Meeting on April 13, 1996. The first order of business was to present its annual Fellowship Award of $4,000 to Courtney Grant Joslin, a 1L who will work this summer at the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project in New York City. Co-Chairs Bruce Deming and Chai Feldblum became Emeritus and new Co-Chairs Chad Johnson and Kirsten Dodge, both JD '92, were elected.
Portrait Planned. Prof. Arthur S. Leonard, JD '77, announced at the GLBAC/HLSA meeting that federal District Judge Deborah A. Batts, AB '69, JD '72, has agreed to sit for a portrait to be hung in the hallowed halls of HLS. Judge Batts, the first openly lesbian African-American on the federal bench, will make an agreeable contrast to the straight white men whose portraits now predominate. Those willing to contribute towards the $10,000 which this portrait is expected to cost should contact Prof. Leonard at [email protected].