Hello Loud and Queer readers! My name is Jonathan, but all my friends call me Hammy. I’m a hyper, in your face, love to laugh and love, hug-giving 21 year old who is so excited to be a new blogger for Loud and Queer! I’m a junior at Michigan State University and am currently pursuing my BA in psychology. (We’ll see if that holds….in my four semesters at MSU I’ve changed majors at least 7 times!!)
I was born and raised for 14 years in Rochester, Michigan, before moving to the least populous state in our great nation: Wyoming. Although it was a huge change for me, it has taught me to be adaptable, and gives me a bigger perspective on issues, especially as Wyoming is amongst the most conservative states in the USA. To give you an example, in the last presidential election, out of the 23 counties in Wyoming, only 2 counties ended up supporting Obama. The rest were 90% supportive of McCain. So when it comes to LGBT issues…let’s just say Wyoming will probably be amongst the last to be on board and supportive.
In 2009, I received a scholarship to attend MSU, and am so humbled and blessed to be able to attend this remarkable University. I came out as gay my freshman year here at MSU on National Coming Out Day in 2009. Needless to say I had a huge support system; MSU and their fabulous LGBT caucuses were there for me 100% and have since taught me how to be the best LGBT member I can possibly be.
I am so excited to be a part of this awesome group of bloggers and share with you, the readers, my opinions and experiences on LGBT topics and issues. I thank the current bloggers of Loud and Queer for choosing me to blog with them, and I look forward to the journey that lies ahead with this great opportunity.
Until next time!
~Your friendly neighborhood Hamster
Well this is going to be fun. What’s up? I’m Natalie and I’m so happy to say that I’m going to be one of the bloggers for this site! Just to give you guys a little bit about me, I’m a junior here at MSU in the BFA Acting program, I’m klutzy as all get out, I love people and I’m an ally. I’m not actual from Michigan; if you really go in depth, I’d say I’m from the world. And I mean that literally. I grew up in the oil industry and have been moving since I was 3 weeks old, I kid you not. Cartagena, Colombia; The Netherlands; Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Houston, Texas; and Calgary, Alberta before I landed here. I like to think that all of my travels have given me a really well rounded view of the world and people in it. Which is probably why I’m here, blogging for Loud and Queer. I was taught to accept everyone no matter who they are and that’s what I do. I don’t let people’s race, religion or creed determine whether or not I will accept them into my life; if you’re a good person then I’m there with open arms.
That got a little deep. But it’s true. I’m so, so excited that I’ve been asked to be a part of this blog because it lets me deal with any issues that arise in a way that I can say what I feel and have a dialogue about it with people, if they choose. Being from Texas, though I’d like to say that the newest generations are doing a lot of good down there I know that it is a very conservative state, one that does not accept very easily. And I don’t like that. But I don’t let the opinions of those around me down there cloud what I know to be true; that everyone is allowed to be happy, no matter who they happen to be happy with. If my cousin wants to marry her girlfriend and have children, then I want her to be able to do that. And I hope that this blog and my participation in it will just be a small step among many fighting for the right for everyone to find their happiness. I’ve said it before but I wanna say it again- I’m so excited to be a part of this blog and I hope you guys read what I say and understand where I come from in the scheme of things. I don’t beat around the bush when there’s an issue I want to talk about and everything I say is from the heart. I’m hoping that I can bring a new voice to this from the point of view of someone who, though they aren’t dealing with discrimination personally, will not stand by quietly, waiting for change.
That’s all for now. But you will definitely be hearing more from me.
Thanks for letting me be a part of this wonderful thing!
Natty
So it’s my last week, and my last post, and I have been reflecting on everything I have done since I started attending Michigan State four years ago. I came out my second year of college, my first at MSU (I was a transfer student), and it took me the year to actually come to terms with what I am/was. Since that time, I have dived head first into the queer community on campus and then dipped out. I have made some really poor decisions and I have made some really awesome ones. I have lived a life that is my own, and I have become a much different person for it.
I’ve struggled with an idea for this post. I’ve enjoyed this blog, and will continue to write on my own blog. I have a lot of ideas, but for this post they’ve all come up short. I find that I cannot help but reflect on my own queer identity, everything that I have learned over the years, and where this community was and where it may be going.
I spent more time outside of the community than I really intended this year. It was kind of strange to have so many friends graduate, so many friends who were very active leaders, that I felt it was no longer my place. I had spent a lot of time in the community, attending as many events and e-boards as I could to get a better understanding of what it meant to be gay, what I was getting myself into once I had come out. I have to say, it was a fantastic experience, one I can’t really express in words.
I’ve attended several national conferences, and nowhere have I seen or heard of such a well formed campus queer community. MSU has one of the best in the nation, in my opinion, as well as one of the most diverse. I played a small part in all of it, but I watched everyone else. Yeah, that’s sorta creepy. But I was never much of a talker, may have come off as a cold prick to a lot of people because of that. I’d much rather observe, and what I’ve “observed” is that the community has earned that title. We have all earned our place in this world, on this campus, and no one can take that away from us.
There are those schools who have meetings within meetings within meetings, who do not have a resource center, who have effectively nothing on their campus to address queer needs. How many different organizations do we have? We have a resource center with a fantastic staff and with its own space. We have a national conference coming to our campus. Screw sports. Screw education. That’s why I’m proud to be a Spartan, a Queer Spartan.
I have watched these groups grow, have watched them flourish, and I can honestly say that, without them, I do not know where I would be at this point in my life. It is my sincere hope that these organizations continue, for the fight hasn’t been won, and it may not be. This blog effort, thanks to Dennis Corsi and the Alliance of Queer and Ally Students, represents a much needed step in the further development of the community. I hope that it gains more writers who can speak to the needs of youth that are so often ignored.
I guess I should leave with a thought provoking statement, but I find myself at a loss. Do I want to leave? I certainly can’t stay. And, in a way, I have acknowledged that my time here is over and no, I really don’t want to stay. It’s time to move on. The only thing keeping me back is the knowledge that there are those lost children, those confused and unsure of their identities, but I know and can take comfort in the fact that these campus groups will continue. They will provide the safe spaces for kids who, like me, find themselves so suddenly unsure of their positions in life, who can bring people together and recognize that they are not alone.
I have a book that I heartily recommend. A novel by Andrew Holleran, Dancer from the Dance. It’s ridiculous and its gay and its queer. And it’s tragic and comedic all at once, a reflection of where we were as a community, and what we are now, and where we will be going. We still have a long road ahead of us, though we have made many advances. We may have our groups, but our position is ever temporary and tenuous. And so I will leave you with this quote, do with it what you will, think what you will, for, in the end as Yeats puts it, do we ever know the dancer from the dance?
“At least, we learned to dance. You have to grant us that. We are good dancers. And what is more important in this life than that?”
On Monday, April 23, 2012, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church came to Michigan State University’s Campus. Though it is unfortunate that groups like these exist, it also provides an opportunity for MSU to show its unity and intolerance for hate. Here are just a few pictures of some signs my friends and I held in protest (though there were at least 100 people who showed up)…like my sign says, it was cold as fuck.
I am confused by the Day of Silence. At what point is it appropriate to be silent when the very contingency of our existence rests upon the idea that we must speak about ourselves? Sexuality is reproduced primarily discursively within public settings unless you’re having sex in a park where everyone can watch you. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but then you aren’t necessarily being silent now are you? When I cover my mouth with tape, what am I saying? I am saying that I must be seen with my tape over my mouth, and that I will not speak about the injustices but allow you, some random person, to infer what the symbol means. Maybe it means I just do not wish to speak on this particular day, quite random but nothing of it. Maybe it means I have a tape fetish. Good on me but I’m not interested. Maybe it means a whole lot of things. But certainly those who see tape over my mouth, who see my shirt or know the date, will be those who are either already silenced or those entirely capable of speech.
This is for us. Us who are Transgender. Bisexual. Lesbian. And Gay. And Queer. And whatever else you want to call me or that I will call myself. Being silent solves nothing. My sexuality is not produced on my body. You cannot look at me and discern my sexual orientation in the same way that you can race and gender and transgender. Silence solves nothing. Silence is silence and people can ignore silence. They can pass you by on the street, in the classroom, they can ignore you. Especially in the school, because they can also mock you and your choice.
So what? Are you just going to stand there in your silence and take it? Are you going to profess that you are being silent for those who cannot speak? So what? You’re joining them. With agency. You are choosing to join the silenced and hope to whatever power you believe in that someone reads your symbolism correctly. Good luck with that.
Silence is death. Silence is meaningless when we are already muted and silenced. Speak. Yell. Scream. Do whatever it takes to make yourself heard that we are being trampled upon, that we are marginalized. Make it known to every corner of our Western world that we are angry. Anger is a force to be used, not one to be silenced. It is not shameful but powerful. Silence is worthless. I was silent for years. I lived in silence and still live in silence. I will be silent no more.
Again this is cisgendered. What about the trans* population? Can I speak for them? Or by evoking the name trans* do I appear as some cisgendered prick come to save the day? In this it is not my place to speak. I am not trans* therefore I cannot speak for trans* but that still does not mean that I must be silent. Is it not the white gay men that oppress the rest of the gender and sexual minorities? Do we not all walk in lockstop to the decree of my own kind? I cannot be silent in that respect. I will not be silent. I am to blame. I am to blame because I am white and I am gay and I am cisgendered man and I accept that position and will scream at all those like me until we get the picture.
I will scream for Black Woman Lesbians. I will scream for Hispanic Woman Lesbians. I will scream for every race that is not-white, not-straight, not-Gay, not-man, not-whatever. I will scream until I can scream no more then I will record my voice and play it back as loud as possible. And I urge you all to do the same. The Day of Silence is worthless. It is pointless. Tell me why I should be silent. Tell me why I, as a person of privilege, should be silent. Tell me why I should not echo the cries of those who are not as privileged as I. I have listened and I continue to listen and I will continue to listen and I will work so that their voices are heard in any way imaginable. I will be silent so that they can be heard. That is the one and only time that silence is allowed.
I have been denied through my silence. There are those who were denied even though they were not silent. There are those without capital that I have that wish to speak but are not able. There are those who don’t wish to speak but I will speak so that even their resistance shall be heard. I will not be silenced. The Day of Silence is a holiday that I will not partake in. I will wear no tape. I will wear no sign. I will not be misinterpreted or ignored. I will be heard. I will not wait for others to ask why I am silent. I will not inform them. It is not my job. They can inform themselves. They can look for why I am speaking and what I am speaking about. They will ask others. I am not responsible for their ignorance. I am not responsible for them. I am my own person, crafted out of my own past and my present and where I see my future.
I am Queer. I am a cocksucking gay. I am a cisgenderd man, I was born Male and I was named Man and I will not name myself otherwise because I have privilege that was given to me and that I will not squander. I am white because I was born white and was given power that I had no choice in and I will not squander that power. I will not be silenced because if there was ever a time to speak it is now. I have power. And I will use it to make sure that I lose it. I will use it to make sure that I can, or my children can, or someone else’s children can choose it. Fuck everything and everyone that seeks to silence me or take away the opportunity I had because I was lucky and not give it to those who weren’t. I am a child of luck. And I will make it known.
Focus on the Family is having a Day of Dialogue on the 19th of April. A Day of Speaking about their oppressive Christian values, to say that we do not focus on THE family, that we are Other. A day to subvert our supposed silence. Whether or not this will be successful is entirely beside the point. It does not matter. The point is that they are speaking in our absence. Speaking before us. Speaking while we remain silent. I will not link their website, though you can certainly go to it if you want, but it is there. A rallying cry to the bigots who would shout louder than me. A rallying cry for those who would ignore me. Who would intentionally make fun of my tape or my shirt or my sign or my protest.
So make yourself heard. Shout louder shout longer. Speak with the silenced. Engage in dialogue, forcefully if you have to. Partake in the Day of Dialogue loudly and with pride. Do not let them take our voices and distort them. Do not let them keep us silenced. Do not silence yourselves while they are speaking. Keep on moving forward. Keep on.
A friend of mine, Anthony Peddle, is a teacher’s aide at a preschool in Ohio. Today one of the preschoolers said to him,
“This is my version of sleeping beauty, and in this story two girls are beloved–that means they’re in love and getting married.”
I post this for two reasons. One, because it is very hopeful and inspiration for me. To see such open-mindedness in young imaginations and complete acceptance of a same-sex couple as if it is nothing different than any other couple seen in a fairytale or real life. I just love that this girl’s version of the story has two girls in love. (Not to mention that the child’s dad is the superintendent of a school district and it is positive that he teaches acceptance in his family and hopefully enforces tolerance in his schools.)
I am also posting this to open up discussion relating to fairytales and all of the stereotypes they enforce, especially in minds of young people. Every fairytale enforces heteronormativity and gender roles. According to them, a true woman worthy of a happy ending is a size negative 10 and likes to clean and needs a man to be happy. A true man is one who is big and muscular, has a deep voice, and is adventurous and courageous and whose goal in life is to find a woman to marry. This is what children are subjected to and this just isn’t true. It reminds me of the lyrics of a song “Ever After Happily” by my favorite artist, Jay Brannan:
“Well that’s the way the fairy tale goes,
Boy meets girl and they wed with roses, But that’s not the way it seems to be, and I’m pissed that they lied to me.”
Disney took a step forward with the black princess, Tiana, in The Princess and the Frog. But there is still much work to be done.
I don’t have the answer to this problem. I’m curious what your thoughts are about mainstream fairytales. Comment to share your mind and contribute to the discussion!
Many people shy away from the word ‘Feminism’. Feminists are seen as angry, hairy, nitpicky, bra-burning, man-hating lesbians…perhaps the term wasn’t ‘shy’, but more of a ‘sprint’. So why do these faulty myths exist? Why am I writing about Feminism on a queer blog?
Feminism: The collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women.
LGBT Social Movement: The overall movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending social acceptance and social equality of sexual and gender minorities.
Based on these remarkably similar definitions, the two movements appear to deal with equality for minorities who are deemed so due to their sex/sexuality/gender. Seems legit, right?
Additionally, both show a strong resistance to traditional gender roles: men are masculine, powerful, dominant penis-havers; women are feminine, weak, submissive vagina-havers. Continuing with these restrictive gender roles, romantic relationships are only to be had between these pre-defined, patriarchal molded men and women. However, same-sex relationships must combat society’s restrictive roles. Where do you fit in if you are in a relationship of two penis-havers? Two vagina-havers? What about other members of the Queer Alphabet Soup? What if one is a penis-haver, but identifies as female?
Patriarchy doesn’t like these questions being brought up, as it is rooted in the basic idea of men dominating women, both in romantic relationships and also in everyday interactions. Therefore, our heteronormative society has reacted very negatively to LGBTIQQA individuals. For example, in a very twisted way, it appears that it is more acceptable for two women to be in a relationship than two men. Unfortunately, this view is fully reliant upon looking at same-sex relationships as still trying to fill the male/female gender roles…because society cannot fathom a relationship that does not want a masculine and feminine, dominant and submissive relationship. Though the preposterous idea of a woman attempting to take a dominant, male role is frowned upon, it is even more disturbing for a man to give up this power to become something as outlandish as a woman. I mean, at least the woman is trying to move up in the world…plus, she can always be put back in her rightful place by a real man. The man though, he is CHOOSING to give up his power and dominance. Because being a woman is pathetic and sick. Being a woman is the lowest thing you could be. For a man to give up everything our patriarchal society stands for, he would be giving women a sense of worth. This is a major source of homophobia, and also sexism: Patriarchy. Feminism and the fight for LGBTIQQA rights both revolve around male dominance.
Of course, this is not to say that heterosexual men are the enemy. Not at all. Everyone has contributed to the system of Patriarchy at some point or another. The goal is to become more aware of the system, and to work harder at diminishing it. In the same sense that straight allies are an important aspect of the queer community, men are also an important part of Feminism.
This is a major way in which Feminism and the LGBTIQQA Community intersect. The same constricting gender binaries that started the Feminist movement are the ones that have motivated LGBTIQQA activists to speak out. Even though one may hear many negative generalizations about Feminism, the LGBTIQQA should understand how false stereotypes can be used against a group in order to make them seem less legitimate. Think of all the hurtful myths about homosexuality that are thrown around so as to make it the nemesis. Feminists and the Queer Community should work together in their fight for equality; it is the same battle.
Written by Nicholas Pfost, former Chairperson of the Alliance of Queer & Ally Students
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Gender Neutral Housing 101: What is it?
Let’s start out with some basics – a quick Gender Neutral Housing 101, if you will. The term “gender neutral” indicates a policy, object, service, or activity undertaken without regard to the gender of those who participate. Something that is said to be gender neutral is designed to be equally accessible for persons of any gender and/or in any combination of genders. Gender neutral housing, then, is a campus living option that allows for students to cohabitate in the same room and suite with individuals of their choosing, regardless of the students’ biological sex or gender-identity.
Are you still with me? Students, whether they identify as boys, girls, trans* folk, genderqueer, or intersex, can live together ON CAMPUS. It doesn’t matter what parts you or your roommate and suitemates have now or have had in the past. Students. Any gender. Living together. On campus.
“Flexible” Housing: What is the difference?
Well, basically nothing. And a whole lot.
Kathy Collins, the Director of Campus Living Services and Residence Life, announced this plan, backed firmly by the Simon administration, at this week’s meeting of the Residence Halls Association. Collins indicated that “Flexible Housing”, as opposed to the term “gender neutral housing” (GNH), reflects the diversity and complexity of reasons students may choose to room with students of other genders, and not just those reasons directly related to gender.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that this would be happening THIS fall? That’s right. This fall. Students. Any gender. Living together. On campus.
For persons with disabilities who have differently gendered attendants, flexible housing will allow them to live on campus together instead of being required move to an off-campus location in order to live together. For international students whose cultures place heavy emphasis on family cohesiveness and physical proximity, flexible housing will allow differently gendered student family members to live on campus together. For LGBTIQQA students who are concerned about living with individuals of the same gender or simply prefer living with close friends of other genders, flexible housing will also honor their living needs. Ultimately, flexible housing allows any student to live with any other student for any of a multiplicity of reasons.
Well, almost any student. Under the current plan, flex housing is available only to rising sophomores and above, grad students, and transfer students age 18 and up. Incoming freshmen and you child geniuses who skipped a couple grades in primary school need not apply – yet. This doesn’t mean that it will never be available, especially if students continue to pursue the issue in the coming years, but for now it is okay to celebrate the breakthrough victory we have achieved as a community of young (and not so young) Spartans. We have made our voices heard, and our university has once again demonstrated how much it values empowering students to make their own decisions responsibly.
The road to 2012
To many, the movement to bring gender-neutral housing to Michigan State University started only last year. In reality, it began in spring 2009 when Mitchell Rivard, then a member of the MSU ACLU, drafted and submitted a policy proposal to university administrators. Rivard and the MSU chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union had discussed this since the inception of the recently developed transgender housing protocol, a process that allowed transgender students to work with university administrators one-on-one to identify and secure housing that satisfied the comfort and needs of the student.
A series of crucial beginning-stage discussions began between Rivard and administrators, including Dr. Brent Bilodeau, former director of the LBGT Resource Center, but the issue arrived at an impasse that winter.
The following summer saw the dramatic resurgence of a student-led push. As the then-Chairperson for the Alliance of Queer & Ally Students (AQAS), I, along with my amazingly passionate (and fabulous, of course) executive board, felt our hearts and minds called to action to renew student interest in GNH, not only on behalf of members of the MSU LBGTIQQA community but on behalf of all Spartans. AQAS spearheaded a partnership of progressive student groups, called the Student Gender Neutral Housing Coalition (later Gender Neutral MSU), to conduct research on existing GNH policies at peer institutions and to develop an updated policy proposal.
By fall 2010, the movement had quickly amassed the support of numerous registered student organizations. A core team of students held interactive informational sessions in all of the residential neighborhoods – Rachel Skylis, Ian Morrison, and I met students all over campus, introduced the idea of GNH, answered questions, got feedback on our policy proposal, and got students passionate about this. Our blood (green blood, naturally), sweat, and tears went into moving this forward. Okay, probably not the blood part. But tears, yes. Definitely tears. And maybe a little sweat, what with traipsing all over campus.
We also pursued an aggressive marketing campaign, which included engaging community members on social media, designing and distributing some sassy shirts with the catchphrase “I Support Gender Neutral Housing because it’s not 1855,” and even enlisting Dennis Corsi (current Alliance Public Relations Coordinator and Media Arts & Technology senior) to develop a video to raise the bar for campus awareness even further.
The endorsement of the Residence Halls Association (RHA) and the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) was the natural next step, and the student representatives of both bodies were all too eager to pledge their support.
In Spring 2011, the Department of Residence Life included questions regarding GNH on it’s annual Floor Survey, sent to all students living in the residence halls. Respondents overwhelmingly supported the exploration of GNH. From there, the Residence Halls Association, under the leadership of President Sarah Pomeroy and armed with a new student liaison seat to the Board of Trustees, pushed the initiative across the finish line by engaging the administration at multiple levels and leveraging its capital as a representative body.
Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. Flexible housing at Michigan State University. This upcoming fall. I may or may not have teared up. And by teared up, I mean cried a little. It is the most amazing feeling to know that some of my very own friends, who couldn’t live together on campus in the past, will be living in North Wonders together next year. Yup. A boy and a girl.
MSU is not the first university in the United States or even the Big Ten to implement gender-neutral housing, but it stands proudly among these institutions as a beacon for the future of student housing. It is a testament to the resolve of students, student government, and a university working its damnedest to meet students where they are. Michigan State University is earning its long-sought crown as a word grant institution.
Written by Jordan Eastman, RHA Representative for The Alliance
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Tonight, the Resident’s Hall Association passed a bill allowing students the option of flexible housing which will go into effect this Fall 2012 and should be available through Live On by next week. Flexible housing, which started out as gender neutral housing, will allow students to room with someone of a different gender. This will greatly help out transgender individuals and those of certain cultural and religious backgrounds who may prefer to live with a sibling. The bill is under a two year pilot program and will be assessed in the spring semesters of both years before continuing and possibly expanding.
In its current state, the bill allows flexible housing to be available in West McDonel and North Wonders, due mainly to its suite style bathrooms, and only allows sophomores and up to participate in flexible housing. There are a total of 80 spaces available in these two dorms. Kathy Collins, the Director of Campus Living Services and Residence Life, explained that according to other universities with flexible housing, MSU has actually overestimated the amount of flexible housing requested. However, they are not opposed to possibly expanding the rooms available if needed.
Ohhh Larry Kramer. Where do I begin? For the most part, I can’t disagree. At least, in the sense that our fighting spirit as a gay community has kind of dissipated in general from a national stage. We’ve lost our fighting streak, we’ve lost, or rather given up, the idea of (Insert letter of your sexual orientation here) as being a political identity. We have replaced it with the homonormative imagery we all now know and love: two white men without shirts with a good house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and the Angelina Jolie style of child acquisition. We have gone from the Gay Liberation Front, and the always wonderfully named Queer Nation, to the Human Rights Campaign. When I first came out, I was told that an easy way to spot a gay was when they had one of those blue and yellow HRC stickers on their car. How wonderful, we can be political! But only by attaching our sexual orientation to a symbol that is essentially self-referential and meaningless. We aren’t fighting for Human Rights, we’re fighting for gay rights.
But this is not to say that we as a community do not have our moments. Sort of. Rarely. Larry Kramer is an interesting man, his philosophy even more so (No, Abraham Lincoln was not gay). But in this article, happy birthday to ACT UP (I guess), he does bring up some good points. At least I think so. And I’d like to invite others to discuss the ideas that this article brings up. It does seem to me that we as a community have, in a sense, forgotten our roots, or are willfully trying to forget our own “Shame” post-AIDS after we internalized all the demonizing messages that were thrown at us. I, personally, have questions, but I’d rather not pose them. Seems counter-intuitive but I think I’m posting enough to spark discussion without leading anyone by the hand. I certainly think that not all people are Radical Queers, nor should they be, but at the same time, due to the political system, we are a community and it becomes difficult to act without solidarity within that community. Larry Kramer has every right to be angry, I probably would be too. But I am unsure whether or not we should expect too much of our community. That maybe it really is up to just a Few Good People to carry on. I also wonder how much of this view is focused on cisgender issues, since I will admit that my knowledge of radical trans rights groups is pretty limited.
Maybe it’s time we separate Queer from the community as a whole and establish a more political orientation there. We need not be gay to be Queer after all. This article does raise some important questions, questions that really should be answered by our community as a whole. Not necessarily here in this blog at this time, though that would be awesome, but in general. For MSU specifically, in our groups. Its not enough to just remember these organizations as they were, but also to see ACTUP as a template for where we can go or where we should go. Possibilities.
