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Gamma Beta Lambd
Behrend’s First Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Society
Danette Parrett
The Collegian
* some names may have
been changed to protect the
anonymity of the people
involved
With the beginning of
the the 1992-93 academic
year there have been many
changes at Behrend. There
have been changes in the
faculty and staff. There
have been changes in the
number of students. There
have been buildings added
and buildings renovated.
There have also been new
clubs and organizations
created.
A new organization
that has developed is
Gamma Beta Lambda. This
is a group of people joined
together to support the
gay, lesbian, and bisexua'
population on campus.
The organization
"We are the
largest minority
on campus and
we are also the
most
discriminated
against. You don
hear us
complaining. "
hasn't been registered with
Student Activities yet, but
as soon as they get a
definite number of
students they plan on
registering. The group has
six members already
dedicated to the cause and
twelve members that
haven't officially joined
yet.
The group stresses
that because it is the gay,
lesbian, and bisexual
group, doesn't necessarily
mean you have to be either
gay, lesbian, or bisexual to
join. Two members are
straight, but also help
provide support for the
other members of the
group.
The founders of the
group, Dan, Jenn, and Paul,
were brought together last
year through the efforts of
Louanne Barton. Barton had
posted an advertisement
for a gay, lesbian, and
bisexual support group.
The three founders had
called Barton only to find
that there wasn't a support
group.
Because of the
number of students
reported to be gay, lesbian,
or bisexual on Behrend's
campus, the founders knew
there was a definite need
for a support group.
According to a poll
generated through the
Registrar's Office, there
are 243 gay, lesbian or
bisexual students in the
minority population alone.
Going by the current
statistics that 10% of the
American population is
either gay, lesbian, or
bisexual, the group
concluded that there are at
least 2SO students on the
campus that the group
could be targeted toward.
With 250 people in
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this minority group, not
only is the gay, lesbian
and bisexual population
the largest, but it is larger
than all minority groups
combined.
The founders chose
the name Gamma Beta
Lambda, because the
initials- GBL, can stand for
Gay, Bisexual, and
Lesbians. Initially, they
chose to advertise with the
Greek letters to catch the
attention of the student
body. However, in the
future they do not plan to
use the Greek letters.
They refer to themselves as
GBL.
Now with the help of
Sue Daly from the
Counseling and Advising
office, the group hopes to
Features
start bringing other gay,
lesbian and bisexual
students out of the closet.
"We need to get the
people out there. There's
over 250 people out there.
Where are they?” Jenn
asked.
The group remains
and has every intention of
remaining completely
anonymous. They have
confidential meetings,
strictly with the other
members of the group. The
meetings are not
advertised, but are told to
the members by other
members. They have a
phone support line that
remains strictly
confidential and is manned
by one of the group's
members. The support line
number is 453-6232.
’’[The members of the
group] all know what is
like. [Being in the closet]
affects everything. It
affects your schoolwork,
social life... There's some
very
ramifications." Dan said.
The group is only
open to students at
Behrend College. The
group does attend' meetings
and events off campus to
generate ideas for the
future.
These are some of the
groups the organization
associates with:
Bridge This is a
newly formed organization
whose goal is "to unite the
Lesbigay community
through networking,
providing resources, and
building a positive sense
of community." TTie phone
number for more
information is 455-0549.
Integrity- This is an
Episcopalian based
spiritual and support
group that welcomes people
for ail faiths. Meetings are
held the 2nd and 4th
Sundays of the month at
7:00 pm, at St. Paul's
Cathedral, 133 West 7th
Street, Erie.
is a group that deals with
the legislative issues
affecting the lesbian, gay
and bisexual community;
voter registration;
lobbying; voters' guide;
also social activities. For
more information call 456-
9833.
social alternative to the
bar scene. An alcohol free
and smoke-free
environment for gay men
with a theme, topic, or
activity planned each
month.
serious
both a support group for
gay men and lesbians and a
group committed to raising
the awareness of others of
the implications of being
gay/lesbian in our society.
Meetings are held the 3rd
Tuesday of each month at
8:00 pm, 3rd floor of Old
Main on the Mercyhurst
campus.
Womynspace. This is a
social alternative to the
bar scene. Womynspace is
an alcohol-free and smoke
free environment for
lesbians.
Thursday, September 24, 1992
.- This
.- This is
Because OBL hasn't
registered yet, they do not
have a budget. However,
they have been working
with Chris Reber of the
Office of Student Affairs
in getting the group
"Straight Talk” from main
campus to have an open
forum in the fall.
The group already
sees the discrimination on
campus.
Paul stated: "We are
the largest minority on
this campus and we are
also the most
discriminated against. You
don't hear us
complaining...We have the
approval of everybody on
campus, except the student
body. As soon as we get
over that, then we'll be
set."
"Now that we're
finally getting it going,
we're finding a lot of
people being supportive...
It's a matter of getting
through the hostility and
fear among the students."
Jenn said.
"We're not going
to run around on
campus holding
hands and
We're
kissing,
realists."
On the university's
support, Paul said," Every
step of the way I found that
we have had excellent
cooperation with the staff.
They are willing to go out
of their way for us."
The group has three
main goals they are
addressing. They are:
1) To provide support
for the gay, lesbian, and
bisexual
population.
2) To sponsor activities
for the population they are
targeting.
3) To desensitize the
people on campus and help
them get used to gays,
lesbians, and bisexuals.
As Dan said it, "We
don't want to get anyone to
point where they go around
announcing themselves.
We're not going to run
around campus holding
hands and kissing. We're
realists. We'd just like to
get people to be. happier
and feel better aboul
themselves.”