OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — Ocroeea 1999 — 11 Celebrating Coming Out in the Green Mountains BY TIM EVANS oming out — in the life of ‘ a gay or lesbian person these words bring forth a flood of emotions and memories, feelings of elation mixed with fear and guilt. Each one of us has a unique coming out story to tell and yet all share a familiar theme. Coming out is essentially an act of telling the truth, the truth about who we are and acknowledging our core identity to others and ourselves. The opportunities and the support for anyone, young or old, to come out to family, friends and co-workers are available more than ever. Unlike even 30 years ago there are now countless books written on the subject of coming out, youth oriented sup- port groups, and a growing acceptance of gay and lesbians as an inherent and vital part of soci- ety. Still, we have a long way to go to achieve wide social recog- nition as equal citizens. This year’s National Coming Out Week begins on October 9. It is a weeklong recognition of the wonderful and sometimes fright- ening process of coming out in every gay person’s life. Colleges and organizations throughout the state have a variety of entertain- ment, speakouts, and educational forums planned. UVM in Burlington has per- haps the biggest list of events and even has an evening with Ellen Degeneres planned. On October 8 there will be a speak out on the steps of City Hall and then a can- dle -light vigil march up Church Street. This will be followed by a dance at Contois Auditorium sponsored by collaborators: Outright Vt., VGSA, Free-2-Be at UVM, R.U.1.2?, Cooperative Christian Ministry at UVM among others. On Sunday the 10th at 7 pm Patrick Gymnasium will host “An Evening With Ellen Iilllnllnlert continued trom Ilageli survive - the price of being gay...” Furthermore, in spite of some passing references to the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center and a brief camera tour of the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), the general tone of the piece seemed almost hopeless: com- ments selected from interviews with HMI Executive Director Verna Eggleston were insightful and apropos, but focused on the plight and not the solution. With this as the first substantial foray into the topic by any major televi- sion program, it is understandable that 20/20 would emphasize the undercovered dilemmas of this community. But noticeably lack- ing were the voices ofthose les- bian, gay (and especially) bisexu- al and transgender adults who sur- vived homelessness and were quite literally saved by the efforts Degeneres”. Tickets are available at the UVM Ticket Ofiice at 656- 3085 or contact the Flynn Theatre. On Monday, October 11 a one act play “Revenge of the Women’s Studies Professor” written and performed by Dr. Bonnie Morris, comedienne and on the faculty at Georgetown University will be held at the Billings North Lounge. Tuesday, October 12 at 4 p.m. is Celebrating Our Researchers fea- turing Annie Stevens, Ph.D., John Sama, M.Ed., and Erika Nestor, MA also at the Billings North Lounge. Events in the Burlington area continue through the week with a film festival on Tuesday, October 12 at 7 p.m. in the CC Theater and a coffeehouse at Billings North Lounge on Wednesday the 13th with Yolanda as the MC and featuring Craig Mitchell, Katherine Quinn, and poet Kevin of groups such as HMI and the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. In spite of such concerns, however, the piece’s overall inten- tion was certainly laudable, and producers were most successful in bringing understanding of the problem and sympathy for the plight of youth like Daniel, Ginger and Ron. The show’s producers have clearly committed them- selves to excelling in their cover- W GAYELLOW PAGES” INFORMING THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TBANSGENDER COMMUNITY SINCE 1973 All editions include a separate WOMEN’S SECTION USA/CANADA: $16 by first class mail Includes all states and provinces, national headquarters of organizations, mall order companies, etc. EAST and SOUTH Edition: $10 by first class mail AL AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, US Virgin Is, VA, VT, WV You can order directly from the address above, or you can find us at local gay-friendly bookstores, such as Peace & Justice (Burlington) 802-863-2532 Everyone’s-Books (Brattleboro) 802-254-8160 ‘ Bear Pond Books (Montpelier) 802-229-0774 For an application to be listed (no charge), or for details oi current editions and prices, or information about mailing labels, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Renaissance House, PO Box 533-OIM, Village Station, New York, NY 10014 212-674-0120 gayeIlo@banet.net http://gayeIlowpages.c.om 0. Spencer. Thursday the 14th brings Alix Olson to the Hidden Bean on Redstone Campus at 7 p.m. A carnpus-wide month-long GLBT art exhibition is also fea- tured at UVM starting October 7. Of course Burlington and UVM are not the places to be Vermont and many of our fine learning centers will be holding events. Johnson State College has a scheduled mid-semester break the week of National Coming Out Week but will most likely plan some events the following week including a gay theme movie night. Johnson also has an annual drag ball toward the end of October that is a “don’t miss” event Middlebury College has planned what should be an excit- ing an informative lecture with renowned author Andrew Sullivan. The former editor of The New Republic, and author of Wrtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality will give a talk titled “Who is a Bigot?” on October 7 at 7:30 pm in Middlebury College’s Mead Chapel located on Hepburn Road. The event is free and open to the public. Sullivan is best known for his thought provoking musings and writings on some of societies controversial issues including gay rights and same- sex marriage. So, National Coming Out Week in Vermont will be one filled with fun, entertaining and thought provoking events. It is a time for all of us to remember our own coming out process and give support to those who are just beginning. The above list of events is not a complete one but highlights some of the many opportunities to take part in an important piece of our communi- ty.V RAINBOW BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, crrnmor SUPPORIIV age of an‘ extremely diverse set of topics. Please commend them for bringing much-needed attention to an underserved segment of our community and urge them to fol- low-up with’ the story - to show a hop"efirl side that really does exist. Contact: Mr. Victor Neufeld, Executive Producer, 20/20,147 Columbus Ave., New York, NY10023, fax: 212.456.0533, e- mail: 2020@abcnews.com . "GLO0AAD” and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation” are registered trade- marks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. GLAADAlert may be freely dis- tributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the fixll attri- bution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation‘ (GLAAD). "Y ORK, AMONG BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROFESSIONAIS. W X DYNAMICS Professio1uzl Muscular Therapy Booksellers smwe - Hyde Park - Burlington so2~253ssr9 - 802657-4045 Myodynarni1:s@aolcom www.myobooks.com Susan Hollister Anne Sheehan . 4.. BUSINESS is «- FOR SALE etANTIQUE8t.* - 1005 of great recipes - 20 years goodwill - Fixtures, lease, equipment, in newly renovated 2700 ft2 FOR HOME AND BUSINESS ARE YOU READY FOR Y2K? AMYHOFFMAN COMPUTER SERVICES 542 North Rd. 802-893-2469 Milton. 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