MEETING  March 26, 2007

Rainbow Alliance had a special guest speak to the group about being out and in politics. In January 2004 with no money, no official positions and only a handful of supporters, 25 year-old U.S. Army Veteran Mike Evans announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress in Missouri's third district, In March 2006 Mike Evans accepted Democratic National Committee Chairman Dean’s nomination to Veterans and Military Families Advisory Council. Evans currently resides in Missouri and works as a guest teacher for the FOX C-6 School District in Jefferson County.
 

EVENT  March 7, 2007

Washington University's International & Area Studies Program and the Sigma Iota Rho International Studies Honorary Society are hosting the town hall "Coming Out Around the World"  n the Law School's Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom on the campus of Washington University. Expert panelists include Julie Dorf, founding executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, John Scagliotti, Emmy Award-winning director of Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World, and Scott Long, director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. Winifred Poster, PhD, guest lecturer in Women and Gender Studies is moderating.

The event will include presentations by each of the panelists followed by a question and answer session. The Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom is located in the School of Law at Anheuser-Busch Hall on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. Co-sponsors include the School of Law, the Women and Gender Studies program, Residential Life, and Outlaw, all of Washington University.
 

EVENT February 12, 2007

Social meeting - Rainbow Alliance members met in the Marchetti West lobby and took a trip the University City Loop for a social meeting. 
 

MEETING  February 5, 2007

Rachel from UNA came to speak to the Rainbow Alliance about the 2007 production of the Vagina Monologues.  she spoke of the adversity the group faced in getting the production approved this year and the importance of the production in highlighting violence against women.  They will be showing the Monologues on Friday and Saturday at the YWCA.  Tickets are on sale in the BSC lobby. 

We also talked about the Out of the Shadows project and read examples from Gonzaga's publication.  Members were also given a small campus climate survey to fill out and turn back in to the E-Board to use for improving resources for incoming students and Day of Silence publications.  For members who weren't at the meeting, the questions were sent out via email.  Please send in your responses as soon as possible.
 

MEETING  January 29, 2007

PROMO presented on the 2006 Missouri Legislative Recap reviewing laws that were introduced, passed and defeated in 2006 and how they related to GLBT people.  I would use this opportunity to inform.  Key issues for this legislative session will include the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act and the Anti-Bullying Amendment.  We also learned about PROMO's Lobby Day where students can travel to Jefferson City to meet with their elected representatives to discuss their stand on these laws.  Rainbow Alliance will have more information soon for those who would like to attend.   
 

MEETING  January 22, 2007

Social meeting.  A welcome back party with food and a movie. 

The male members also participated in a study of gender role and gender role conflict in gay men for a graduate student in the Psychology department. 
 

MEETING  December 4, 2006

Social meeting.  RA had a pizza dinner, watched a movie, made Christmas decorations and wrote Christmas cards to the other Jesuit GLBT groups.

Check back for updates for next semester.  GOOD LUCK ON FINALS!
 

EVENT - WORLD AIDS WEEK

MONDAY - 11/27
HIV/AIDS AS A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC
Davis-Shaughnessy 171 9:00pm.  A member of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine will join RA to talk about HIV & AIDS as a global epidemic.  We will also talk about HIV/AIDS prevention and the vaccine trials unit at the School of Medicine.   

TUESDAY - 11/28
DINING OUT FOR LIFE
RA will be hosting a Dining Out For Life event at MoKaBe's on South Grand and Tower Grove Park. 25% of each customers bill to Saint Louis Effort for AIDS.  Click here for a list of participating restaurants in St. Louis.  Rainbow Alliance will be hosting the site from 8am to Midnight. 

FRIDAY - 12/1
DAY WITHOUT ART
Day Without Art began in 1989 to make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone, and to inspire positive action. Museums and art gallery's shut down, sending their staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS.

Rainbow Alliance will be covering statues and artwork through out campus. By removing the art we are so used to, we hope the campus community will reflect on what AIDS can take from our lives and how the disease has impacted the creative community.

We will also be wearing red as part of the Amnesty International programming for the day.
 

MEETING  November 20, 2006

Rainbow Alliance was joined by the University Provost, VP Student Development, Asst. Vice President for Student Development, Director of Student life, Director of Campus Ministry and Student Government President to discuss the incident in the BSC between RA members and a faculty member.  Approximatley 70 students were in attendance and were able to air concerns about GLBT support and equality in the university community and to hear as much as was reasonable about the Provosts meetings with the faculty member involved.    
 

MEETING  November 13, 2006

World AIDS Day
RA will be joining in World AIDS Day programming with OneWorld, Students United for Africa, Amnesty and the Black Student Alliance.

RA had been planning on making ready made bulletin boards to distribute to Res. Life staff but the plan had been help up pending content approval from Student Life and Campus Ministry.

Students signed up to volunteer for Dining out For Life at MoKaBe’s on November 28th. Right now we have people covering from 8am-midnight with the exception of the lunch hour from 12pm-2pm. Please email rainbow@slu.edu if you are available.

BSC incident
we had a long discussion regarding the BSC incident and the articles in the University News. Justin and Jenna also discussed their meeting with Phil Lyons last week. While we know that a meeting was held with the Provost it was decided to wait to hear the outcome of that before further action was taken. Comparisons to other student groups and hate crime incidents were mentioned and compared. The wellbeing of the membership is still first and foremost but it was agreed that the issue will be re-evaluated the need for further action when we hear back from the Provost.

University News Article
 

MEETING  November 6, 2006
Rainbow Alliance will be hosting a Dining Out For Life event at Mokabe's on December 1st for World AIDS Day.  We will also be partnering with Amnesty and the SLU Med School for programming. 

At the next meeting we will be making ready-made bulletin boards for the residence halls and discussing the possibility of covering some of the statues on campus for Day Without Art. 

Rainbow Alliance also discussed the incident that occurred between students and a faculty member in the BSC during our tabling for Coming Out Week.  The members who were present discussed what happened and the E-Board, Advisor and Campus Ministry representative discussed the follow through and reporting that has happened up to this point.
 

EVENT - NATIONAL COMING OUT WEEK
Monday October 9 - Friday October 13

Monday - Coming Out Stories
9:00pm Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 171
Rainbow Alliance weekly meeting with a twist: bring a straight friend! If you are comfortable, you can share your coming out story with the group. You can tell us about coming out as gay, lesbian or bisexual, or coming out as a straight ally.

Tuesday - Out In Politics
8:00pm Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 171
An evening with Jeanette Mott Oxford who represents part of St. Louis City (District 59) in the Missouri House of Representatives. Elected to the House in 2004, she is the first openly lesbian member of the Missouri Legislature.

Wednesday – Contemporary Issues Affecting the GLBT Community
5:00pm SLU School of Law Room 02
A panel is comprised of a distinguished group of attorneys discussing federal, state, and local law and policies. The evening is co-sponsored by the SLU and WASH U Schools of Law OUTLAW organizations. The panel will provide opportunities for questions from the audience.

Thursday - Gays & God
8:00pm Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 171
Join us for an interfaith dialogue on reconciling GLBT issues with varying faiths. The panel will feature representatives sharing views from the Jesuit, Lutheran and Metropolitan Community Church perspectives. Panelists will welcome questions after a brief presentation.

Friday - Downtown to the City Museum
8:00pm Marchetti West Lobby
Join the Rainbow Alliance, Amnesty & Just Earth for an evening of fun at the City Museum. An architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects it has earned riotous approval of young and old alike. We will be carpooling.
 

EVENT  October 5, 2006
Diane Schroer will be speaking at SLU on Thursday October 5th at 11am in Kelley Lecture Hall #1. 

Diane is a male to female transsexual formerly serving in the United States Army.  In 2004 Schoer was offered a job in the Library of Congress but the offer was rescinded after they found out she underwent a sex change operation.

Sponsored by Dept. of Educational Studies
 

MEETING  October 2, 2006
We discussed the full week of events for National Coming Out Day and scheduled peopel for tabling in the BSC Monday & Tuesday of next week.
 

MEETING  September 18, 2006
Presentation on the Third Annual National GLBT Conference for Jesuit Colleges & Universities.  Sessions and presentations, activities, schools we met, ideas gained, mid-west school get together.  

Out of the Shadows: handed out example from Gonzaga, asked to submit essays, poems or stories to rainbow@slu.edu to be published by Coming out Day.  See also http://www.slu.edu/organizations/rainbow/shadows.html 

State of the Union: an overview of the current laws in Missouri and how they effect the GLBT community.  PROMO initiatives and getting involved in policy decisions. 
 

MEETING  September 6, 2006
Welcome to first meeting of the Rainbow Alliance!

Rainbow Alliance history and information.  An advocacy and support group for GLBT Students and their allies. We sponsor educational and social activities to affirm the dignity and self-worth of GLBT Students and their allies.

Confidentiality
We trust that everybody understands what it is like to be in the closet so we ask for your kindness in not repeating what was said in our meetings or who attended

Introductions
Members
E-Board & job descriptions: President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Advisor

Programs & descriptions
Coming Out Day, Day of Silence, World AIDS Day, Safe Zone, Out of the Shadows, Student Panels

Other things to look forward to!
Gay St. Louis Tour, movie nights, guest speakers from PROMO, political, religious etc.

What would you as the members like to do / see / questions?

Meeting time and location

Next Meeting