FEBRUARY 2024 VOL. 1 • ISSUE 2 VISIT US ONLINE AT: OUTFAU.COM INSTAGRAM: @OUTFAU Youth Action Fund Supports Passionate Campus Activism PAGE 4 Voices Amplified
2 OUTFAU | FEBRUARY 2024 OutFAU newspaper is a part of J&J Media Group. You should not presume the sexual orientation or gender identity of any featured individuals solely based on their names, appearance, or inclusion within this publication. Any opinions shared within stories, columns, graphics, or letters to the editor should not be assumed to represent the opinions of OutFAU or its publisher. Any stories or content, either in print or online, and also including any articles that are featured in conjunction with any media partners, are protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and this ownership is carefully and jealously guarded by this media group. Nothing that is published may be reprinted, either in whole or in part, without first receiving written consent from Publisher, Jason Parsley. OutFAU is owned by Jason Parsley and Justin Wyse, and is represented legally by Russell Cormican. As a private corporation, J&J Media Group reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations, and photographs. Copyright © 2024 J&J Media Group. FIRST COPY IS FREE, EACH ADDITIONAL IS 50 CENTS G ENERATION Queer? According to a recently released survey, 28% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+ compared to 16% of Millennials. Those numbers are a stark contrast to 4% of Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation who identify as such. “The reality is that people have always been LGBTQ+. The results of this survey don’t show an increase in the number of people who are queer, it shows an increase in the number of people who feel safe expressing their full and authentic selves,” said Maxx Fenning, the Executive Director of PRISM. The organization works to expand access to LGBTQ-inclusive education and sexual health resources for youth in South Florida. “As policymakers in states like Florida create legislation that harms the LGBTQ+ community, they’ll have to reckon with just how sizable our community is and how ready we are to show up and stop them,” Fenning said. More than 6,600 people were surveyed. It was conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute between late August and mid September of 2023. Gen Z is defined as ages 13-25 in the survey. Only respondents aged 18 and older were asked about their GEN Z SO QUEER Study: young adults are identifying as more queer and progressive than older generations BY MARY RASURA EXECUTIVE EDITOR WE’RE LOOKING FOR WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND DESIGNERS! EMAIL [email protected] VISIT US ONLINE OUTFAU.COM FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @OUTFAU Subscribe to our newsletter! Executive Editor MARY RASURA Assistant Editor KENNY RUFF Designer IVAN BENAVIDES Advisors MICHAEL KORETZKY JASON PARSLEY BRENDON LIES AURORA DOMINGUEZ Sales & Marketing FOR AD PLACEMENT, CALL 954-514-7095 OR EMAIL [email protected] OUT FAU FEBRUARY 2024 VOL. 1 • ISSUE 2 This publication is solely the expression of the author and/or publisher and it is not an official publication of Florida Atlantic University, nor is it in any way intended to express any policies or opinions of Florida Atlantic University, or its personnel. Cover: Photo from Youth Action Fund. Spot an error? Let us know at [email protected] “The results showcase the incredible diversity and vibrancy of Gen Z.” - Elijah Manley sexual identity. “The results showcase the incredible diversity and vibrancy of Gen Z,” said Elijah Manley, a 25-yearold who lives in Fort Lauderdale. “We are the first generation to be empowered to show up as our authentic selves. As a result, we live in a more inclusive society than our parents.” A closer look at the results shows that 15% of Gen Z adults identify as bisexual; 5% as gay or lesbian; and 8% as something else. Among all adults 10% of the population identify as LGBTQ. Manley believes these results show that the anti-LGBTQ movement is losing. “Right now, our country is facing an unprecedented wave of anti-queer bigotry,” he said. “These survey results show that despite this, the conservative antiLGBTQ+ movement has lost. As society becomes more inclusive, we will continue to see the rates of queerness increase. We are the most progressive generation in American history, and conservatives are scared of what this may mean for their culture wars.” Other findings include 21% of Gen Z adults identifying as Republican, 36% as Democrats, 30% as Independent, and 13% as other. Only 49% of Gen Z adults believe college is a smart investment while 75% support a $10,000 student loan forgiveness program. Please contact me with any questions, concerns or tips at [email protected].
BLISSS INSTAGRAM: FAUBLISSS EMAIL: [email protected] BLISSS will be hosting their next event, Girl Dinner, on March 14. FEBRUARY 2024 | OUTFAU 3 BLISSS Spills the Tea P AINTING TEA cups and spilling the tea. That’s how BLISSS started off the semester with its first event. On Jan. 16, BLISSS, which stands for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Individuals Seeking Safe Spaces, hosted their first event of the semester, Tea Time. Around 15 students showed up to paint tea cups, enjoy the drinks, and to talk with their fellow students. The event also gave students the opportunity to discuss hard hitting questions about the LGBTQ+ community both on and off campus, such as if dating within the queer community has gotten more difficult or thoughts on the queer culture on campus. “I do think we tend to think outside of the box [when creating events] and we tend to strive to meet different identities,” said Stanley Bertilien, BLISSS secretary and sophomore neuroscience and behavior major. BLISSS promotes inclusivity and utilizes their events as a way to connect with people from a wide range of cultures. “I feel like meeting people is one of the biggest things I’m for, especially for us being an organization that is open for BIPOC students,” said Tyler Doll, BLISSS marketing chair and sophomore health science major. “I feel like I want to know more about students like us on campus.” Queer Clubs Welcome Students Back Courtesy of BLISSS Lavender Alliance Has a Kiki L AVENDER ALLIANCE kicked off the new semester at FAU with a meet and greet mixer on Jan. 19. The student organization, one of two major LGBTQ+ clubs on campus, was formed in 2023 by Kenny Ruff and Paige Allen. “When Paige and I started the club, it was to get people and allies together because legislation made us feel unsafe on campus,” Ruff explained. “We also had no place for us on campus, since we didn’t have a club to come together.” The Friday night mixer opened up in the Student Union with New Year’s resolutions, asking people in the audience what theirs were. This was followed by asking the crowd to look back at 2023, what they are proud of, and if they have anything they wish to leave behind. But really, the night was about reconnecting after the break. Kayla Barnes, who is an interdisciplinary studies major, enjoyed talking with the attendees at her first meeting. “I feel like I’m amongst friends. I enjoy getting out of the house and socializing,” Barnes said. “The primary objective of Lavender Alliance is to establish a friendly and uplifting LGBTQIA+ and ally community at FAU,” the club’s description on Owl Central reads. BLISSS, the other major LGBTQ+ club on campus, hosted their first event of the semester, Tea Time on Jan. 16. “It’s our queer history general body meeting,” Ruff said. “Essentially, we’re gonna have a PowerPoint where we will discuss important moments in queer history up until today, and it will be open for discussion and commentary for anyone who would like to talk.” Lavender Alliance handing out swag. Photo by Jason Steinfeld. LAVENDER ALLIANCE INSTAGRAM: @FAULAVENDERALLIANCE EMAIL: [email protected] Lavender Alliance’s next event will be on Feb. 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day. BY KENNY RUFF BY JASON STEINFELD
4 OUTFAU | FEBRUARY 2024 C OLD hard cash. That’s what Youth Action Fund is giving out to assist young people in their activism. The premise is simple. Give out money to young activists so they have the means to protest, to push back, to stand up. For many queer youth activists, it’s the difference between pursuing their aspirations of making a difference, or taking a job to make ends meet. YAF is the brain child of Cameron Driggers, a 19-year-old freshman business administration major at University of Florida. The organization officially launched a few months ago. “All of us have experienced problems with the established nonprofit industrial complex,” said Driggers, who is serving as YAF’s Executive Director. “Within Florida, where billions and billions of dollars are funneled into the state, to supposedly fight the rise of fascism, and all types of things happening, but really, with all that money spent, there’s not much to show for it. Hardly any of it actually gets to people on the ground.” All of the founders of YAF are Gen Z college students. The organization is a nonprofit led by LGBTQ+ college activists. Its goal is to allow all students with an interest in activism, regardless of their socioeconomic position, to affect change. They’ve created two main programs. One is for individuals that provides funding up to $500 for youth activists that can be used for personal expenses. The other is for groups planning campaigns that can be funded up to $1,000. “We are really focused on expanding young people’s access to advocacy and activism,” said YAF Board Chair Maxx Fenning, a 21-year-old senior business administration major at University of Florida. Fenning is also the executive director of Prism, an organization focused on youth LGBTQ+ education. He was brought into YAF because of his nonprofit management experience. “Oftentimes young people are extremely under-resourced Cash Against the Machine BY MARY RASURA “Young people are the future and young people are going to change the world, but only if we give them the resources to do that,” Cameron Driggers YAF’s Executive Director Youth Action Fund’s bold bid to boost young voices Photo from Youth Action Fund.
FEBRUARY 2024 | OUTFAU 5 and unfortunately a lot of older folks in this space do not help in that arena,” Fenning said. These leaders understand that activism isn’t cheap. Students are the most energized and engaged, but also the least funded. YAF hopes to change that. “In order to make activism accessible and equitable, it’s so important to get that funding out there and to support activists embarking on really diverse and comprehensive actions that they want to do in their local community and even across the state,” said YAF Deputy Director Jack Petocz, a 19-year-old freshman political science major at Vanderbilt. Besides just cash the organization will offer advice and help with strategies to those who want it. Additionally they’ll be given access to other tools like Canva. “We expect that young people on the ground [will] accomplish far more than the more established nonprofit organizations in Florida, if you give them the resources to be successful,” Driggers added. Will Larkins, a young activist and freshman FAU student acknowledges he had a leg up on his activism. “I have been in a lucky position where my parents were able to support me through high school,” he said. “There’s a lot of students who are not in that position. There’s a lot of students who are working to organize projects, who don’t have the ability to fundraise, or don’t have the ability to just use their own money.” Larkins, who was previously involved with YAF, mentioned that he’s spent upwards of $500 on his own projects so he fully understands the costs that actually go into making it work. “I couldn’t get any large organization to reimburse me. And I spent all that money on this protest that I organized,” he said. “ I was lucky enough to be in a position where I was able to do that financially where I was able to spend that time during high school – not working – and instead working on advocacy.” Larkins acknowledges the influence of his financial standing on his ability to engage in activism. “I also have gone to Tallahassee more times than I can count to testify against bad bills and bring students there,” he said. And that’s the whole point of the Youth Action Fund – hand out cold hard cash to the energized youth who can make the most difference in the state. While all of the leaders of the organization are members of the LGBTQ+ community – the activism they’re supporting and encouraging isn’t limited to that issue. However they won’t get involved in political campaigns. For example a recent campaign they took part in was pushing back against HB 49, which would roll back decades of child labor laws. “Obviously, as a youth based organization, that’s of great concern to us,” Driggers said. YAF zeroed in on Linda Cheney, the bill’s sponsor, launching a pressure campaign. Driggers was a part of an effort to occupy Chaney’s office last month. Meanwhile, Chaney hid in her office and refused to confront the young activists. “We demanded to speak with her. She actually was hiding in her office away from us, which was pretty funny,” Driggers said. Older generations will often talk about how the youth are the future, but Fenning believes it takes more than just lip service to make true. “Young people are the future and young people are going to change the world, but only if we give them the resources to do that,” Fenning said. “There’s no use passing the baton to the next generation if we’re going to shackle their feet to the ground. It requires an intentional investment in young people and young leaders to really build a better world for future generations. We have to be able to give them the resources to do that.” Photo from Youth Action Fund. 201 North Dixie Hwy Lake Worth Beach, 33460 CompassLGBTQ.com Entourage (Ages 18 - 30) Thurs, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Compass Entourage is a community for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ, who want to have fun, socialize, form relationships, and build a stronger community in which to work, live, and play. Entourage has events and groups every month. PBC Gender Support Group (18+) Thurs, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. This group is for transgender individuals and their supportive family members. LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Group 2nd and 4th Tues of the Month, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. A support group for individuals who are 18 and up, living with symptoms of a mental health condition, and identify as LGBTQ+. The group is facilitated by trained peer facilitators from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). This group is a drop-in support group, with no RSVP needed. Contact mentalhealth@compasslgbtq. com for more information. Good Orderly AA Tues, 7 p.m. This support group is dedicated for individuals who are recovering from alcoholism. Coming Out 1st and 3rd Thurs, 6:30 pm. A support group for people of all ages who are seeking or offering help with the coming out process. Non-Binary Support Group Wed, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. This support group is for those who identify as nonbinary and would like a safe space to discuss their experiences with other non-binary identifying folx. Trans Masculine Support Group 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, 6:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. This social and support group focuses on the needs of those who identify on the trans masculine spectrum. This information is pulled from Compass’ website. For more information about any of them email [email protected] SUPPORT GROUPS hosted by
6 OUTFAU | FEBRUARY 2024 The early history of queer activism at FAU WHEN FAU officially opened in Fall 1964, university life in America was just beginning to step out of the stupors of the Silent Generation of the 1950s. That summer students from northern colleges took part in “Freedom Summer” where hundreds of students traveled south to help register Southern Black people to vote. That fall the Berkeley campus of the University of California erupted in chaos when hundreds of students protested the university’s attempt to shut down efforts to organize support for the Freedom Summer campaign and Civil Rights. The university then changed its policy about student political activities. This marked the beginning of the political activism that would characterize campus life today. Florida universities were a little slow in getting into the act. They still followed the policy of “in loco parentis” (in the place of the parents) when it came to dealing with students’ lives on campus. This came to an end in 1967 when a University of Florida female student appeared in a nude photo in an off-campus humor publication. Following “in loco parentis” the university moved to expel her. Normally this would pass without notice. But this was the 1960s when ideas about sexuality and gender were beginning to change. When the Faculty Disciplinary Committee met, over 200 protesting students gathered outside the small meeting room, forcing the Committee to move to the larger law school auditorium. In the end she was expelled but the era of student activism was born in Florida and soon “in loco parentis” was dropped. One of the students protesting was Joel Starkey, a student from Dade County who was there to hand out leaflets about sexual freedom and gay rights. Starkey was an early member of the “Stonewall Generation,” those young gay activists connected more with the radicalism of the 1960s than with the assimilationist politics of the 1950s generation. In 1971 he moved to Boca Raton where he enrolled for a second BA at FAU. He also started a newsletter Southern Gay Liberator similar to other newsletters and early newspapers started by other local gay groups across the country. Starkey felt that gay men and lesbians were a unified class with common needs and outlooks and needed to become visible and organized as a community. He placed ads for a gay consciousness raising group in the student newspaper and in October 1972 the first small group, comprised of both FAU students and local residents, met at the University Center, later moving to Starkey’s apartment. Although they wanted to become a recognized student organization and thus able to use University resources such as meeting rooms and bulk postage, at the time the Florida Board of Regents denied campus gay groups official recognition. Instead the group met at Starkey’s apartment and undertook informal activities such as establishing an information hotline for the community. To gain more visibility for the group and their demands, Starkey ran for the FAU student senate, finishing eighth in a field BY FRED FEJES From Silence to Solidarity of 21 candidates. He ran on a radical platform of “human liberation” calling for free childcare, free abortion on demand, the hiring of more women and minorities and the end of discrimination against gays. As a student senator, he helped pass a resolution saying that no portion of student activity fees could be used by any FAU organization that discriminates on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. He also worked on a resolution that supported the United Farm Workers’ strike in California and for a bill in the U.S. Senate targeting rape. Starkey’s informal group began to disband as he and its members graduated or started to work with groups in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. However, one member, Mark Silber, a junior from Fort Lauderdale who tried to start a gay group at Broward Community College, saw the need to start an official FAU campus gay group. His first step was a January 1975 front page article in the student newspaper The Atlantic Sun titled “On Being Gay.” In it he declared “I am a gay person. A ‘queer,’ a ‘faggot,’ a ‘pervert.’ But I am not ashamed of what I am.” He then went on to challenge the various stereotypes and beliefs about lesbians and gay men: that they were child molesters or that their love went against God’s command. His article sparked a lively debate which the newspaper encouraged and over the next few months articles and letters to the editor appeared either for or against Silber’s stand, attracting new members to the group. Silber and the group’s members moved to become an official campus student organization. By now legal challenges against bans by Florida’s Board of Regents on gay groups had been settled by U.S. courts in favor of the rights of lesbians and gay men to organize on campus. In February 1975 it announced its formation as the FAU Gay Academic Union (GAU), similar to other campus gay groups across the country. Although he had already graduated, Joel Starkey remained active in the group. In contrast to many other gay groups active across the country, FAU’s GAU strove to incorporate feminists in its membership and politics. In 1976 they organized a successful protest against a local gay bar that discriminated against women. It sponsored fundraising dances which sometimes included drag performances, including one at a gay disco in West Palm Beach that attracted 400 revelers. One of the important goals of GAU’s activities was to provide support for students to “come out” and be open about their Photo submitted by Fred Fejes. GUEST COLUMN
FEBRUARY 2024 | OUTFAU 7 sexuality. Lesbian and gay students often faced rejection and harassment from other students, and some faculty. To support lesbian and gay students, the GAU published two newsletters. One, Liberation!, printed items about GAU activities but also pieces about lesbian and gay life that celebrated their common struggle and shared culture. They also published another newsletter Florida Gay Liberation News which was more directly political and regionally oriented, trying to knit together other Southern lesbian and gay organizations and make lesbian and gay students at FAU feel part of the national movement. In May 1976 they organized the firstever celebration on “Gay Pride” in Palm Beach County. Throughout the week the club organized events like an art show, poetry readings, a discussion of “gay authors” in literature, a panel on religion and homosexuality and a disco dance. Members of the club, invited by interested professors, would often go to individual classes to speak about and answer questions about being gay. The organization was open to both FAU students and members of the Boca Raton community. At one of their early meetings a local man attended and told them how Boca Raton police officers, either dressed in plain clothes, or sometimes just a swimsuit, would come up to single men on the beach and make sexual propositions. If the man showed any interest he was arrested. Silber, and other members of the GAU went to a meeting of the Community Relations Board and complained about the entrapment. The Board expressed concern and opened an investigation. Although the police denied doing this and the Board closed its investigation without taking action, the GAU’s actions garnered a good deal of favorable publicity, with stories appearing in all the local newspapers. A major goal of the GAU was to challenge all the negative stereotypes about lesbians and gay men. In 1976 an FAU student body organization organized a free viewing of the 1970 movie The Boys in the Band, a film version of Matt Crowley’s 1968 play about an evening gathering of a group of New York gay men. Although it was the first film aimed at the national audience that attempted to give a “realistic” portrayal of gay life, many found the effeminate depictions overly stereotypical and negative, bearing no relation to the lives that the GAU students and other members of the younger generation lived. They likened it to a film about Black people featuring Steppin Fetchit. GAU’s protest generated a lot of campus discussion about the popular but inaccurate negative images of gay life, but also about the whole issue of censorship. In the end the movie was not shown, but also many people on campus were educated about the new sense of gay and lesbian identity. By early 1977 Silber and other members graduated and the club activities declined. That fall Anita Bryant led a widely publicized campaign to repeal Dade County’s antidiscrimination ordinance. While in the short run this anti-gay effort was successful, it generated a national conversation about lesbians and gay men, a conversation that firmly placed them within the fabric of American life. Silber and other GAU members went on to become active in South Florida gay organizations. But what they learned and taught at FAU about being gay also became part of the fabric of campus life at the University that long outlasted anything that Anita Bryant and others like her said. Fred Fejes is Professor Emeritus at Florida Atlantic University, where he taught LGBTQ Studies. He is a Research Scholar at Stonewall Library. He is the author of Gay Rights and Moral Panic, a history of the 1977 Anita Bryant campaign against gay rights. Photo submitted by Fred Fejes. Part of this article is based on the 2011 University of Miami Master’s Thesis by Elliot D. Williams “Out of the Closets and onto the Campus: The Politics of Coming Out at Florida Atlantic University, 1972-1977.”