More than 100 MN Campus Alliance members and supporters gathered on Friday, April 25 at the Holiday Inn Metrodome to celebrate another year of GLBT campus work.

Guests heard from Antonio Cardona of Pillsbury United Communities about the importance of building GLBT student leaders. Beth Zemsky spoke about the importance of seizing this political moment to capitalize on gains from GLBT movement past. We capped the evening off with entertainment by Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs. It was a lovely evening raising funds and visibility for the MN Campus Alliance. Funds raised at the Spring Dinner will help subsidize the cost of Minnesota OUT! Campus Conference 2009 to lower student registration fees.

Many thanks to those that made the dinner a reality, including McNally Smith College of Music, Print Craft Inc., Anne Hodson and the staff of the Holiday Inn.

The Minnesota GLBTA Campus Alliance is looking for Board Members. We are

currently looking to fill the following positions on our executive board for 2008–2009.

Please contact info@mncampusalliance.org if you are interested in running for any of

these positions.

Communications Coordinator

The Communications Coordinator’s responsibilities include chairing the

Communications Committee; developing and maintaining all MN Campus Alliance

official marketing publications; creating and delivering the E-Newsletter and various EBlasts

to the MN Campus Alliance membership in a timely manner; primarily responsible

for managing website design and major updates; managing the MN Campus Alliance

blog; managing the consistency of the MN Campus Alliance brand and its assets to the

community at large; writing and sending out press releases in conjunction with other

committees; developing and maintaining public relations campaigns and structures.

Internal Relations Coordinator

The Internal Relations Coordinator is responsible for writing Board meeting agendas;

writing meeting minutes; scheduling times, reserving rooms, and handling all technology

needs for all Board meetings; collecting and distributing minutes from all MN Campus

Alliance Board and committee meetings; making minor web updates; coordinating and

collecting content for the Campus Resource Guide.

At-Large Representatives (3 open positions)

The At-Large Representatives’ responsibilities include acting as pipelines for the MN

Campus Alliance; serving on the Outreach Committee; working on promoting Training

and Education Initiatives.

The Campus Alliance Outreach Committee will be holding a meeting in early July. This committee is responsible for organizing tabling and event participation as well as assisting in the statewide mission of the Campus Alliance. Please contact outreach@mncampusalliance.org for more information.

Get involved with planning for the 2009 Minnesota OUT! Campus Conference!

We have created a tentative committee structure and weekend schedule. Please contact our current co-chair, Toni Alberte (mocc@mncampusalliance.org), to get involved as a coordinator, a committee member, or a conference volunteer.

Current Needs:

Website Coordinator

Finance Coordinator (grants, donors, etc)

Committee Members for Finance, Programming (Workshops and Outreach), Conference Logistics & Materials, Advertising and Web Presence, and Much more!

Please let us know how you’d like to get involved!

Grand Cities Pride celebrates its second year
Ryan Johnson – 05/30/2009

More than 150 people stopped by the town square in downtown Grand Forks on Saturday afternoon for the second annual Grand Cities Pride. The event was a celebration for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, or GLBT, people from all around the region. Multiple vendors and display tables set up around the area to provide information and help get the message out to the public. MJ Kroll and Alicia Leafgreen, both from Minneapolis, were at the afternoon celebration and performed at a drag show at Sensations later in the night. Kim Jorgensen, co-chair of Grand Cities Pride, said things went pretty well Saturday. One nice thing was the sunny, warm day — she said it snowed in the morning May 10, 2008, when the first pride was held in the city. But besides enjoying the pleasant weather, Jorgensen said the event was for anyone in the region to have a good time and help spread awareness. “It’s really important to bring some visibility to Grand Forks,” she said. “There is a GLBT presence in Grand Forks. This is a celebration that we’re prideful.” Jorgensen said the event is fairly new and organizers are always looking to make the next one bigger and better. A meeting is scheduled at 2 p.m. today at Mamma Maria’s in East Grand Forks for anyone interested in helping plan next year’s event. For more information or to offer to help, e-mail grandcitiespride@hotmail.com or visit www.grandcitiespride.com. Presence everywhere Chris Stoner, the other co-chair of Grand Cities Pride, said this year’s pride featured more events but was pretty comparable to the celebration in 2008. He was hopeful that the event would let everybody relax and enjoy the day together. “I think we just wanted people to come and have a day to celebrate, to have a good time and not worry about all the ugly stuff that’s out there,” he said. Becky Saltzman, a native of Minneapolis and the diversity and inclusion coordinator of the Minnesota GLBTA Campus Alliance, was at the town square to provide more information on efforts her group is taking at universities across the region. It was her first time in Grand Forks, and said she really enjoyed the “community-based” pride here compared with the sometimes overtly corporate prides in larger cities. “People seem to want to come here… to be with the people,” she said. Saltzman said it’s important for people to know that the GLBT community does have a presence everywhere, even in smaller towns or rural areas. It’s also important for gays or lesbians in these communities to be proud, she said. “If you go into a community expecting not be supported, the only person laying down is yourself,” she said. “People who identify as GLBT are everywhere. We’re not just in Hollywood and not just in the arts.” Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com.

Watch for Campus Alliance volunteers at Twin Cities, Rochester, Mankato, and Duluth-Superior Pride Festivals! We will have our info tables at these events. Feel free to get up and join us in the parades at these festivals!

July 10-12 – Rochester Pride

September 5-6 – Duluth Superior GLBTAQI Pride Festival

September 11-12 – Color CoordiNATION Conference

September 12 – South Central Minnesota Pride (Mankato, MN – Sibley Park)