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Dateline Page 4 Here Royal Purple
4 www.RoyalPurpleNews.com March 5, 2014
Film raises gay rights awareness
By Thomas Zimmer Staff  Writer
As  part  of  this  year’s  Interna- tional  Week,  The  Center  for  Global  Education  teamed  up  with  PRIDE  and  IMPACT  to  screen  “Born  This  Wayâ€?  on  Feb.  26.    7KH Âż OP GHSLFWV WKH OLYHV RI Lesbian,  Gay,  Bi,  Transgender  and  Questioning  community  members  OLYLQJ LQ UHFOXVH LQ PRGHUQ GD\ Cameroon. Cindy  Konrad,  the  LGBTQ  co- ordinator  at  UW-ÂWhitewater,  said  VKH ZDQWHG WR VKRZ WKH Âż OP WR UDLVH DZDUHQHVV DERXW WKH HYHQWV RFFXU ring  in  African  countries  surround- ing  anti-Âgay  laws.   “Right  now,  Cameroon  has  the  most  arrests  of  any  country  that  has  prohibitions  against  being  LG- BTQ,â€?  Konrad  said.  “These  laws  can  carry  between  a  six-Âmonth  and  ¿ YH \HDU SULVRQ VHQWHQFH DORQJ ZLWK D ODUJH Âż QH VLPSO\ IRU LGHQWLI\LQJ DV part  of  the  gay  community.â€? Konrad  said  in  addition  to  raising  aware- ness,  the  LGBTQ  community  hopes  WKH Âż OP DOORZV students  to  con- nect  these  issues  Konrad in  other  countries  with  similar  ones  we  experience  in  the  United  States.   It  was  only  10  years  ago  when  the  Supreme  Court  ruled  against  laws  prohibiting  same-Âsex  acts,  which  shows  just  how  similar  these Â
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Lisa Helms helped facilitate discussion after a screening of ‘Born This Way,’ which depicts Cameroon’s anti-gay laws.
issues  are. Âł:H VWLOO KDYH D ORW RI SUREOHPV ZLWK GLVFULPLQDWLRQ DQG VWUHHW YLR lence,  especially  for  LGBTQ  young  people  here  in  the  U.S.,â€?  Konrad  said.  “We  want  people  to  under- stand  what  it  means  to  be  a  sexual  minority  in  the  world  and  for  people  to  see  how  closely  related  these  is- sues  are.â€? Lisa  Helms,  PRIDE  intern,  said  she  was  excited  to  get  the  word  out  about  the  global  LGBTQ  com- munities  to  other  UW-ÂWhitewater  students  that  are  not  aware  of  the  global  issues.   “The  issues  they’re  facing  in  Cameroon  are  not  so  different  from  the  issues  we’re  facing  here,â€?  Helms Â
“
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said.  “As  a  country  that  prides  itself  on  being  a  leader  in  the  world,  if  we’re  educated  here  about  issues  in  other  places,  we’ll  be  much  more Â
willing  and  able  to  help.â€? 7KH Âż OP ERUURZV LWV WLWOH IURP singer  Lady  Gaga’s  pop-Âhit.  Helms  said  she  thought  it  was  a  SHUIHFW Âż W IRU WKH PRYLH WLWOH “When  that  song  came  out,  it  was  an  anthem  for  LGBTQ  people  across  the  world,â€?  Helms  said.  “I  think  it’s  really  cool  that  the  same  ¿ JXUHV WKDW SURYLGH LQVSLUDWLRQ IRU XV KHUH DUH SURYLGLQJ LQVSLUDWLRQ IRU people  across  the  globe.â€? 'HYRQ :LQIUH\ D VWXGHQW ZKR DWWHQGHG WKH YLHZLQJ VDLG KH WKRXJKW WKH Âż OP ZDV D YHU\ H\H opening  experience. Âł, GHÂż QLWHO\ JDLQHG D EHWWHU understanding  of  the  differences  between  LGBTQ  culture  here  and Â
in  African  countries,â€?  Winfrey  VDLG Âł7KLV PRYLH LV JRLQJ WR EULQJ awareness  toward  their  situation  and  is  going  to  allow  other  coun- tries  to  offer  any  support  that  they  can.â€? 6WXGHQWV RQ FDPSXV KDYH VHYHU al  options  when  it  comes  to  helping  the  LGBT  communities  in  White- water  and  across  the  world. Âł:H KDYH WKH 35,'( FHQWHU where  we  do  lots  of  outreach,  as  well  as  IMPACT  which  is  our  LG- BTQ  student  org,â€?  Konrad  said.  ³(YHQ WKRVH WKDW DUHQÂśW GLUHFWO\ DI fected  by  these  issues  are  working  towards  making  their  groups  open  DQG DIÂż UPLQJ SODFHV ´ Helms  also  said  PRIDE  has  been  working  hard  this  year  to  help  those  in  the  LGBTQ  community  QRZ PRUH WKDQ HYHU Âł:H KRVW HYHQWV DURXQG FDP pus  supporting  the  LGBTQ  com- munity,â€?  Helms  said.  “We  staff  the  PRIDE  center  to  make  sure  we  are  DYDLODEOH IRU WKH /*%74 FRPPX QLW\ WR KDYH D VDIH SODFH WR FRPH and  just  relax.â€? The  PRIDE  center  can  be  found  LQ WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ &HQWHU EHKLQG WKH &DUHHU DQG /HDGHUVKLS GHYHORS PHQW RIÂż FH DQG LV RSHQ GXULQJ QRU mal  daytime  hours  for  anyone.   Any  XSFRPLQJ HYHQWV ZLOO EH DGYHUWLVHG throughout  campus,  and  they  can  be  a  great  way  for  students  to  expand  their  horizons.
ZimmerTM27@uww.edu
Ç Ç Ç Í˜Ä?Ĺ?ŜĞžĂĆ?Ĺ˝Ä¨Ç ĹšĹ?ĆšÄžÇ Ä‚ĆšÄžĆŒÍ˜Ä?Žž 6WDUWV )ULGD\ 0DUFK WK 5LVH RI DQ (PSLUH 0U 3HDERG\ 6KHUPDQ Show your student ID after 5:30 pm for a discount. Bargain Matinees Monday thru Thursday!