Texas Tech Announces October Event Schedule for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Awareness

Texas Tech University’s GLBTQ Steering Committee will bring feminist organizer and speaker Shelby Knox and GLBT outreach musical duo Jason & deMarco to Texas Tech University the week of Oct. 5 for homeComing OUT Week. These are two of more than 20 events open to the Texas Tech and Lubbock community during GLBTQ Awareness Month, October 2009. Starting Oct. 19, some events pair up with Week Without Violence activities. The GLBTQ Steering Committee is a coalition of the Lubbock community and Texas Tech University groups. GLBTQ Awareness Month celebrates the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. Events are intended to encourage honesty and openness about being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. Other events include: Intersecting Variance: Reading Gender & Gender Identity Politics – 8 a.m.-5p.m. Oct. 2, Second floor of the Student Union Bldg. on Texas Tech campus. A public colloquium. (806) 742-4335 or www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies. homeComing OUT Dance –7-10 p.m. Oct. 3, Metropolitan Community Church, 4501 University Ave. Doorways GLBT Youth Group welcomes all GLBT and Allies for a night of dancing and entertainment. Free. (806) 792-5562. OUTing: What Harm Can It Do? – 7 p.m. Oct. 5, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. Texas Tech and Lubbock community members discuss the harm in outing others. Free. (806) 742-3674. Shelby Knox Redux Film and Discussion -- 6:30p.m. Oct. 6, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. An epilogue to the 2005 film “The Education of Shelby Knox,” filmmakers Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt profile a high school student who, despite her deeply conservative Southern Baptist upbringing, advocates comprehensive sex education and gay rights. Free. www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies. Jason & deMarco: Musical Presentation & Dialogue -- 6:30p.m. Oct. 7, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. Jason & deMarco’s vocal harmonies are mesmerizing, unified by transcendent and uplifting lyrics making their appeal multi-generational, touching most everyone who hears them. Free. (806) 742-4335. For more, visit www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies. Your Passport to the World TTU Homecoming Parade – 9 a.m. Oct. 10, Parade begins at First Baptist Church on Broadway and will end at 18th Street and Indiana Avenue. Support Texas Tech and the TTU Gay/Straight Alliance as this is the first year this organization has been asked to participate with a float in the Homecoming Day Parade. For more, visit www.depts.ttu.edu/sub/StudentActivities/Homecoming. “Journey to a Hate Free Millennium” – 11 a.m. Oct. 11, First Unitarian Universalist Church, 2801 42nd St. Co-sponsored by First Unitarian Universalist Church and Texas Tech University’s Student Counseling Center, the film “Journey to a Hate Free Millennium” explores the murders of James Byrd Jr., Matthew Shepard and the student shootings at Columbine High School. A discussion follows. Free. (806) 799-1617. Coming OUT Worship Celebration – 11a.m. Oct. 11, Metropolitan Community Church, 4501 University Ave. Coming-out stories and liturgy will be shared and celebrated at the morning worship service. (806) 792-5562. “The Laramie Project Epilogue, Ten Years Later” – 6 p.m. Oct. 12, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. As part of a nationwide event from more than 100 other theaters in all 50 states, the epilogue focuses on the long-term effects of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. Free. Contact Jeanne Haggard at jeanne.haggard@ttu.edu. GLBTQ Allies Training for Faculty and Staff: Part I – 11a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 16, room 100 of the Student Wellness Center on the Texas Tech campus. This two-part training series provides information and resources on how to become an ally to the GLBTQ community. Lunch will be served. (806) 742-3674 or rich.lenox@ttu.edu. Worship and Concert with Rev. Delores Berry – 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Oct. 18, Metropolitan Community Church, 4501 University Ave.  (806) 792-5562. Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity – 6 p.m. Oct. 19, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. This film is the first educational video geared toward college and high school students to examine pop-cultural imagery and masculine identities in the 21st century. (806) 748-5292 or www.wpslbk.org. PFLAG Lubbock Monthly Meeting: Being a GLBT Red Raider – 7 p.m. Oct. 20, St. John’s United Methodist Church, 1501 University. Texas Tech Gay/Straight Alliance members and other Texas Tech students share their experiences of being out on campus. For more, visit www.pflaglubbock.org.Increasing Access to Justice: Advocating for GLBT Victims of Crime – 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 21, Texas Tech Institute for Forensics Science, 4434 S. Loop 289. Sponsored by Women’s Protective Services. To register, email Roy Rios at rrios@wpslbk.org. (806) 748-5292 or www.wpslbk.org. Drinking, Dating, and Date Rape in the GLBT Community – 6 p.m. Oct. 22, room 169 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. This program provides information about sexual assault in the GLBTQ community and how stereotypes contribute to beliefs about rape. Free. (806) 742-3674. GLBTQ Allies Training for Students – 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27, room 222 of the Human Sciences Building on the Texas Tech campus. (806) 742-3674. “MILK” – 8 p.m. Oct. 29, The Allen Theatre of the Student Union Building on the Texas Tech campus. In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America. Academy Award winner Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk. Rated R. Free for all students, faculty, staff, friends and family. Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Exams & STD Screening – 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 30, Lubbock Women’s Health Clinic,  Suite 100, 602 W. Loop 289. SPCAA provides low-cost preventive reproduction health services. Fees on a sliding fee scale determined by the woman’s family size and income.  Teens qualify based on the teen’s income, not their parents’ income. Contact (806) 687-9898. GLBTQ Allies Training for Faculty and Staff: Part II – 11. a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 30, room 100 of the Student Wellness Center on the Texas Tech campus. This training series provides information and resources on how to become an ally to the GLBTQ community. Lunch will be served. Free. (806) 742-3674 or rich.lenox@ttu.edu. FREE HIV/Syphilis Testing – 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Oct. 30, Project CHAMPS, 3307 Ave. X. Free HIV and Syphilis testing provided by Lubbock Regional MHMR. (806) 771-0736. “MILK” – 3 p.m. Oct. 30, The Escondido Theatre of the Student Union Building on the Texas Tech campus. In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America. Academy Award winner Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk. Free for all students, faculty, staff, friends and family. MCC Lubbock Fall Carnival and Doorways Haunted House – 7 p.m. Oct. 31, Metropolitan Community Church, 4501 University Ave. MCC Lubbock is hosting a Fall Carnival with games, candy and prizes. Doorways GLBT Youth Group is hosting a haunted house for ghouls and goblins of all ages. (806) 792-5562. CONTACT: Tricia Earl, coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-4335 ext. 392, patricia.a.earl@ttu.edu.