NEWS FROM THE FUND FOR REUNION/PRINCETON BTGALA P.O. Box 1481, Princeton, New Jersey 08542
Volume XIII, No. 2	May, 2000

Contents

FFR's endowment has been growing at unprecedented levels this year. Come to our Reception at Reunions on Saturday for an exciting announcement of how far we've come!

We're still looking for a few hands to help out with reunions, so drop us a line right away if you're willing to help out (particularly with the dance Saturday night)!

May 26 - 28 is reunions weekend this year, and FFR is once again hosting activities for the LGB community throughout the weekend. This year is even bigger than ever, with all of you FFR folk getting free admission to the 15th Reunion's Friday night festivities (see below)! In addition we have the traditional staples, the café at Murray Dodge Friday evening, a panel on gay Princeton in the digital age on Saturday morning, our annual meeting and reception Saturday after the P'Rade in Marx Hall, and dancing into the night at Terrace Club Saturday!

FFR Barges into the 15th Reunion

Friday Night, May 26th, 2000, Cuyler Hall Courtyard

In a completely new collaboration, FFR agreed to cosponsor with the 15th Reunion the partially lesbian and very gay-positive all-female trio Betty. This will be the main attraction at the 15th Reunion's Friday night tent bash. Since Betty is a step above the usual no-name Friday night band playing oldies from the 80's, the 15th reunion approached FFR to help defray costs. In return we were promised free admission for those of us who are otherwise not registered for Reunions.

The details took some work, but the final agreement is that FFR/Princeton GALA will be giving out arm bands at the café at Murray Dodge that will allow admission to the 15th Reunion tent for Friday night. (Sorry folks, but beer is not included.) Our mutual hope is that this will give some of you the opportunity to check out Reunions without having to register for the whole weekend. Even if you are already registered, though, the 15th Reunions tent is definitely the place to be Friday night!

Saturday, 11AM, May 27th, 2000, 101 Marx Hall

This year saw the explosion of online discussion groups on TigerNet, and among the more exciting new groups initiated was Pride-Net. Initiated by undergraduate Dan Weitz '01 and alumnus Marcus Tye '90, Pride-Net has spawned discussions on everything from biological predetermination of sexuality to human rights issues to the merits/flaws of circuit parties and where to meet at the March on Washington. Membership has grown significantly and participation by men and women has been wide spread.

At the same time, alumnus John Mitchell '91 started a new club on Yahoo for Princeton alumni. This is an environment of a different sort, allowing for posting of photographs and chatting with alumni. It's still in its infancy, but promises to be great! For more on this one, visit at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/gayprinceton Dan Weitz and Marcus Tye have both agreed to participate in a panel of Princetonians of all ages in what should be a lively discussion about this shift in the way LGB Princetonians interact.

Reunions is a time to reevaluate what we are doing. Our current board has given graciously and generously with their time and energy. Nonetheless, we are sorely in need of some new people with energy and ideas and a little time to either join the board or get actively involved with us.

There is so much we want to do this coming year - our Washington, DC, and California contingents are coming to life, our resources are garnering the attention of the University and Alumni Council, other affiliate groups are eager to work more closely with us, and we are being looked to to help rejuvenate the alumni body as a whole in the New York City region. Add to this our efforts to assist students and help with the transition to life post graduate life and our efforts to build the gay/lesbian/bisexual Princeton community and you can see there is a lot to be done, and it won't happen without your help. Please contact us if you are interested in being on our board or in participating more actively in our activities. We plan to start doing teleconference calls for our board meetings this coming year, so don't let your location stop you!

This past year, FFR has lacked an active alumnus to keep in touch with the student groups (now called the Pride Alliance) and the coordinator. The unhappy result is that we have given no scholarships or funding this year. In addition, we continue to have offers of internships for students, but without better contact with the student body, these opportunities are lost. Any volunteers?! To a certain extent, we are a victim of our success. Years of effort encouraging the University to be more supportive of the student groups as well as the appointment of a coordinator to aid them has resulted in a much more independent organization that feels less need to reach out for our help. This is a great thing, but we all feel that there is more that we can do.

FFR now has two seats on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council. Under new rules, the Alumni Council grants a seat to the President of each of the Affiliate alumni groups. The result is that for the first time, we have the opportunity to share experiences and present a unified front on issues important to members of groups that have historically been marginalized by Princeton. Plans are underway for more regular consultations between FFR and the Asian and Hispanic affiliate groups, and in time possibly with the other affiliate groups.

At this past meeting, each of the affiliate group Presidents gave a report on their group's successes and challenges. Having a number of different groups relaying similar stories had a definite impact on the rest of the Executive Committee who seemed eager to see more diversity at Princeton University, both among students and at alumni activities.

At a recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council, the chairperson of the Schools Committee, Rosalie Norair '76, spoke.

She made a number of interesting points in her report.
1 - The schools committees are not the secret insular groups that they are perceived to be and in fact are eager for the participation of other alumni.
2 - The vast majority of applicants to Princeton are interviewed by their local schools committee.
3 - Students that are not interviewed do get into Princeton.
4 - The goal is to see that every applicant gets an interview.

Finally, she made it clear to FFR that they were eager to have openly gay/lesbian alumni available to help with interviewing potential candidates, so contact your local committee chair. If you don't know who that is, let us know and we'll find out for you.

The PAW Reorganizes

The PAW is currently being reorganized and will be run by the Alumni Council. Half the Board of Trustees will be composed of alumni journalists, so all of you journalists should look into this opportunity! A great deal of energy was spent debating how best to ensure future editorial independence - including independent journalists on the board was viewed as the most effective way to accomplish this.

Trustee Elections

There will be elections coming soon for Princeton University trustees. It was announced recently that only 12% of alumni vote for trustees. That means that we could have a very significant effect on an election for a candidate that we like. Ultimately the challenge will be getting someone on the ballot in the first place....

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Solely the Fund For Reunion is responsible for the content on this page. Although we make every effort to keep this information accurate and up to date, we cannot guarantee it. This page is maintained by Shawn Cowls '87 FSA MAAA. The Fund for Reunion, Inc., is a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation incorporated in 1986 independent of Princeton University with the goal of improving Princeton's relationships with its LGBT community, including alums, students, faculty, and staff. For more information, visit our website at http://alumni.princeton.edu/~ffr-gala/ or send us an e-mail by going to the Fund for Reunion Email page. You can sign up for FFR/Princeton BTGALA using our Sign up form. Contributions to FFR are tax deductible to the full extent allowable by law. Click here to pay dues online.

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This document was last modified on January 19, 2002.