FUND FOR REUNION/PRINCETON BTGALA
A Non-profit Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Princeton Alumni, Students, Faculty and Staff
P.O. Box 1481, Princeton, New Jersey 08542
| NEWS FROM THE FUND FOR REUNION/PRINCETON BTGALA A Non-profit Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Princeton Alumni, Students, Faculty and Staff P.O. Box 1481, Princeton, New Jersey 08542 |
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| Volume XVI, No. 1 | November, 2002 |
The Fund for Reunion, Inc. is extremely proud to announce that our endowment ended our fiscal year 2000/2002 at $1,200,000. Once again defying current market conditions, the endowment grew 10% in the past year.
Once again there has been too much activity this year regionally to do it all justice.... There are many to acknowledge and no doubt we will miss some - our apologies for any oversight. We’ve been woefully negligent with our printed newsletter, but we’ve been far from idle! We have had monthly events around the country for all of the past year.
A special thanks to our intrepid crew of FFR members, including Lex Kelso ‘71, Bob Hotes ‘85, Philip Mahin ‘85, David Beaty ‘50, and Jeff Napoleon ‘89. Most impressive was Kelso’s transformation of our traditional Friday evening cafe at Murray Dodge into a marvelous mixer in Whig Hall. The result was the best attendance we’ve had in many years, thanks also in no small part to the eye-catching posters by Hotes advertising the event.
Eddie Gonzalez-Novoa ‘93 inspired a small gathering of alumni at our Saturday morning lecture with the work he is doing at Hetrick Martin. Our post-P-Rade reception in Dial Lounge was not the best attended but was given very high marks by those who found it.
We again held a dance at Terrace, though an invasion of non-LGBT alumni cut the festivities short. We welcome suggestions for an alternative venue for 2003.
What can we say other than wow! We’ve had monthly events in New York City for Princeton alumni and our friends from other schools. Events regularly have more than 100 alumni from a variety of schools. These events are primarily responsible for a significant increase in our rolls and the rolls of other LGBT alumni associations like FFR.
We have begun holding regular events specifically for women - the most recent event had over 60 women in attendance! We are also encouraged by a steady increase in the number of women attending our general mixed events. We’re planning another women’s event for December 6th, so check our website for details.
We bid a very sad farewell to Richard Johnson '75 who passed away this year. Clarence Wong ‘85 stepped in to pick up the load this past spring, With the help of alumni from Stanford and Yale we have revived monthly events by the bay which attract 30 to 50 alumni.
We have had two events in L.A., one in Boston, and three in Washington, DC. Each one was very well attended, with 50 to 100 people. Special thanks to Dan Berkowitz '70, Armando Oliva '79, and Dan Shih '94 for their efforts here!
Our first Chicago event was a smash with over 60 alumni from a number of schools in attendance. Our event in Ft. Lauderdale had a small turnout. Our first Seattle event is coming up in December.
Please contact us if you would like to help get something going in your neighborhood!
So why haven't you heard of these events? Because of the very large numbers of alumni on our rolls and the frequency of the events, we have been inviting alumni only via the web and by e-mail. If you want to receive our monthly events e-newsletter, send us your e-mail address! Alternatively you can tune in to the events page on our web site.
As indicated this past year, our dues year now corresponds to the calendar year. If you send us your dues now, we'll mark you as M2003! Those of you who sent dues since this past Reunion will also get credit for 2003. Again, whatever pleases you most about us:
All of these are supported out of our operating budget, which is funded by your contributions. Act now and renew your membership with a contribution! Your dues are particularly important this year as we plan for significantly increased expense needs related to the Pride Alliance and to our academic initiatives on campus
Contributions to FFR are tax-deductible! Please drop us an e-mail if your contribution wasn't properly noted.
Member dues are just $25 per year. Friends, Benefactors and Patrons have the honor of watching their contributions make even more of a difference to FFR's work:
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We have held two live meetings of the endowment committee. After much negotiating with the University, we were granted a private list serve for the purposes of this committee.
A number of great ideas have been put forward, including endowing a lecture series, installing an LGBT student center, funding the development of LGBT related course work, endowing a program in LGBT studies, and endowing a chair. All of these ideas are still undeveloped. Before we can truly evaluate any of them, we must determine how each one of them could be implemented, who would be responsible for their maintenance, and what the ultimate cost will be.
The lecture series is an idea that the board of FFR had already approved, and which we may be able to fund out of our operating budget. We have made progress in identifying potential University resources to administer and plan this exciting project. We hope to have more updates as the academic year progresses.
We welcome additional participation in this committee. We have particular need for current University faculty with knowledge of LGBT studies programs, whether or not they are Princeton alumni.
| Operating Fund | |
| Opening Balance | $3,834.03 |
| Income | |
| Dues and Contributions | 7,380.60 |
| Expenses | |
| Pride Alliance Funding | 1,960.18 |
| Newsletter | 614.10 |
| Reunions | 1,601.19 |
| Alumni Events | 1,483.39 |
| Endowment Committee | 111.83 |
| Closing Balance | $5,443.94 |
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Endowment | |
| Opening Balance | $1,092,201.41 |
| Interest/Dividends | 16,760.72 |
| Gain/Loss | 131,716.33 |
| Closing Balance | $1,240,678.46 |
Notes:
Investment results in the endowment fund greatly exceeded expectations again, with investment earnings of over 10% in a year when most people experienced significant investment losses. Once again we thank our investment manager Brandon Fradd ‘83.
FFR includes 805 Princeton alumni, faculty, and staff - 59 more than we had last year.
By Class
With the exception of the class of '52, we cover every class since 1945.
Our oldest alum is from the class of '33 and our largest class is ‘85 with 36 alumni
followed closely by ‘87 with 35. Hold outs include
the class of 2000 with only seven alumni and the class of 1970 with only nine.
| 1935 and Prior | 1 |
| 1936 - 1940 | 1 |
| 1941 - 1945 | 1 |
| 1946 - 1950 | 8 |
| 1951 - 1955 | 10 |
| 1956 - 1960 | 16 |
| 1961 - 1965 | 32 |
| 1966 - 1970 | 33 |
| 1971 - 1975 | 42 |
| 1976 - 1980 | 71 |
| 1981 - 1985 | 128 |
| 1986 - 1990 | 111 |
| 1991 - 1995 | 89 |
| 1996 - 2000 | 67 |
| 2001 - 2005 | 47 |
| Graduate Degrees | 110 |
| Faculty & Staff | 38 |
| New York City and Environs | 316 | Northern California | 74 | Washington, DC | 66 | Southern California | 69 | South | 61 | Boston | 51 | Other US | 52 | Midwest | 47 | Foreign | 38 | Philadelphia | 31 |
| Male | 608 |
| Female | 191 |
| Transgender | 6 |
| Paid through 2001 or 2002 | 136 | Ever Paid Dues | 234 | Never Paid Dues | 435 |
The office of the LGBT Student Services Coordinator has approached FFR with a number of funding needs for the year.
BiZone Conference - Potential Cost: $1,200
This year Princeton University (LGBT Student Services and the Princeton Pride Alliance) are cosponsoring the regional BiZone conference, a conference which addresses issues of importance to the bisexual and transgendered community. FFR has been asked to help subsidize the costs of students wishing to attend the conference.
Lavender Graduation - Potential Cost: $1,500
Last year FFR sponsored a special ceremony for out graduating seniors. We have been asked to again sponsor this program which is expected to have an even larger participation level than last year.
Creating Change - Potential Cost: $2,400
This is an annual conference on leadership for out students around the country. FFR has been asked to help send a number of students to the conference.
Outreach to Closeted Students - Potential Cost: $850
FFR is being asked to help support a new program of outreach to closeted students. Elements include on-line support, distribution of condoms and safer sex educational materials, as well as additional social programming.
With a total cost of close to $6,000, these requests would represent a significant increase in our annual spending on campus. With your generous support, we will be able to respond to these needs as well as continue to do the things we have been doing in the past and begin some exciting new things as well.
Princeton succumbed many years ago. Princeton hosts a web site for the Army’s ROTC program which erroneously states that participation is “open to all students attending Princeton University.” No mention is made of penalties for coming out, which includes being forced to pay back tuition for previous years. According to the web site, 50 students are enrolled in ROTC at Princeton. The Pride Alliance serves over 300 students and is allocated a fraction of the space.
Flyers Fly - Increased LGBT-related programming equals increased numbers of flyers. There has also been an increase in vandalism and removal of posters. One incident involved a University staff member repeatedly removing all the posters for a program sponsored by the LGBT Coordinator. The University insists this was a misunderstanding related to a push to remove X-rated posters that had been showing up on campus, and that it will not recur.
LGBT Task Force to Conduct Survey - The LGBT Task Force, composed of current faculty, staff, students, and a couple of alumni has approved a campus climate survey. Much of the work preparing the survey will be done by an out graduate student. The results of the survey may provide needed back-up in efforts to increase space and resources allocated to LGBT students.
Grad Students Unite - A stipulation for direct funding of events by the Dean of Undergraduates is that the Pride Alliance use these resources only for undergraduates. In response, a group of graduate students have formed the Queer Graduate Caucus.
Activism Returns? - Not satisfied with the activities offered by the Pride Alliance, a small number of out students and their straight allies have started a new group called Queer Radicals. This new group has staged a kiss-in and has covered the campus in posters to further raise awareness on campus about LGBT issues. While the Pride Alliance provides a social environment for LGBT students on campus, the Queer Radicals provides a political one.
Board membership is a privilege available to all dues-paying members of FFR. As always, we are actively looking for alumni interested in serving on our board, in particular women and recent alumni. We are also eager to have more volunteers to help with the Endowment Committee, our website, the newsletter (both the news and invitation versions), membership development, campus support, Reunions and Alumni Day events, and regional alumni events and fundraisers. Please contact us if you would like more information.
This past year, the Pride Alliance was forced to permanently vacate their office in Aaron Burr. They were moved into a space in the new Frist Campus Center which is less than a fifth the size of their previous office space and can best be described as a closet. Most of their possessions, including their extensive library, were put in storage.
Making the LGBT Coordinator’s position full time is significant progress. The value of this progress has been somewhat offset by the impact of the loss of physical space for the students. In the meantime, schools such as the University of Pennsylvania are dedicating increased amounts of space and resources to LGBT students. In the past year, Princeton has seen reports of violence against LGBT students, increased destruction of posters with LGBT content, and increased outcries from the religious right on campus. Perhaps it is time that a real LGBT center be established on campus, one that gives LGBT students a safe space to gather and that can safely house their library.
Anne-Marie Barrett ‘02, put together a proposal for a center that would provide facilities for the students, and move the Coordinator out of West College so that students could feel more comfortable coming to talk with him or her. Currently students who wish to see the Coordinator must go into the Dean of Students office, where conversations with the Coordinator can be overheard by other staff. Giving her separate space would be of great value to students who are concerned about being seen or heard.
The position of Coordinator in Barrett’s proposal would be expanded. Our current Coordinator, Debbie Bazarsky, has made great strides and significantly increased programming for LGBT students, while still managing to be available to the students. Expanding her role would help ensure that the strides she has made are not lost when Princeton replaces her after her term expires next year.
We look forward to helping the current Pride Alliance fine-tune this proposal and begin to make a case to the University for a much needed change regarding space needs and continuing the positive trends being made by the current coordinator.
Thoughts? Share them with us and the University.
Once again, we are in the sad position of reporting on the passing of an FFR member.
We are grieved to announce the passing of Richard Johnson '75 on
April 8, 2002. Richard was a delightful man who organized our monthly
events in San Francisco over the past year. We will miss a friend
and a dedicated member of the FFR/Princeton BTGALA family. Condolences
can be sent to his mother:
Louise Johnson
20 Fairway Lane, Pleasanton, CA 94566
We can be reached at:
Fund for Reunion/Princeton BTGALA, P. O. Box 1481, Princeton, NJ 08542
For faster response, send e-mail to
Fund for Reunion
You can sign up for FFR/Princeton BTGALA using our mail form.
This document was last modified on November 12, 2002.
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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.
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