Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Letter of the Week: L is for Lesbian

Good morning readers,

Sorry about the delay in posting, there was an update to blogspot last night that stopped us from posting. 

Today we are proud to introduce a weekly installment called LETTER OF THE WEEK. This purpose of these pieces is to highlight the different parts of the LGBT Community and let each slice of the pie have a moment in the spotlight. 

Without further ado, I have you our first...
LETTER OF THE WEEK. 




L is for LESBIAN

What is it?

There are a few definitions floating around that people seem to adhere by. 

lesbian is a female homosexual: a female who experiences romantic love or sexual attraction to other females.[1][2] The term lesbian is also used to express sexual identity or sexual behavior regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.[2][3] - Wikipedia
In short, the term lesbian is a self-identifying term for "a woman who is attracted to other women."  Some people that use this term might be non-binary (a segment we will get to later in the series) but choose to use it to identify themselves. Some people may also be attracted to people other than women but choose to use this term if it generally describes them. 


Lesbians in pop culture! 
Actors, Singers and Comedians:
Actress Jodie Foster, Actress Lisa Hunt, and Comedian Wanda Sykes

Video game, comic book, cartoon, anime, etc. characters:
Karma from Marvel's X-Men, Athena from Borderlands, Sailor Neptune/Michuri from Sailor Moon









Monday, February 23, 2015

Making of Role Models for a Minority Group

Making of Role Models for a Minority Group

An Irresponsible Way to Market a Cause

By: Naimul Khan

Bruce Jenner, famous track Olympian, has recently made the news. Tracking a lot of media attention, it is rumored that he is transitioning to become   a woman. Though the news remains speculation, with no official word coming from Jenner himself, his daughter Kylie Jenner recently came out in support of her father. All this mixed in with news that Jenner will be starring in a reality TV show on E! about his transition, leads us to believe that the tabloid speculations are true. Nonetheless, whether Jenner is transgender remains insignificant when compared to the profound influence it will have on American popular culture. Hopefully, it can change American public opinion. 
Throughout the last several years, we have seen how popular culture can influence popular opinion. Same-sex marriage, for example, as a result of popular culture and media attention, has become legal in most of the United States, so much so, it would be safe to say that we have gay rights here in the United States. However, this privilege (which should be a natural right) comes on the backs of the millions who voted in favor and worked in order to push the equality agenda. Some of these individuals made their intentions explicitly clear, rallying for public support. Others, on the contrary, were pushed to move the cause. The idea that these individuals were “pushed” to fight for gay rights, however, does not mean they were forced to do so by some third party, but naturally took on the responsibility by coming out. 

Coming out, in general, is probably one of the most powerful tools any minority community has in helping gain equal rights. Whether gay, or Black, or Muslim; by saying “this is who I am”, a powerful effect is made. First off, you take away any sense of shame these groups might have riddling its image. Gays coming out as gay really says, “I am okay with this and I am not ashamed”, heck, that’s why we call it pride. Which brings us to the second impact of coming out, we celebrate who we are. In a way, our celebration in the form of Gay Pride, or Latin Pride, or any other kind of pride, exclaims that as a minority group, we are not different as humans and we share diversity amongst us. These effects of celebrating and coming out, therefore, makes every individual who comes out an advocate. She becomes a voice of exposure. She normalizes who she is. She makes her differences seem minute. 

Still, despite the minuteness, there is one group of people who get an overbearing amount of responsibility when they come out. Celebrities, semi-celebrities, or really anyone with any following, wear the heavy burden of having to represent a whole class of minorities. Whether it is Bruce Jenner with the trans* community, or Michael Sam with the athletic gay community; these individuals become the face of their minority group. These individuals, as a result, must give up some of their rights, like their right to privacy. Though some will argue that by coming out publicly, these celebrities bring the pressure on to themselves; would it be possible to have it any other way? Would it be possible for Bruce Jenner to one day appear as Belinda Jenner without media attention? Could Michael Sam have hidden the existence of his boyfriend his entire NFL career and even thereafter before he became entangled in a gay-scandal? Hiding the sexuality is not possible, but the pressure and scrutiny in being a role model is no easy solution. This is a lose-lose situation. 

However, the scrutiny is not limited to just celebrities. Even down to the community level where an individual comes out to family, or friends, or her entire town, pressure is put on her to represent her community, while existing community stereotypes are imposed onto her. The idea that HIV and AIDS, for example, is a gay disease promotes a skewed image of what the community is and those that are a part of it. This issue, like many, is not solely limited to the LGBTQIA community. Black individuals must live with stereotypes imposed onto them through the media and education systems throughout the nation. As a result of institutionalized racism, British imperialism, and the acts of a few individuals; before even meeting a black man, others who are less acquainted with the community, will make judgements on her character. In this country, it can even get you killed. 

The strokes of a few broken brushes, also, can taint the whole image of a community. For example, the fundamental and uneducated association between homosexuality and pedophilia is one that still exists worldwide. Though there remains no causation between the two very distinct groups, this inaccurate idea has seeped into the grains of historical American thought and even lives engrained in the minds of some today. So when a person, celebrity or not, comes out, she runs risk of presenting her group inaccurately to those outside her group. Many may take her actions and words as emblematic of the entire group. Obviously, this is a problem.

So what is the solution to this situation? Is the problem with the idea of “coming out” itself? No, the issue is not with coming out. One way or another, others will have to know if individuals are LGBTQIA-identifying. Non-exposure is worse than exposure. What needs to be fixed is mainstream reaction to issues like sexuality and gender fluidity. When rumors of Bruce Jenner being transgender arose, many news tabloids fed it to the public masked as scandalous gossip. This has profound negative implications, in that it insinuates that being trans* is scandalous and something to be made fun of. The issue at hand is ignored for entertainment purposes.

What needs to change is how the conversation over gender, sexuality, race, and topics like these are discussed. No, it will not take a day, month, or year to correct; but like the process of evolution, the system needs to evolve into one where coming out is not a big deal and sexuality, race, or the color of one’s eyes, are not character defining. The only way to get this change across is not just by changing how tabloids report, but also how we educate the youth in schools, and how we normalize communities through the media. 


So as Bruce Jenner gives up his private life by hosting this reality TV show about his transition, I tip my hat to him, because in the end of the day, no matter how unimagined, his show will help the cause and make the “T” in “LGBT”  a non-issue. 

Friday, February 20, 2015

Hey Bearcats! TGIF!!!! We hope you all enjoyed this past chilly week.

To recap, if you haven't done so already, you can view your photo from our "What is Love?" Photo Campaign on our GLASS Facebook page, under the designated photo album. You can also view the VIDEO made by esteemed GLASS President Joshua J Altamirano, compiled of all of the photos here. What a beautiful success!

On Tuesday, T-Time returned. We enjoyed tea, coffee, and yummy cookies and brownies and sat in the cozy Resource Room (VC 3-241) together. Our discussion topic, "What is Gender?" proved to have many levels. The conversation flowed organically from the treatment of the Trans* community in foreign countries, to the importance of asking for someone's preferred gender pronouns upon meeting them, and then to how people experiences both sides of the typical gender binary. It was great to listen to each other and learn something new. We are already looking forward to our next T-Time!



We ask, "What's in a name?" No, we are not talking about that Capulet girl.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Society is changing its name! Inclusivity of people of all gender identities, gender expressions and sexual orientations is our main priority and aim, especially at a famously
 diverse school like Baruch College.

Beyond that, GLASS's aim is to include the entire Baruch community to help us in the search of our new name! Please take two minutes out of your day to enter your idea into the attached Google Form. Let's get the conversation flowing. (Break the internet.)


We really appreciate it!



This week, we have a packed day on Thursday, Feb 26! During Club Hours, we are co-sponsoring the Vietnamese Student Association's event general meeting, #TBT, hosted by GLASS Events Coordinator Pong Muangchan! We'll be enjoying Vietnamese food and snacks that will throw you back! Cha cha slide down to VC 5-160.

Thursday evening, we are hosting our second Open Mic Night of the year!! Enjoy storytelling, poetry reading, and of course, live music! See you at 6 to 9PM in Room VC 2-125.


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Week of Feb 9

Good morning Baruch students,

GLASS would like to thank all of our returning members and the handful of new ones that came to our first General Meeting of the Spring semester last Thursday. It was fun playing a couple of ice breaker games with y'all and chatting about what's coming up. We are very excited for the events we will host and co-sponsor!

Also, we would like to thank all the students and teachers who participated in our photo campaign "What is Love?" yesterday. We enjoyed learning about what people say when they think of love and that people were proud to stand by their answers and pose for a photo! If you'd like to see your photos, they will be up on our Facebook soon, and later on we will compile the photos into a video which will play on some of the televisions in the Vertical Campus!

What's up next you ask? T-Time! Next Tuesday, Feb 17 at 12:30-2:30PM, we are hosting another T-Time in VC 3-241, aka the LGBTQIA Resource Center. T-Time is an opportunity to have an open discussion in a safe space, while enjoying tea, coffee, and desserts! Next week's topic is "What is Gender?" and you can look over the details on our Facebook.



Enjoy your Thursday and Monday off, and have a happy and safe Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Welcome Week

Hey Bearcats and friends!!

It's Welcome Week here at Baruch to kick off the Spring semester. We hope you all enjoyed your breaks and that Blizzard Juno hasn't inconvenienced you and your families too much.

We had an amazingly successful Fall semester and GLASS is so excited to deliver some great events right away.

Tomorrow, Thursday January 28th, GLASS is co-sponsoring with TSO, Baruch's Transfer Student Organization, who is hosting their Welcoming Party during Club Hours in the Gym. They will be featuring over 30 of Baruch's clubs and refreshments will be served. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and learn about club life. Look for our table! Follow the rainbow!!




Also tomorrow, Thursday January 28th, Baruch's Undergraduate Student Government is hosting their party Casino Royale from 6 to 9PM in the Multi-Purpose Room (VC 1-107). Test your luck at the Roulette and Black Jack tables and capture the moment in a photo booth!


Stay tuned for GLASS's events in the coming semester.

Our first General Meeting will be held next Thursday, February 5th, in VC 4-190!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

iLuminate Review

Hey Bearcats!

I hope you are all enjoying your weeks thus far, and we here at GLASS have a suggestion for how you could de-stress and have fun this weekend before Finals Week begins!

This past Friday, upon the recommendation of fellow active GLASS member Haven Kaplan, Joshua Altamirano (GLASS President), Eden Goring (GLASS Treasurer), Zaris Mota (GLASS member) and I (GLASS Co-Creative Director) attended the off-Broadway show iLuminate.

iLuminate performs unique dance shows in New York New World theaters and has appeared in various talk shows, award shows, and concerts. According to the group,"iLuminate isn’t just a dance show. We’re a company based on the fusion of technology and dance. We aim to create a visual display unlike anything you’ve ever seen, using dancers in electrified glow-in-the-dark suits to perform choreographed dances and illusions on a darkened stage. It’s an experience that’s completely unique to our brand and incomparable to any other dance show." Each show is an hour long and is a treat and experience for all ages. 

iLuminate impressively mixes dance with stunning neon visuals to explore a profound meaning between expression, love, and power. In an abstract and contemporary manner, the show aims to enlighten the audience on human individualism through the journey of the Artist—the show’s protagonist.  

The Artist himself embodies the idea of holding true to self-expression and individualism. Ostracized for his inability to dance, in a world where everyone dances like Mikhail Baryshnikov, he isolates himself into his own world created by the magic of his paintbrush. The paintbrush, as a matter of fact, remains pivotal to the idea of individualism—for it symbolizes power. This capability creates the dynamic between innocence and corruption. Our ballet-dancing Artist represents innocence in character, while the street-dancing antagonist represents human corruption. These attributes are carried through in the fight for the love interest of both characters. The interest is pulled to the purity of the Artist, but moved by the nature of the antagonist.

This pull towards purity develops the idea of flow versus nature. Where the protagonist builds a world for him to feel accepted in the flow of the environment around him, the antagonist forces his individualism, love, and his environment to work for him—an act that was only met with failure. The feud between the characters and these themes develop into more intricate meanings, again exploring personality, expression, and power. 

This aim was undeniably reached. As the show built a connection with the audience, everyone watched captivated. From actors jumping out of the audience, dancing through aisles, to neon serpents’ lunging out into the crowd, all in an environment that not only allowed, but also encouraged, applause—even though there was no dialogue the level of interaction was remarkable. We easily found ourselves immersed in the story, following the interesting yet ingenuous plot. All the energy and charisma, served to engage instead of distract, an admirable quality in an off-Broadway feature.  The lights, the music, the entire production was unique to itself, something that transcended the environment leaking into theme of the show itself. This show, even through its environment, values the importance of self-expression. 

iLuminate’s classic plot of power, corruption, identity and acceptance makes it a universal show; that, paired with the group's commitment to interaction, attracts an unprecedentedly diverse audience.  The spectators encompassed families,couples, and friends of of all ages, and we would recommend everyone check it out.  

So bearcats, don't miss your chance to experience the fun and grab your tickets before the lights go out on January 18th!!






Saturday, November 22, 2014

Recap Week of 11/17

Hey Bearcats!

I hope you are all enjoying your Saturdays. I know you are excited at we at GLASS are about Thanksgiving and a short school week!

To recap this past week, Baruch GLASS observed Transgender Day of Remembrance. On Wednesday evening, members of GLASS as well as our advisors traveled to historical Christopher Street to St. John's Lutheran Church to attend the Audre Lorde Project's observance of Trans Day of Remembrance, a day before the nationwide day of remembrance. According to their site, the Audre Lorde Project is a "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color community organizing center… committed to struggling across differences, we seek to responsibly reflect, represent and serve our various communities." At the event, various speakers from multiple organizations presented short stories, spoken word pieces, and even a rap to portray the importance of both mourning and celebrating the lives lost of trans people to hate violence. 

Next, on Thursday during Club Hours, GLASS hosted our own observance of Trans Day of Remembrance by watching the MTV documentary "Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word" which follows the story of a handful of trans youth who explain the struggles they face each day. We hope that another episode is released because it was a great, eye-opening, and touching show! See the link below to watch for yourself.

Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word

That evening, we all joined for a GLASS Family Thanksgiving Dinner. It was an event of great food, and mushy gushy love. Personally, it was a prequel for all the food I am excited to scarf down next week.



Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving all!  

Saturday, November 15, 2014

The Goal to Be Straight But Not Narrow-Minded

Good afternoon Bearcats and Friends,

To recap, this past week was Ally Week, hosted by Baruch's Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Society (GLASS). On Thursday during Club Hours we had the event Straight But Not Narrow II: LGBT+ Terms and Definitions

As aforementioned, SBNN II was a continuation of an event we had during LGBT History Month back in October. At the first event we learned in a safe space the definition of what it means to be an Ally- one who is not necessarily in the community but is a supporter or activist for the LGBT+ community. On Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week, members of GLASS asked students passing by on the 2nd floor of the Newman Vertical Campus to write on a whiteboard a reason why they are Allies. Please refer to the lovely video of this experience in the link below to see the great things people said.

 I am an Ally Because… video

At Straight But Not Narrow II we indulged in Popeye's fried chicken (a crowd favorite) and GLASS member and Co-Creative Director Gabe Roman led a presentation on how we as Allies or as members of the LGBT+ community can appropriately address others without being accidentally offensive or making someone feel small. Gabe also drafted an LGBT+ Pocket Dictionary for us which lists Gender Expressions, Pronouns, Gender Identities, Sexual Orientations, Romantic Orientations, and some other General LGBT+ Terms we should all be aware of. Our guest, Christina Chala, also joined the discussion and helped to clear up some common misconceptions that have arisen. Christina is an Honors Advisor at Baruch and is employed with Dare2Engage, "a network of teachers and practitioners in 16-19 education who share a common aim to develop new and innovative resources for religious education and spiritual development." Later, in addition to further explaining to the crowd which terms some of us did not fully understand, Gabe also asked that we pair up and engage in an exercise where we pretended we did not know our neighbor, and we had to have a conversation with that person in an effort to avoid offending them by making any assumptions about their sexuality, gender identity, etc. I think I speak for everyone that attended when I say that I learned many new terms there and that I have more of a confidence now in how I can interact respectfully with others in the future. Please refer to this key resource whenever you feel it necessary, or stop by the LGBT Resource Room (VC 3-241) and chat with us.

GLASS's first ever Ally Week was very successful and we hope to make it an annual tradition. Stay tuned for upcoming events and have a great weekend!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Happy Monday!

Good evening Bearcats and friends,

Thank you to everyone in Baruch GLASS and to our guests who joined us for a discussion accompanied with coffee and donuts at our T-Time last Thursday. It was great to catch up with everyone on what they enjoyed about LGBT History Month.

October is not the only time GLASS makes a splash! We have many great events that we will both host and co-sponsor this fall semester alone, not to mention the many events we are excited to plan for the spring semester.

With that being said, happy Ally Week! This Thursday, the 13th, we are hosting Straight But Not Narrow 2: Terms and Definitions, the second part of an ally event we had during LGBT History Month. The goal is to create a safe zone for LGBT people and their allies to have an informative discussion about the appropriate terms we all should be using in our vocabulary. As always, we strive to make each person feel included and to know that his or her feelings should be respected and voiced. Please join us for a one of a kind event in Room VC 4-190 during Club Hours.

Hope to see you all there!

Monday, October 27, 2014

LGBTHM WEEK 4

Hey Bearcats and Friends,

Tuesday starts the final week of Baruch's celebration of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender History Month. Baruch GLASS would like to thank everyone who attended our events and all the clubs and organizations who co-sponsored with us. This has been one of our most successful and eventful years. As promised, the month will go out with a bang.

Tuesday during Club Hours Baruch GLASS is hosting 
Rainbow Cinema
For the past 50 years, media depictions of LGBT people have not been accurate. Gay men are shown to be effeminate; lesbians and bisexual women are objectified; the transgendered community gets treated like clowns; and cross-dressers and drag performers are labeled gay, regardless of their orientation. At Rainbow Cinema we will view clips from a few movies from different time periods and have someone provide some background about them (how they were received in their time). Then we will watch a film that focuses on the problems of the LGBT community. A discussion of its time context, cultural impact and how mainstream audiences view LGBT people will follow.

Thursday during Club Hours is our Closing Ceremony. 
It will be held on the ROOM 2-125 in the Vertical Campus building (room number still pending). The ceremony is going to be a wrap up of LGBT History Month which will include a guest speaker and a recap video showing photos and videos from all of our events. We will be presenting all of the clubs who have cosponsored the month with us certificates of appreciation, as well as our guest speaker, and the members of the committee.

Thursday evening from 6pm to 9pm is the event you have possibly all been waiting for: Fright Night. Baruch GLASS's 8th annual Halloween Party 
It will serve as an evening of fun where the entire Baruch community can celebrate the LGBTQIA community and LGBT History Month, all free from discrimination. The theme is Haunted Carnival and guests and encouraged to come as they are and feel free to be themselves (or to put together an amazing costume of course!). There will be many fun activities including a photo booth and two costume competitions, one for the scariest costume and one for the best representation of an LGBT icon. 


Hope to see you all there! Happy Halloween!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

LGBTHM WEEK 3 RECAP

Good afternoon all,

Yet another awesome week has passed in Baruch's celebration of LGBT History Month. On Tuesday, we had the event Global OUTrage: The Fight for LGBT Rights. The aim of that event was to learn about how counties besides the United States deal with inequality. We had a Skype session with journalists from The New York Times ​who described LGBT communities overseas, including those of Russia and Nigeria. 

On Thursday, Baruch GLASS co-hosted with the Star Career Developmemt Center for the event Queer People of Color in the Workplace. There, GLASS's Vice President had questioned prepared for the five panelists that came to speak about the companies they work in, and how growing up as an LGBT person and a member of another minority group has impacted their professional lives. Our guests were from Viamcom, McCann, Moody's, GLAAD, and Bloomberg. Each panelist was able to offer viable advice to us college students (who all stress about jobs) such as: research a company's culture before you commit to working there; establish a level of credibility in your company to get your voice heard; and, always stay true to your personal values. We also had the great opportunity to ask them our own questions and to do a little networking afterwards. 

This week is the last week of LGBT History Month! Please join us for Tuesday's event during club hours, Rainbow CinemaThursday's event during Club Hours, 
Closing Ceremony, and our annual Halloween Party, Fright Night (formerly known as Freak Fest), which is scheduled for Thursday night from 6pm to 9pm.

See you all soon! Thanks for your continued support and attendance! 

                                          



QUEER PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE WORKPLACE




Tuesday, October 21, 2014

LGBTHM Week 3

Good Morning All,

As promised, Baruch GLASS is hosting even more exciting events this week starting Tuesday. On Tuesday during Club Hours we will be hosting the event 
Global OUTrage: The Fight for Universal LGBTQ Rights. We will be learning about the constant global struggle for equality. It is true that the LGBTQ community has come a long way in the recent past, including in marriage equality and in cultural integration, but it is true that the fight is not over. We invite the entire Baruch community to hear about the struggles faced within one facet of our proudly diversified school.   

Next, on Thursday during Club Hours GLASS is hosting the event titled 
Queer People of Color in the Workplace. There we will be discussing the hardships one faces as being both a member of the LGBTQ community and a member of another minority group. We are excited that we have the opportunity to hear from panelists from the following companies: Viacom, McCann, Moody's, Bloomberg, GLAAD, and LGBT Community Center

Dress to impress if you please! 

See you guys there.

Cheers!
Elisa Buttafuoco

Friday, October 17, 2014

LGBTHM Week 2 RECAP

Hello! 

Baruch's celebration of LGBT History Month is continuing to impress. This week, GLASS proudly hosted three events. 

Wow! On Tuesday during Club Hours we proudly invited allies and members of the LGBT community to Straight But Not Narrow: Supporting the LGBT Community. We discussed what it means to be an ally and the importance of making our peers and loved ones feel comfortable enough to flaunt who they are. Regarding the atmosphere of the event, GLASS President Joshua Altamarino (aka James Altam) said it created a "safe, open space for both allies and LGBT persons to ask questions and become informed" about current issues the community faces daily. If this event left you hungry for more, be sure to join GLASS for its first ever Ally Week in November!

Thursday was jam-packed with great events, starting with an informative conference-type event during Club Hours called Making Strides: The Importance of LGBTQIA Non-Profit Organizations. There, representatives from NPO's on the front lines of the LGBT community's struggle for equality, including Hetrick Martin Institute, The Bailey House, The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce New York (NGLCCNY), The Ali Forney Center, and Lambda Legal came to speak. Each of them described to us the reality of being a part of a NPO and how rewarding it is to know that you played a crucial role in bettering a young person's life. Even though our President was battling a cold, the event went off without a hitch. 

Later that evening, we had the treat of attending the Gender Role Workshop. There we learned about the various different types of gender identities and played games which helped us realize how many stereotypes there are surrounding the "roles" of men and women. We each left with this message in our minds: The bottom line is that we should each be our own people, and feel empowered to be true to ourselves. 

Stereotypes and norms do not make you who you are. 

What a week, guys! Stay tuned for our next events, continuing this week! 

Making Strides: LGBTQ NPO Panel 



Cheers!
Elisa Buttafuoco 


Monday, October 13, 2014

LGBTHM Week 2


Good Evening Everyone!


Tomorrow is the Straight But Not Narrow, an Ally event where one can learn how to be an ally and what they can do to make each place a safe place for the LGBT community. Christie Chala from Dare to Engage and Ryan A. from the Counseling Center will discuss what to do as an ally as well as how to face certain situations. Bring a friend and come on by!!

On Thursday October 16th

Interested in what others are doing for the LGBT Community?

Hear from non-profit organizations that help the LGBT Community each and every day. Organizations like Lambda Legal Bailey House , The Hetrick-Martin Institute and National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce New York (NGLCCNY) will discuss their organization’s goals, address current struggles, and provide you information regarding volunteering.
Don't miss this opportunity to network with the best and seeing what YOU can do to make the world a safer place for the LGBT Community.




Cheers!
Kimberly Torres 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Good evening!

Thursday marked the first day of Baruch's LGBT History Month. Baruch GLASS hosted an Open Mic Night which was a major success! We had the pleasure of hearing a handful of original poems read by published LGBT poet & writer ,  Elliot Torres. We also had the opportunity to ask him questions about his experiences and even get his novel autographed. It was his second time performing at Baruch College, and hopefully not the last. Next, the audience was treated to hearing songs sung in different languages and listening to laugh-out-loud funny stories, all performed by students. It is safe to say Baruch's Got Talent! Thanks to the courageous performers, devoted co-sponsors, and excitable audience members for contributing to this event. Don't get post-concert depression, there are many more exciting events coming up for
LGBT History Month!


Stay tuned! 
Elisa Buttafuoco
Assistant Marketing Chair