Equality Press

By Calvin Genzel

Several years ago a therapist who was leading a group was asked to present an image that would help group members understand spirituality. The leader looked around the room and focused on a massive stone fireplace. He then replied, “Spirituality is like the mortar in the fireplace. Just as the mortar makes the chimney a chimney, allowing it to stand up strong and tall, beautiful in its wholeness, the spiritual is what makes us wholly human. It holds our experiences together, shapes them into a whole, gives them meaning, allows them—and us—to be whole.” He continued, “Without the spiritual, however physically brave or healthy or strong we may be, however mentally alert or clever or brilliant we may be, however emotionally integrated or mature we may be, we are not somehow all there.” (more…)

By Peter Michaud

There is no pride sticker on my car, or rainbows in the form of strips, squiggles, or variegated triangles. At one time, when I first came out of the closet, I really wanted one. I even bought one I liked for future use. At the time, I was driving around in a ten year old Shadow with peeling paint, dents, and the occasional rust spot. I felt it was my duty to keep the myth alive that all gay men were financially affluent. Since old, dilapidated Dodge Shadows do not support or aid this misconception, I gave up the idea of placing a sticker on my car. I sacrificed my desires for the benefit of the community. (more…)

By Bob Coffey, Jr.

It’s probably the absurdly huge bags of buttery popcorn stacked like cordwood in the conference room that provides the first indication that this isn’t just another University administrator’s office. Moving into the office’s “living room” reveals a cheerful throng of students, sprawled out on two overused couches, munching on the popcorn and intently watching a favorite movie. Floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a wooded ravine light the room. Another student sits at the receptionist’s desk intently studying. She looks up from her textbook and her notes only to greet visitors or answer the telephone. “Good afternoon, Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.” She uses the office’s full name for the benefit of newcomers, but in the vernacular of the campus, it’s simply “OMSA.” (more…)