Dozens of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students, staff, faculty and alumni of the CUNY met at the City College of New York April 30 for the annual Queer CUNY conference. In addition to providing students and staff from the school’s 17 undergraduate campuses the opportunity to network, the conference included workshops on HIV decision-making, the challenges facing trans students at CUNY, the possibilities of queer studies, LGBT cultures around the world, being religious and queer and gentrification’s effects on queer youth public spaces. Alan van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, gave the keynote address, challenging students to become leaders in their communities by coming out and organizing against homophobia and for social justice.
The conference was hosted by the Straight and Gay Alliance of CCNY and sponsored by CUNY’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, or CLAGS.
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