U-M’s Spectrum Center, the first university-based LGBT-focused center in the United States, opened its doors just two years after the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, which marked the beginning of the modern era in LGBT issues.
The center’s yearlong 40th anniversary celebration continues with a screening and discussion of the film “Training Rules” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Michigan League’s Michigan Room. The film tells the story of Pennsylvania State University women’s basketball coach Rene Portland. She had three training rules during her 26 years at Penn State: no drinking, no drugs and no lesbians.
It examines how the athletic department allowed talented athletes, who were thought to be gay, to be dismissed from the team. The film follows student athlete Jennifer Harris’ lawsuit that overturned these policies and ignited the world of women’s collegiate sports.
Following the film, Sue Rankin, Penn State associate professor of higher education and former softball coach, will comment and share her experiences of fighting homophobia for more than 30 years. Rankin is lead author of “The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People” which she will discuss at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the School of Education, Room 1322.
An Evening with Judy Shepard will be presented at 6 p.m. April 2 at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The program features Shepard who lost her son, Matthew, a University of Wyoming student, to a brutal homophobic murder in 1998 that stunned the nation. The incident inspired the play, “The Laramie Project” along with musical salutes to Matthew, three narrative films and a documentary. Shepard established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on his legacy.
She will deliver keynote remarks at this fundraising dinner for the Jim Toy Center, co-sponsored by Spectrum Center and Out for Business, the Ross School LGBT student organization.
Reservations and additional information for the dinner are at jimtoycenter.org. For more information on the events, go to spectrumcenter.umich.edu/.
