LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
The Way I See It |
by Steve Elkins, Editor |
Somehow it's April 2000 and I'm not at all sure what happened to the winter. Life in CAMP Rehoboth is already busyand the season hasn't even arrived. This issue is the last one in our off season monthly production schedule. With the next issue, a new Letters will hit the streets every two weeks. While I'm talking about Letters, let me remind everyone that this magazine is a program of CAMP Rehoboth, and as such, we try to live up to the CAMP Rehoboth mission statement printed on page two. One of the activities supported by our mission statement is"promoting artistic expressions and creative thinking," for gay and lesbian people. If you have something to say, we're always looking for writers, artists, photographers and poets. I hope you've followed reports of CAMP's Project Advisory Committee this winter and spring. The group (open to anyone who wishes to participate) is serving as our creative developing ground for new programs, as well as a place where the old ones are given a little new life. The last regularly scheduled winter/spring 2000 meeting will take place on April 13 at 7:00 p.m., at Epworth United Methodist Church located at 20 Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth. During the summer season, any additional meetings will be announcedalthough much of the work will move, for a time, into smaller, more flexible, subcommittees. I urge everyone to find a way to get involved with some aspect of this group. It's our communitylet's make it the best one possible. One of the most exciting and long term projects growing out of the Project Advisory Committee is the creation of a new CAMP Rehoboth Gay and Lesbian Community Center. Still in the very early stages of development, the Community Center committee has plans to complete a vision statement and have some kind of kickoff event during summer 2000. Plans also include a workshop on Saturday, May 20, to create the vision statement. Watch for more details on the Community Center. It's going to be a big deal, and we'll be talking about it for a long time to come. On a more short term scale, camp rehoboth's march bus committee is very pleased to announce that we've already filled one bus and are now working on the second. The buses will depart Rehoboth at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, and will return that same night. Tickets are only $10 (financial assistance available) and are going fast, so call the CAMP Rehoboth office at 302 2275620 as soon as possible to make your reservation. For more details on the Millennium March Bus Trip, see page 10. Many of you, I'm sure, have been following the progress of the 2000 Census. Though there are no specific sexual orientation questions, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been urging samesex couples who live in the same household to check the "Unmarried Partners" option when asked to describe their relationships. With only 30% of the forms returned by the deadline date, census interviewers will be calling on those of you who did not return your form. "While the census question isn't about sexual orientation or identity," says HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch, "it is nevertheless an important opportunity for our community to be counted." I join HRC in urging you to be honest about your relationship. Hopefully by the time the 2010 census rolls around the questions about sexual orientation will be more direct and less discrimination will make it easier for them to be answered honestly. For now, "Unmarried Partner" is the best we can do, though answering the question face to face is not quite as easy as checking a box. Stand up for who you are. It's good for us all. It's busy at CAMP, and we've got something of interest for everyone. Call, write, email or stop by the CAMP office to find out how you can get involved. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 3, Apr. 7, 2000. |