News

Hey NYC Domers (and those that can come in for football Saturdays)!

Now that football season is almost upon us, Therapy has offered to be our destination for ND football for the first few weeks.  We will have the second floor –- which has a huge screen, couches, and drink specials-- and they are working on creating a menu for us.

The first game (ND-SDSU) is Sat. Sept 6th at 3:30
The second game (ND-Michigan) is Sat. Sept 13th at 3:30

Therapy has never done anything like this before, so they are asking for a headcount. If these go well, then they will keep it up. Otherwise, we will need to find somewhere else.

If you are planning on attending, let us know so we can tell the folks at Therapy how much staff they will need to plan for.  And please feel free to invite friends!  Email Paul at ptxburke (at) yahoo (dot) com to let him know if you (and any guests) will be coming.

We have a vacancy on our leadership team and are seeking candidates for a midterm appointment (subject to dues-paying members' vote).  Please see the description below for more details.

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The GALA-ND/SMC Secretary is an elected position on the GALA Leadership Board. Candidates must be graduates of either Notre Dame or St. Mary's College and dues paying members of GALA-ND/SMC. The Secretary - along with the Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer- convenes and presides over monthly conference calls and oversees the organization's activities.  The Secretary is also responsible for:

• Maintaining minutes of officer meetings and posting summaries on the GALA-ND/SMC website
• Communicating with GALA members via website postings, newsgroup coordination and semi-annual mailouts
• Overseeing the development of Alumni and Student Profiles to be posted on the web
• Keeping and maintaining GALA archives, including newsletters, outreach materials, correspondence, and activity records
• Overseeing other research and documentation efforts by GALA members including the history of Summer Service Projects, the Queer Film Festival, and the development of a database of LGBT student and alumni groups at other Catholic colleges

If you are interested in serving and have time and passion to contribute, please send an email with subject GALA SECRETARY to webmaster@galandsmc.org. Include a brief bio and statement of interest. To be considered, your email must be received by August 15, 2008.

This year's football-weekend tailgater will be held prior to the ND-Stanford game on October 4, 2008. Game time is at 2:30, so tailgate festivities will begin in the morning and continue forward.

If you have not yet sent in your alumni ticket lottery form, this is a good chance to synchronize your visit with that of other GALA-ND/SMC members! Even if you already sent in your lottery form for another game (or you don't normally participate in the lottery), you may still want to try to come for the weekend. Tickets are frequently available on sites like stubhub.com, and sometimes through the ND Alumni Association Online Ticket Consignment Program.

More details will be posted regarding the time and location closer to the event. We hope to see many of you there!

The following is excerpted from a letter sent out to all GALA-ND/SMC members in March 2008.  The referenced member survey is now viewable here.

In February 2008, current dues-paying members of GALA-ND/SMC voted for officers to serve a two-year volunteer term leading the group.  We are happy to announce that our new officers are:

CHAIR - Tom O'Brien '86
VICE CHAIR - Steven Saftig '03
TREASURER - Mike Douglass August '96
SECRETARY - Gus W. '80

To learn more about the officers, visit their bios.

Since the election, officers have met both in person and via phone conference to determine their focus and direction for the coming year. Discussions were framed by GALA’s mission statement and by responses to the January member survey.

The officers have chosen to take the following first steps over the next few months as they prepare for the long-term strategies for the group:

1.     Membership

• Modify the dues structure to encourage friends and lapsed members to become current. Annual dues will be rolled back from $50 per year to $35 per year for everyone except current students and recent graduates. Current students will not be charged a membership fee, while recent graduates will also enjoy free membership for the first two years after graduation. Make sure your membership is current by joining at join.galandsmc.org; and please share this post with friends and fellow alums who might be interested in joining GALA.
  

• Identify new regional coordinators and liaisons for recent grads and women. These coordinators will play an active role in building membership at the regional and targeted level through phone calls, establishing partnerships with other GLBT alumni organizations, identifying opportunities for summer service projects for current students and helping identify mentors for graduates relocating to a new area.
  

• Reinstitute Universal GALA night. GALA-ND/SMC  will encourage members across the country to get together on the same weekend for socializing and mobilizing. It’s an approach that continues to work well for Notre Dame and has worked well for GALA in the past, raising the organization’s profile. Events may include social service projects, social gatherings and jointly sponsored seminars.  Information will be forthcoming as events and dates are planned.

2.     Communication

A large percentage of GALA’s funds in the past have been spent on a paper newsletter. The officers recognize that this is a valuable form of communication and are committed to an annual update sent to  members. However, the officers also recognize that many people today are accustomed to more regular updates via electronic means. GALA-ND/SMC can take advantage of its online assets to create a more dynamic on-line presence, get the word out more often and keep costs to a minimum.

3.     Campus Presence

GALA-ND/SMC wants both students and administration to be aware of the strength of our organization and our commitment to open dialogue about the role of the GLBT community in campus life. The new officers will start with the following:

• Send a formal letter of introduction to the Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s administrations.
• Formalize communication and coordination with OutreachND.