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THESTONEWALL
ENDOWED
SCHOLARSHIP
2007
Recipients
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Maria Teresa Koreck
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Maria Teresa Koreck has been
actively involved, since 2004, in the struggle for civil
rights for Michigan’s gay community. She campaigned
against Proposal 2 through community meetings, caller drives,
and working the polls on election day, participating in the
Coalition for a Fair Michigan and with concerned GLBT
citizens mobilized by this amendment against same-sex
marriage. She joined, with her partner, the ACLU lawsuit
Pride at Work v Jennifer Granholm, as one of 21 plaintiffs
requesting declaratory judgment from the state’s
judicial system about the reach of this new constitutional
amendment. Ms. Koreck is a vocal plaintiff, generally
outspoken in all of her classes, and does not hesitate to
“come out” to her nursing classmates. She writes,
“I believe that one of the most important messages I
can convey is that I am comfortable and confident as a gay
woman and that I share the same hopes, dreams, and anxieties
about the future as all of my nursing student peers. Living
‘out loud’ is one of the most powerful and direct
ways of combating negative stereotypes and demonstrating that
as humans and citizens our similarities far outweigh any
perceived differences.”
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Tyne Kreiner has made many contributions to
the Eastern Michigan University community. In 2006, she was
elected as president of QUEST (Queer Unity for Eastern
Students). Under her leadership, QUEST has taken trips to
Common Language Bookstore, hosted movie nights, planned Day
of Silence programming, held an end of the semester party and
hosted other social events. Tyne also works with EMU’s
newest LGBTQA organization, CADRE and serves on the LGBT
Student Advisory Board. In June 2006, she was recognized as
Ally of the Month by her peers on this board for her work in
creating a more inclusive and safe campus for all students.
Speaking of Proposal 2 and her activism regarding it, she
writes, “Acts like this continue to drive the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender population further and further
away from equality, thanks to the heterosexist divide.
Decisions such as Proposal 2 perpetuate a homophobic emotion
on a national level. I have come to realize there are ways to
make changes wherever you are to make sure the local
environment surrounding them is the most comfortable and
appreciative to all walks of life – regardless of
one’s sexual orientation.” |
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Erin Brantley is the 2006
Communication Officer of QUEST (Queer Unity for Eastern
Students), responsible for keeping all members updated as to
what is going on and to run ideas past them. She promoted the
Day of Silence by selling t-shirts for it, participated in
Eastern’s Pride Education Coalition speakers’
panels meant to inform the community about LGBT issues. She
is a 2007 New Student Orientation Assistant and a first-year
mentor. Erin writes, “I also have spearheaded an effort
to build a video library for the LGBT Resource Center. I
believe that there are not enough resources out there that
are readily available to LGBT members and those interested in
LGBT issues. A video library will give people the chance to
enjoy movies that they can easily relate to and also help
educate those interested in LGBT issues.”
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