Since Star arrived in town last August, she has injected much energy and vitality into the local LGBT community. Hearing about OUTpost from a flyer her partner picked up, she began volunteering on a monthly basis. Since then, she has also arranged social events for bisexuals in the community, facilitated a Transgender Significant Others (TGSO) Support Group, and become involved at the local Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church with Interweave, an LGBT committee which she now Co-Chairs. Star also founded and currently runs the local Polyamory Group in addition to maintaining her activities in the queer and transgender community nationally, attending conferences such as Southern Comfort, an annual meeting for transgender individuals and people who love them.
Star says one of the things that surprised her about living in Champaign-Urbana was how accepting the twin cities have turned out to be. Coming from "ghettoized" Chicago, she was excited at the opportunity to make friends and find acceptance among the diverse range of groups present in our smaller community.
And it's true that you can go practically nowhere without running into someone who knows Star. In many ways, she is actively changing the theory of "Six Degrees of Separation" to five or even four (If you've never heard of this, rent the movie with Stockard Channing and Will Smith, it's great!)
Star's willingness to be open and honest about her life and activitism makes her a great person to talk to. She is very open and happy to answer questions. Other volunteers at OUTpost have come to rely on her as a referral source for questions on bisexual, polyamory, and TGSO issues.
Her abiding interest in raising public awareness about issues of gender identity and sexual orientation has led Star to conduct presentations and workshops both on campus and in the community. When she realized the book being used in her Psychology of Gender class at the U of I was outdated on transgender issues, Star brought it to the attention of her professor, who in turn invited her to do a lecture on the issue.
Star's activities with Interweave have also included co-facilitating weekly workshops designed to promote dialogue between the queer and straight community and increase awareness on LGBT issues within the UU religious community. Star identifies the fundamental goal of her activism as working to decrease homophobia in the world and transphobia and biphobia within the queer community in particular.
When Star is not working to make the world safe from homophobes, biphobes, and transphobes, she can be found working as a network analyst at the university or indulging her interests in science fiction fandom, horseback riding, folk music, and COFFEE!
And most recently, Star could be found at home rearranging her apartment for the imminent arrival of her partner. Known to friends as Pooch, Star's primary partner, Peter Picucci (and in some circles known as Ms. Andrea Lynn), has recently relocated to the Champaign-Urbana from the Washington, DC area. Star hopes that Pooch/Andrea finds the community just as accepting as she has. When asked how comfortable she is being out, Star's spirited reply was: "I'm so out I don't even know what my closet looks like anymore. And I couldn't go back in anyway, because I've just made room for of all of Andrea's clothes!"
Star certainly has shone brightly at OUTpost and in the Champaign-Urbana community. Thanks Star for all you do! For more information on Star or any of the groups she is involved with, you can visit her web page at http://www.prairienet.org/~star
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Last Updated: 04/16/03
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