The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance may be quieter than usual, but leaders of the organization say they are still active in positive change on campus.

While the group has not been getting much attention for activist activities in the last few months, LGBTAA President Angie Chipman, junior in psychology, said the group has been placing more of a focus on support and education of its members.

“[Last semester] was not so much being out there, trying to change things on the outside, but instead strengthening the inside,” Chipman said.

Chipman was first elected as president of LGBTAA in May 1997, and she served until January 1998 when she left Iowa State for a six-month sabbatical to train for the National Guard.

Upon her return in June, she was re-elected to another term as president.

Chipman said LGBTAA faced tumultuous times during the spring 1998 semester, and the recent lull in outward activity has helped to dispel the negative opinions held by some students.

“After the end of last year, there was a lot of negative feedback on the political actions of some members [of LGBTAA],” she said. “We decided it would probably be good to stress the education and to let people know that we weren’t this angry bunch of queers willing to tar and feather anyone who was in our way.”

Chipman attributed the negativity felt by members to divided opinions on issues, such as the visit of anti-homosexual pastor Fred Phelps in May.

Additionally, since a few members of LGBTAA also were involved with The September 29 Movement, Chipman said many students associated the two groups.

Jeff Sorensen, LGBTAA adviser, said he has seen great increases in the breadth of students in the group since his involvement began in 1991.

Early on, the organization consisted of mostly white gay males, but Sorensen said that has not been the case for several years.

About half of the attendance at weekly meetings is female, he said, and a number of straight allies also are regular participants.

Chipman said providing support and programming for a diverse group of LGBT students presents a challenge to the organization.

“We have tried to focus on a wide variety of specific topics,” she said. “We’re trying to leave it up to the general membership, to what they want to know about, and we try to fulfill their wishes.”

After spending the last semester focusing on internal education and support, Chipman said she hopes LGBTAA will be more vocal about its positions in the next year.

Chipman said the organization needs to strike a balance between so-called “megaphone” political actions and “sitting on our hind ends.”

“There’s a happy medium,” she said. “We just need to find that, and we haven’t yet.”

When members of LGBTAA talk about taking “political” action, Chipman stressed that does not mean governmental involvement or partisan issues.

“If the university does something that is totally biased against the LGBT community, and we stand up for our rights, I would consider that political action,” she said. “It means not backing down, hiding or running away from the powers that be.”

However, in addition to voicing their opinions on controversial issues, LGBTAA will continue to build from within, Sorensen said.

“We’re trying to focus on developing a strong, educated group with members who are comfortable being themselves,” he said. “I think that protests and vigils are an important part of social activism, but the most effective way that people’s hearts are changed are through experiences with other human beings.”