Put on your thinking caps, folks – “Queerniversity: Testing Your LGBT-IQ” is the theme of the third annual Unity Conference. The event, having expanded outside of North Carolina to incorporate the entire Southeast, will run from April 1-3.

The weekend will be filled with a total of 18 75-minute workshops on topics ranging from sex to transnational queer politics to the legal rights of LGBTIQ citizens. Former Real World cast member Danny Roberts will be featured as one of many nationally recognized workshop discussion leaders.

In addition, Mandy Carter, executive director of Southerners on New Ground will lead a workshop on issues of race. Nationally renowned bisexual activist Robyn Ochs will give workshops on biphobia and burnout prevention for activists. Tranzmission, a drag troupe from Asheville, will present puppet shows at its workshop on transactivism.

This year’s keynote speaker is Suzanne Pharr, author of “Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism.” Pharr has been a pioneer in the Southeast in connecting social justice issues with LGBTIQ organizing and was one of the first to critically connect sexism with homophobia and heterosexism.

Another highlight of the conference is the addition of Queer Bash. The dance extravaganza will be held April 1 at 9:30 p.m. in the Great Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

According to the event’s mission statement, the goal of the conference is to foster a progressive LGBTIQ movement in the Southeast that affirms and reflects all aspects of the various identities of LGBTIQ people.
The 2004 conference had more than 100 attendees from 15 communities and 11 campuses in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. Conference Director Trevor Hoppe is confident that the 2005 event will be the best to date.

“The team of people we have working to produce Unity this year is phenomenal,” he said. “I’m confident that our work will pay off in April.”

Registration for the conference is free for UNC-Chapel Hill students. The cost for all others is $10. For more information on how to register and for updates on the conference, visit the web site at http://www.unc.edu/glbtsa/unity