LJWorld.com / "OUTLaws look to call attention to GLBT issues in law" by Heard on the Hill

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OUTLaws look to call attention to GLBT issues in law

_Once or twice a week, higher education reporter Mark Vierthaler will profile clubs at Kansas University. Want your club covered? Shoot Mark an e-mail and tell him about what you do._

Ask Sara Schwermer the one thing she wants people to know about her club at Kansas University and her response is instant: Anybody can join.

Schwermer is the president of OUTLaws, a club at KU's School of Law dedicated to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trangender students and faculty and their supporters.

Schwermer said OUTLaws tends to focus its energies on GLBT issues within the legal field. The discussions aren't limited to the professional law field, she said, but extend into law education as well.

The club regularly brings in regional and national speakers who tend to specialize in GLBT law. Members also attend an annual gay and lesbian law conference.

The group is relatively small - only eight heavily active members - which tends to make it a bit harder to motivate people to get involved, Schwermer said. However, she said the club would focus on the cultivation of allies this year.

"We need people who aren't GLBT but still support the cause," she said. "Everybody is welcome. You don't have to be gay to join."

By Mark Vierthaler

August 27, 2008

Heard on the Hill