The Paper | Calendar | |Businesses | Attractions | Nightlife | Resources | Gay Links | Home The Paper - September/October 1998 Gay Speakers Train to Share Many gay people never meet other gay people until early adulthood, and then it typically by going to gay bar. Triangle Speakers, a volunteer-based gay speaking group, hopes to end some of the mystery surrounding the gay and bisexual community for young lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, while also allowing heterosexuals an opportunity to learn more about the gay and bisexual communities. Their Mission Triangle Speakers held an all-day training on September 12 in Santa Cruz at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center of the University of California Santa Cruz. Twenty-five gays, bisexuals, and parents of gay people attended the training., including three gay men from Monterey Local Efforts Bruce Carlson and Matthew Friday of Del Rey Oaks have spoken for several years to high school classes in Seaside, Salinas, and Monterey, as well as at Monterey Peninsula College and community groups. At the training, they along with the other trainees, learned tips on how to address difficult questions such as "How do lesbians do it?" and "If you are with a man, who is the 'woman'?". Trainers also helped participants write brief auto-biographical introductions that panel members say before beginning their question and answers sessions. How Triangle Does It Triangle Speakers always arranges for their panels to be made up of a lesbian, a gay man, a bisexual, and a parent of a queer person, and they make sure that the group they are speaking to understands that they do no represent the full gamut of the gay community. Triangle Speakers participates in 50-60 panels a year, and have reached more than 7,000 people in Santa Cruz County. To arrange to have a panel of speakers speaker your school or a meeting of your organization, or to become a member, call Triangle Speakers at 831/425-3227.