Proposed Agenda for SAME meeting: This Tuesday February 10, 6pm at Bamboo Lounge

[Cecile Veillard]

The steering committee would like to see the greatest bulk of this meeting dedicated to planning an action on 3/4 for visibility toward the CA Supreme Court, who will be hearing oral arguments the next day on Prop 8.  Toward this end,

1.  Please be on time, as we have a lot on the schedule for this meeting and will need to start at 6pm sharp.
2.  Items on the agenda are supplemented with additional notes below it.  This is because several items on the agenda (for example 3&4) ask for members to think about what their suggestions will be for those topics in advance, so that all members can come to the meeting prepared to present their suggestions.

Proposed Agenda for 2/10 meeting of SAME:

1)  6:00pm:  Introductions/Approve Agenda
2)  6:10pm:  Presentation from volunteer lawyer Cory Briggs of pros/cons of various non-profit staus options for SAME (501c3, 501c4, 501c7)
3)  6:40pm:  Discussion of SAME's Participation in March 4 action in Support of Case Against Prop 8 to CA Supreme Court
4)  7:10pm:  Selections of "Community Liasons" within SAME
5)  7:25pm:  Membership Discussion & Possible Decision about disputed section of Article 2 of By-Laws
6)  7:50pm:  Announcements of Upcoming Community Events
7)  7:59pm:  Volunteer to chair the next meeting of SAME
8)  8:00pm:  After-meeting socializing at the Bamboo Lounge; all are welcome.

Supplementary notes, by item:
1)  For this month's introductions, we will ask members to answer the question, in 30 seconds, "What's your hope for the group?"
2)  This presentation by Cory Briggs is intended to help people understand the legal parameters of various nonprofit statuses that can be available to SAME, so that the membership can begin to think about what kind of status  (if any) might best suit our group.  This presentation will include time for questions & answers but is not intended to lead to an immediate discussion and/or decision by the membership about the best (if any) nonprofit for SAME at this time, though members can & should ask questions of Cory Briggs while he is there.  However a full-scope discussion (and eventual decision) about incorporation/non-incorporation for SAME will be designated to when there is more time in SAME meeting to do so, since such a discussion/decision deserves time and should not be rushed.
3)  Below are possible action items that have come up in discussions of SAME members so far about possible court-directed actions:
     a)  Singing vigil in front of SD Courthouse (or other high-visibility place such as a mall)
     b)  Have signs for vigil, showing support for the 4 Supreme Court justices who voted for equality on 5/15/08
     c)  Have a way of "passing on" solidarity (eg have white knots ready to pass out to people who want to show support)
     d)  Make Tees/Buttons with supportive slogans
     e)  Possibility of Having a SAME contingent recruit a body of students to walk from City College to the Courthouse to join the action in solidarity.
     f)   Need to have a "chant brainstorm" in advance of event, so SAME members can contribute chants, & everyone will know them.
4)  The Steering Committee would like to suggest the following possible "Community Liason" positions, broken here into different categories.  While it is possible for a SAME member to be the liason for more than one interest group, we'd like for all members of SAME to have a chance to participate, and so would like to encourage that members choose one or two interest groups they'd like to volunteer for or nominate others for.  Keep in mind that being a liaison may include attending the meeting of the group you are a liason to (especially if the group is planning an upcoming action on the calendar), or at least making sure someone from SAME can go for you.  Obviously, members of SAME who are already members of one of the interest groups listed below will be natural & propably ideal liasons for those groups.  Please think about members of SAME whom you feel would be best liasons for these various interest groups, so that you can come to the meeting prepared to make nominations.  Thanks!
     a)  Labor Groups:
          i) Manchester Boycott Committee
          ii) Labor Council
          iii) UPTE
          iv) SEIU
          v) Pride at Work
     b)  Latino/Immigrants Rights Groups:
          i) Bienestar
          ii) Si Se Puede
          iii) Cesar Chavez Committee
          iv) May 1 Coalition
     c)  African American Groups:
          i) Ebony Pride
          ii) NAACP
     d)  Faith-Based Groups:
          i) UCC
          ii) UMC
          iii) UU
          iv) Temples
     e)  Creative Groups:
          i) Diversionary Theatre
          ii) SDGMC
          iii) SD Women's Chorous
          iv) Eveoke
          v) TranscenDANCE
          vi) Culture Shock
     f)   Youth Groups:
          i) GSAs
          ii) HYC
     g)  Other LGBT Groups:
          i) ME USA
          ii) SDEC
          iii) SYD
          iv) SDDC
          v) PFLAG
          vi) the Center
     h)   Other Sympathetic Groups:
          i) ASD
          ii) ACLU
          iii) Green Party
          iv) ISO
          v) SDCPJ
          vi) Free Palestine Alliance
     i)  Someone to Maintain SAME's "Community Calendar" (www.samealliance.com/calendar.html)
5) Attached is a copy of the by-laws for all to view in advance of the meeting.  By-law articles 1 & 3 were already approved by the membership of SAME in the last meeting.  Because a consensus could not be reached on Article 2, Section 2, the steering committee suggests we  briefly discuss and vote on article 2 at Tuesday's meeting. The article with the majority vote will be incorporated into the by laws.  Articles 4, 5, & 6 will be discussed during another meeting, as soon as time can be made available.  Copies of the by-laws are being printed in advance of the meeting, so you do not need to bring your own hard copy (unless you already have one).

--Cecile