The smell of coffee and soft background music set the scene as chatter filtered through Espresso Royale Caffé. Some people discussed politics, while others had a quick drink before they headed off to class. The rest sat at small tables, engrossed in the glow of their laptops.
On two fluffy gray couches, in the back of Espresso Royale, 527 E. Grand River Ave., two men leaned over stacks of colorful paperwork, scribbling on forms they call "yellows." The "yellows" - forms that must be turned into ASMSU to allocate money - are filled out and will later be turned in to MSU's undergraduate student government.
"Can you finalize that today, Jason?" social relations and women's studies senior Jon Hoadley asked.
"Yes," computer engineering sophomore Jason Bryans said with a heavy sigh.
Bryans is the special events coordinator for the Alliance of Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Students and has been working with other members of the group on MSU's Pride Week festivities since early fall. He also is president of RING, a division of the alliance that covers Mason, Abbot, Snyder and Phillips residence halls.
Thursday, both Hoadley and Bryans were concerned about getting guest speaker Emi Koyama's accommodations and transportation finalized. They continue to sign papers, make calls and double check other details for Pride Week. Each day this week, beginning on Thursday and running until April 14, a different event has been planned to celebrate gay pride, including a tea and crochet event and a potluck dinner.
Hoadley looked at his watch and realized he had to leave to take a quiz, but Bryans continued to type quickly on his Macintosh PowerBook G4.
"I've turned into a Mac snob," he said and grinned. "It's my baby."
He then began researching advertising ideas for the Day of Silence, the national part of Pride Week that serves to protest the harassment and discrimination against the gay community. Bryans also called around to find out the details on placing an advertisement in local newspapers.
"Initially, we'd work on (Pride Week planning) in weekly meetings, but now I work on it everyday," Bryans said. "We add new events, see what we've done in the past. Basically, we ask, 'What do we want to do?'"
Bryans balances these responsibilities along with a 12-credit semester, Olin Health Center's sex-education group "In Your Face Theatre Troupe" and a job at the Engineering Building, where he helps students and faculty with computers and also maintains the machines.
His passion for gay rights began in his hometown of Mason. Even before he came out, Bryans received threats of physical harm and intimidation from other students. When he was 18, he created the Gay-Straight Alliance at Mason High School and was awarded the 2004 Prism Award by the Lansing Association of Human Rights for his contributions to the LBGT community.
The sophomore admits the threats didn't end there. Last semester, Bryans resided in Snyder Hall, where he came home to written harassment and death threats slid under his door.
"It was really bad with the election and Proposal 2," he said, referring to the November ballot's anti-gay marriage proposal that passed. "They were really ignorant things, but it helped my decision to move (to Shaw Hall)."
The discrimination and harassment helped Bryans solidify his commitment to the gay community.
"It's one thing not to recognize homosexuality, but saying it's not natural and we're animals is wrong," he said. "It makes people look so ignorant when they say things like, 'AIDS cures homosexuality' or ? 'We'll all burn in hell.'"
Bryans has to rush off to meet Brent Bilodeau, coordinator for the Office of Lesbian-Bi-Gay and Transgender Concerns and to discuss speaker Koyama's accommodations. They discussed the matter over the course of an hour before he had to run to the ASMSU offices and turn in the "yellows."
The paperwork was not approved. "Every time I fill out yellows this happens," he said, obviously frustrated. "And I've been doing this forever."
Bryans headed back to his dorm room and apologized for its messy presentation, then quickly picked up as much as he could. He has rainbow magnets on his refrigerator and a matching flag draped over his dresser. A larger rainbow flag is hung on the wall next to his desk, along with the focal point of the room - a copy of a colorful Steve Walker painting depicting a gay-club scene.
"All of his work has a serene feel; it's very realistic. It almost seems like a photograph," he said before getting back to the business of Pride Week.
"Because I am who I am, my access to equal rights is inherently denied," he said. "My happiness somehow hurts other people, and I find that completely unfounded. I feel (with Pride Week) I'm helping progress towards equality."
