Josh Ferris receives Lambda Foundation scholarship

The economy is slumping and people are donating less money to charities and scholarship… The economy is slumping and people are donating less money to charities and scholarship funds, which is reason enough for Nina Markovic to double the number of scholarships her group offers.

“Investments are down and most groups are offering fewer scholarships this year. That’s not the type of organization we are,” said Markovic, a member of the board of directors for the Lambda Foundation.

The Lambda Foundation is a nonprofit organization that uses grants to provide funding for the Pittsburgh gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It awarded two scholarships at its 15th annual Lambda Ball Saturday.

The Ball’s theme was “Bring Out the Ritz” and included a Charleston Dance contest, where contestants could “make like Fred and Ginger, Fred and Fred or Ginger and Ginger.”

In the past, the Lambda Foundation has offered one scholarship every year to students who integrate GLBT concerns into their college communities. This year, the Foundation awarded $3000 scholarships to both Rebecca Corran, a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Josh Ferris, president of Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance.

After being presented with the scholarship, Ferris told the Ball attendees, “I am here because I am a student at the University of Pittsburgh. I am here because I am an activist and because the University refuses to do what is good and humane.”

As Political Action Chair of Rainbow Alliance last year, Ferris focused on resurrecting the same-sex benefits campaign.

In 1996, a Pitt employee filed a suit against the University for not providing her partner with health care benefits, but the case was stalled while the University formed a research committee.

According to Ferris, after the delay, many people were “out of the loop and the general student body didn’t know about the same-sex benefits case.”

Ferris organized an education campaign that included leafleting, several open forums and a rally supporting same-sex benefits.

Ferris is currently trying to organize GLBT alumni because he believes “the most important things to the University are image, parents and alumni.”

According to Markovic, Ferris deserves the scholarship because he is “enthusiastic, intelligent and socially conscious.”

Corran, the other winner, is the president of the Pride Alliance at IUP and also organized several speaker panels addressing GLBT issues at her school.

Charles Scalise, the executive director of Erie Housing and Neighborhood Development Service, has attended the Lambda Ball for the last three years because he said he believes it is a “very just cause.”

“As a society, I think we need to get cleaned up sometimes and get together. Anyone can give out money, it takes a lot more effort to put something like this together,” he added.

The annual ball is the Lambda Foundation’s largest event, although much of its funding comes from fund raising and bequests. This year, 330 people attended the sold-out event.