UNC Story Archive recording with Amanda L. Maris: The Story of Us5 items
Date Deposited: 2021-12-17
Collection: UNC Story Archive (70096)
Collection Number: 70096
Finding Aid: https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/70096/
During a remote recording session, Amanda Maris (Class of 2000) shares how her activism for LGBTQ+ rights, vulnerable communities, and social justice while a student at UNC continues in her work as a District Court Judge. Maris explains the difficulty of transferring from Smith College, where “everybody just act[ed] however they wanted”, to UNC... Read more
During a remote recording session, Amanda Maris (Class of 2000) shares how her activism for LGBTQ+ rights, vulnerable communities, and social justice while a student at UNC continues in her work as a District Court Judge. Maris explains the difficulty of transferring from Smith College, where “everybody just act[ed] however they wanted”, to UNC during a time when “many weren’t comfortable being Out”. After joining B-GLAD (Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies for Diversity), Maris “immediately felt a sense of urgency to address the unfriendly environment” she felt on the UNC campus, launched the “Visibility Committee”, and the committee organized a campus wide “Visibility Day” on National Coming Out Day in 1998. Maris credits her experiences with B-GLAD, as well as other Carolina social justice groups, for motivating me “to be an activist, to speak up on issues as much as I felt I needed to [at] Carolina”.Read less