Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 16:04:46 -0700 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 4/7/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. GLSTN announces 1997 Pathfinder Award winners 2. Canada: New Brunswick gay teens being neglected 3. CA: Report on efficacy of abstinence-only sex education 4. New video: "Safe Schools: Making schools safe for gay and lesbian students" =================================================================== From: GLSTNAlert@aol.com Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 10:47:20 -0500 (EST) Subject: GLSTN ANNOUNCES 1997 PATHFINDER AWARD WINNERS GLSTN News 122 West 26th Street Suite 1100 New York, NY 10001-6804 tel: 212-727-0135 fax: 212-727-0254 email: glstn@glstn.org For Immediate Release March 10, 1997 GLSTN ANNOUNCES 1997 PATHFINDER AWARD WINNERS Presentations to be made in Salt Lake City at First-Ever National Conference on March 23 New York, NY The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) today announced its 1997 Pathfinder Award winners. The Pathfinder Award was created in 1994 by GLSTN to honor those who have made an outstanding contribution to the fight to end anti-gay bias in our schools. This year, the awards were subdivided into four categories -- organization, educator, student, and community activist -- that reflect the scope of GLSTN's membership and work. The winners were selected by the GLSTN National Board Management Committee, with awards to be presented at the organization's first-ever National Conference in Salt Lake City on March 23. The awards will be presented at the conference closing Brunch Celebration hosted by comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, at the Downtown Holiday Inn at 999 S. Main Street in Salt Lake City. By category, winners include: Community Activist: Jonathan Rotenberg of Boston, Massachusetts, the designer of GLSTN's Leadership Training Program and a corporate consultant with the Monitor Company; Educator: Kaye Peterson, the Principal of Salt Lake City's East High School, where the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance provoked a political firestorm last year culminating in a state ban on such groups, and during which Mr. Peterson stood by the club and fought for its right to meet; Organization: The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, for its landmark litigation to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, and the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington State, for its groundbreaking reports on anti-gay violence in the state's schools; Student: Miguel Ayala, a senior at Chicago's Whitney Young High School who became the first openly gay student ever to be elected to a school, board when he won the post of student representative to the Chicago Board of Education last year, and the East High School Gay-Straight Alliance, a Salt Lake City group that has continued to meet to work to end homophobia and thereby is challenging a state legislative ban on such clubs. "We think of each of these award winners is remarkable," said Kevin Jennings, GLSTN's Executive Director, "and we're thrilled to be able to honor them. We hope the day will come soon when this award will become obsolete, however, as we want to see protecting students from harassment and bigotry become the norm in our schools -- not an action which merits a special award." --end-- Reporters Note: Complete bios follow this release, along with contact numbers for recipients. Photos of recipients are available in electronic files over the Internet and may be requested by phone at 212-727-0135 or over e-mail at GLSTN@glstn.org. With over fifty chapters, and a membership of over five thousand teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, GLSTN is the largest national organization working to insure that schools are places where all people are respected and valued, regardless of sexual orientation. 1997 GLSTN Pathfinder Award Winners Biographies and Contact Information COMMUNITY ACTIVIST Jonathan Rotenberg is a consultant with Monitor Company, a Massachusetts-based firm that specializes in creating change in large organizations. In 1995, Jonathan brought this expertise to GLSTN by designing our Leadership Training Institute, a six-day program that equips local chapter leaders with the skills they need to make a difference in their communities. Jonathan continues to be involved with this hugely successful program, now entering its third year, and has also been active in raising funds, finding volunteers, and securing other critical sources of support for GLSTN from its very inception as a national organization in 1994. He is hard at work on an Audiotext Hotline whereby youth and families who are struggling with issues sexual orientation can obtain confidential, accurate information on the subject via a 1-800 number. Contact #: 617-247-0405. EDUCATOR Kaye Petersen is the Principal of Salt Lake City's East High School. In the face of enormous pressure in 1995-96, he supported the school's Gay-Straight Alliance and defended the group's right to meet. Kaye is a leader in the LDS Church and will be accepting his award on Saturday so that he will be able to attend services on Sunday. Contact #: 801-583-1661 ORGANIZATIONS Founded in 1973, The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has worked for over two decades to protect the rights of lesbians and gay men through litigation and educational activities. In recent years, Lambda has taken a leadership role in the fight against anti-gay bias in schools under the direction of staff attorney David Buckle, who will accept the award this weekend. A particular triumph is Lambda's victory in Nabozny v. Podlesny et al, a landmark case in which Jamie Nabozny was victorious in the first-ever federal suit on anti-gay bias in schools. Contact: David Buckle, 212-809-8585 ext. 212 The Safe Schools Coalition of Washington State was founded in 1994 with the goal of making the state's schools "places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation." The Coalition, which is composed of thirty-five separate agencies (including GLSTN/Washington State), has released three annual reports documenting anti-gay violence in the state's schools. These landmark reports have prompted significant action on the part of the state as well as individual districts to create a safer climate for all students, and have served as models for other communities undertaking similar work. Accepting the award will be Frieda Takamura, a Human Relations Field Representative of the Washington Education Association, the state affiliate of the National Education Association, and a member of the Coalition. Frieda is also a GLSTN National Board member. Contact: Frieda Takamura, 206-946-4695, or Beth Reis, 206-283-8443 ext. 18 STUDENTS Miguel Ayala is a senior at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, where he founded the Pride Club, city's first-ever LGBT-oriented support group in the public schools. Miguel has gone on to found Student Pride USA, which is working to network all LGBT and Gay-Straight Alliance high school groups in the country. Miguel made history in 1996 when he became the first ever openly gay student elected to a school board in America when he won the post of student representative to the Chicago Board of Education. Contact #: 312-922-5150 The East High School Gay-Straight Alliance was formed in 1996 to provide support to students from anti-gay abuse in that Salt Lake City high school. The group's formation provoked a firestorm which led eventually to a special state legislative session where all extracurricular clubs were banned to prevent the East High GSA from meeting. Students have continued to meet and organize informally despite the ban, and are hard at work challenging both this discriminatory policy and the misconception, fears, and ignorance of their peers. Contact: Faculty Advisors Scott Nelson or Camille Lee, 801-583-1661 ext. 4207 --end Pathfinder bios-- ======================================================== GLSTNAlert is a GLSTN news bulletin service of the The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN). ======================================================== To Unsubscribe from GLSTNAlert simply send an email to GLSTNAlert@aol.com with the words "Unsubscribe GLSTNAlert" in the subject line (no quotes and note the lack of space in GLSTNAlert). ======================================================== To Subscribe to GLSTNAlert simply send an email to GLSTNAlert@aol.com with the words "Subscribe GLSTNAlert" in the subject line (no quotes and note the lack of space in GLSTNAlert). Also: please write your name in the message portion of your email. ======================================================== ===================================================================== Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 11:18:53 -0400 From: blaqurij@nbed.nb.ca (RICHARD J BLAQUIERE) To: schools@CritPath.Org Subject: New Brunswick Canada New Brunswick Gay Youth Neglected Gay and Lesbian students in this eastern Canadian province feel that the schools have done nothing to provide a safe environment for them. Other minorities have been represented both in the curriculum and in support materials but NOTHING has been done to sensitize teachers and students to this issue in the province. We welcome support for an awareness campaign aimed at raising the level of awareness in schools to the plight of gay teens. Richard Blaquiere Woodstock High School ( a gay positive teacher) Richardb@nbnet.nb.ca ====================================================================== THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER March 17, 1997 A campaign conspicuous by its abstinence GOVERNMENT TO TEENS: NO SEX EDUCATION AND PLEASE, NO SEX JEFF STRYKER AND MARIA EKSTRAND [Deleted article. staff@qrd.org] ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 08:56:46 -0500 From: kwestheimer@doe.mass.edu (Kim S Westheimer) Subject: NEW VIDEO: Safe Schools for Gay and Lesbian Students Could you let people know about this resource? Thanks-Kim Westheimer The Massachusetts Department of Education, in conjunction with the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, announces the availability of a new video, Safe Schools: Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Students. Targeted towards a range of audiences, including school administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, high schools students and local community members, this 28 minute video provides an introduction to the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students at the Department of Education and its purpose, goals and activities since its 1993 inception. Through interviews with students, the video creates a portrait of the educational experiences of lesbian and gay youth and demonstrates the role of the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students in protecting the legal rights, health, and well-being of these students. Teachers, counselors and parents help to inform about the harmful effects of sexual orientation-based discrimination and what can be done to eliminate it. The video also describes how the MA Dept. of Education has helped to address the needs of all students through such efforts as faculty and staff trainings, regional workshops and the dissemination of material about issues of sexual orientation. Safe Schools: Making Schools Safer for Gay and Lesbian Students video is available free to all Massachusetts schools and in-state residents. Out of state residents must send a blank, 30 minute VHS T-120 videocassette in with their order. For more information or to order this video, please contact Safe Schools Program support staff Donna Brathwaite at (617) 388-3300 ext. 409. ======================================================================== Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK OUT OUR INFO-LOADED WEB PAGE AT: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/