Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 16:41:09 -0700 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 7/9/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. Making schools safe for LGBT students & staff 2. MT: More info on Stevensville controversy ============================================================== Subject: Recommendations (K-12) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 97 19:59:10 -0700 x-sender: chris@mail.cyberspaces.com From: "Channel Q" Sender: Channel Q News Desk MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE FOR GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, & TRANSGENDER STUDENTS & STAFF (K-12 Recommendations) by Warren J. Blumenfeld 1. HEARINGS: Hold public hearings in your community and/or your state to access the needs, concerns, and life experiences of LGBT youth, their families, and school staff. 2. POLICIES: (A) Schools are encouraged to develop policies protecting LGBT students from harassment, violence, and discrimination. (B) Include "Sexual & Gender Orientation" as protected categories in your anti-discrimination policies. (C) Extend "Domestic Partnership" benefits to LGBT employees on par with heterosexual employees. 3. PERSONNEL TRAININGS: (A) Schools are encouraged to offer training to school personnel in violence prevention, suicide prevention, and specifically to the needs and problems faced by LGBT youth. (B) Implement and participate in a "Safe Space" program in your school. 4. LGBT SUPPORT GROUPS: Schools and communities are encouraged to offer school- and community-based support groups for LGBT and heterosexual youth. ("Gay/Straight Alliances"). 5. COUNSELING: Schools and communities are encouraged to provide affirming school- and community-based counseling for LGBT youth and their families. 6. INFORMATION IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES: School and community libraries are encouraged to develop and maintain an up-to-date collection of books, videos, journals, magazines, posters, and other information on LGBT issues. 7. CURRICULUM & SCHOOL PROGRAMS: Schools are encouraged to include accurate, honest, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information on LGBT issues at every grade level, across the curriculum, and in other school programs and assemblies. Also, include LGBT issues in your school newspapers. 8. ADULT ROLE MODELS: Schools are encouraged to recruit "out" LGBT faculty and staff to serve as supportive role models for all youth. 9. TEACHER CERTIFICATION: Include information and trainings on LGBT youth issues in college and university teacher education programs. 10. BE AN ALLY: (A) Educate yourself to the needs and experiences of LGBT youth and their families. (B) Attend LGBT cultural and community events. (C) Wear pro-LGBT buttons and T-shirts, and display posters. (D) Interrupt homophobic jokes and epithets. (E) Be aware of the generalizations you make. Assume there are LGBT people at your school. (F) For sensitization, if you heterosexual, notice the times you disclose your heterosexuality. (G) Monitor politicians, the media, and organizations to ensure accurate coverage of LGBT issues. (H) Work and vote for candidates (including campus and school board members) taking pro-LGBT stands. (I) Use inclusive, affirming, or gender-neutral language when referring to sexuality and human relationships in every-day speech, on written forms, etc. Say the words "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual," "transgender" each day in a positive way. ******************************************************************* Warren J. Blumenfeld is founder and first director of the National Gay Student Center. (This organization exists today as the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Student Caucus of the United States Student Association.) He is co-author of the book _Looking at Gay and Lesbian Life_, editor of the book _Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price_, author of _AIDS and Your Religious Community_, and editor of the _Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity_. He is also co-producer of the documentary film "Pink Triangles," on the topic of homophobia. In addition, he facilitates diversity workshops for schools, businesses, and community organizations. Warren J. Blumenfeld, P.O. Box 929, Northampton, MA 01061; e-mail: blumenfeld@educ.umass.edu ******************************************************************** ==================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 11:34:31 -0400 (EDT) From: "Channel Q" Sender: MediAction@aol.com Subject: "MEDIAlert!" - 06.6.97 [excerpts from:] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX: "MEDIAlert!" - 06.6.97 -ITEM 2: "Better Dead Than Read?" [Circle of Friends; Stevensville High School; Montana Human Rights Network; Bitterroot Star; Attacks on the Freedom to Learn]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M E D I A l e r t ! ___________________________ May 24 - June 6 Al Kielwasser [2] B E T T E R D E A D T H A N R E A D ? Circle of Friends, a Washington-based distributor of multicultural books for children, has come under attack in Montana. Recently, the company's new catalogue (which includes 23 lesbian- or gay-inclusive titles) was mailed to local school officials, prompting a death threat against owner Carol Miller. After receiving the catalog, a school district employee placed an anonymous call to Miller, advising her that: "Anyone with any brains at all would know that gays are abnormal and against God's will." "People like you don't deserve to live," the caller warned. "Someone like you better watch out." Police were able to trace the call to an office phone at Stevensville High School in Montana. Local school officials have declined to investigate -- or even condemn -- the incident, however. According to Christine Kaufmann, research director for the Montana Human Rights Network: "The catalogue was mailed to Superintendent Tony Tognetti, but school officials -- who acknowledge they KNOW the identity of the caller -- have refused to say if Tognetti placed the call." Instead, School board president Gary Burgett has dismissed the incident. "The phone call was misinterpreted by the persons who got the call," Burgett said, "and it's kind of been blowed [sic] out of proportion." A local weekly newspaper, "The Bitterroot Star," has filed suit against school board members, claiming they violated open-meeting laws in their handling of this case. "The paper wants to know how the board investigated and made their decisions about how to respond to the phone call," Kaufmann reports. "But that was all done in closed-door sessions without proper notification, according to the lawsuit." In lieu of explanation, the school board has vaguely defended its decision to repudiate neither the caller nor his call. "As a board, we decided to let it resolve itself," said board member Katy Majors. Shifting blame to the victim, Majors added that she was "shocked" that books about children who have lesbian mothers (or gay fathers) were even "being offered in Montana." "I don't think we are interested," said Majors. Upset by this response, Ami Thurber -- director of the Women's Center at the University of Montana -- requested time to address the school board at its next meeting. Though he allowed her to offer public testimony, Burgett told Thurber that she could not use the words "gay," "lesbian," or "homosexual" in her statement. "On a very basic level, this phone call legitimized the use of hate speech, condoned violence and essentially gave a green light for anyone to threaten and even harm a person or group of people the do not like or do not understand," Thurber told the board. "Clearly, we cannot tolerate our educators setting examples of violence." According to the Montana Human Rights Network, local activists are continuing to call upon the school board "to publicly condemn the threatening call and to offer support for the safety of all students and for their right to be who they are." Network staff have also spoken to Carol Miller of Circle of Friends, who expressed "an interest in offering a workshop on inclusiveness in the Stevensville area." * * * ACTION ALERT! Share your concerns with: Principal, Stevensville High School, 300 Park Street, Stevensville, MT 59870, tel. 406-777-5481; Gary Burgett, 3450 Baldwin Road, Stevensville, MT 59870-2903, tel. 406-777-2210; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Office of Public Instruction, Room 106, State Capitol, Helena MT 59620. Copies of correspondence and/or additional feedback can be sent to: Carlotta Grandstaff, Editor, "Bitterroot Star," 215 Main, P.O. Box 8, Stevensville, MT 59870, tel. 406-777-3928, fax 406-777-4265, e-mail thestar@bitterroot.net, web site http://www.bitterroot.net/star/star.html. Circle of Friends catalogs are free for the asking; you might request a copy for your local Board of Education or school librarian! Contact: Circle of Friends, P.O. Box 132, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, tel. 800-269-0420 or 360-378-2586, fax 360-378-2011, e-mail camil@cofbooks.com, web-site http://www.cofbooks.com. Re/Sources: The Montana Human Rights Network is described as a "frontline human rights group in the heart of militia country; MHRN publishes a newsletter, the "Network News." Contact: MHRN, P.O. Box 1222, Helena, MT 59624, tel. 406-442-5506. "Attacks on the Freedom to Learn" is an online, bimonthly newsletter distributed by People For the American Way. Each issue reports on "attempts to remove or restrict educational materials or programs in classrooms and libraries.... from Alaska to Maryland, from elementary schools to high schools." Individuals are encouraged to notify PFAW of censorship efforts in their local school districts; the group's web site [http://pfaw.org]makes it easy to report an incident or subscribe to the newsletter. This fall, PFAW also will release a report on "the Religious Right's attack on public education." Contact: People For the American Way, 2000 M Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, e-mail pfaw@pfaw.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT MEDIALERTS Distributed as a community press service since 1992, "MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly, advocacy-oriented column of media criticism, primarily focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues. Recipients may print, publish or post this material, in whole or part, under this or any title, without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution can be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "MEDIAlert!" File copies of publications using all or part of any "MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated. Next "MEDIAlert!" = June 20, 1997. Contact: MEDIAction, 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203, e-mail mediaction@aol.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR NOTES Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York: Haworth Press). His media criticism and research has appeared widely, in both mainstream and academic publications (including the "Journal of American Culture," "Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," and "Critical Studies in Mass Communication"); he was twice elected Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area. ==================================================================== 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/