Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 16:30:07 -0700 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 7/11/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. National Education Association L/G Caucus elections 2. CT: Text of school nondiscrimination bill 3. GLSTN launches Student Pride Program 4. MI: Lesbian school board president loses election 5. Another source for gay youth suicide info ================================================================= From: REVSHA@aol.com Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 22:48:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Fwd: NEA/GLC elections --------------------- Forwarded message: Subj: NEA/GLC elections Date: 97-07-06 13:30:04 EDT From: REVSHA News from the NEA/GLC The National Education Assn. Gay and Lesbian Caucus For Immediate Release! Contact: Sharon Miken, Communications Director 609/786-9311 ATLANTA, July 6, 1997--Jim Testerman, a 35-year-old openly gay teacher, was re-elected co-chair of the National Education Assn. Gay and Lesbian Caucus here during the association's 76th Representative Assembly. Testerman, a former regional director of the caucus, has served as co-chair for four years. A record 500 members voted at the RA this year. Also elected was Mike Chiumento of Michigan as treasurer of the NEA/GLC. Prior to the election, Testerman and his opponent, California's Eric Heins, faced a challenge from the Alabama state delegation to the RA which disputed the right of the caucus to use its assigned room alleging that a state caucus should have priority over a special-interest caucus. Together, Heins and Testerman attempted to negotiate a settlement with the Alababma delegation but the delegates held a protest on the convention floor before a compromise could be reached. Holding signs claiming they were "locked out" by NEA President Bob Chase, the delegates marched before the 9,000 attendees at the convention to make their point. Testerman, who teaches seventh grade science in York, Pennsylvania, told the gay and lesbian caucus that discriminatory grievances would be filed against the Alabama delegation as a result of the action of its president. [By the way, Jim Testerman has a new email address. It's jtesterman@cyberia.com] ==================================================================== From: GLSTNAlert@aol.com Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 16:27:11 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Non Discr. CT Law !!! To: All GLSTN Supporters and Organizers From: Kevin Jennings, E.D. Re: Exact text of new Connecticut Law I thought you might all find it helpful to have the text of the new law making CT the third state to sexual orientation discrimination in its schools as a model as you do your own work. What state will be 4th? It's up to you! Connecticut Law Public Act No. 97-247 Effective Date: July 1, 1997 Sec. 6. Section 10-15c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof: (a) The public schools shall be open to all children five years of age and over who reach age five on or before the first day of January of any school year, and each and such child shall have, and shall be advised by the appropriate school authorities, an equal opportunity to participate in the activities, programs and courses of study offered in such public schools, at such time as the child becomes eligible to participate in such activities, programs and courses of study without discrimination on account of race, color, sex, religion, [or] national origin OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION; provided boards of education may, by vote at a meeting called, admit to any school children under five years of age. (b) NOTHING IN SUBSECTION (a) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO AMEND OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE GENERAL STATUTES WITH RESPECT TO CURRICULA, FACILITIES OR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. ________________________________________________________ Do not hit reply to send an email to GLSTN. GLSTN's email address is glstn@glstn.org Staff Addresses: Deidre Cuffee-Gray: dcuffee-gray@glstn.org Janice Goldfarb: jgoldfarb@glstn.org Kevin Jennings: kjennings@glstn.org John Spear: jspear@glstn.org Student Pride USA: studentpride@glstn.org GLSTN Interns: GLSTNintrn@aol.com ======================================================== 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. ======================================================== ====================================================================== From: GLSTNAlert@aol.com Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 06:05:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: GLSTN LAUNCHES STUDENT PRIDE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVISTS GLSTN NEWS For Immediate Release June 10, 1997 Contact: Phoebe Hanshew, Student Pride Coordinator: 212-727-0135 ext. 109 GLSTN LAUNCHES STUDENT PRIDE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVISTS Youth-run organization to network all Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender related student groups in high schools across the country; (New York, NY) Student Pride, an organization to support high school activists, begun by Chicago student Miguel Ayala in the fall of 1996, is now being implemented by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN), the nation's largest advocacy group combating homophobia in the schools. "The important and courageous work being done by students like Miguel all over the country is inspiring to us and we wanted to make sure Student Pride didn't die when Miguel graduated. Our goal is to make sure that these young people have a place to turn for support as they organize to fight homophobia on their campuses," said Kevin Jennings, GLSTN's executive director. Student Pride will provide support and resources to established LGBT clubs, support groups, and gay/straight alliances in high schools as well as assisting students and communities in their efforts to create such groups. Student Pride plans to compile a directory of student groups that address LGBT concerns, and using a Web site, Electronic list, and a newsletter, distribute information and resources to the groups. A key component of Student Pride's mission is to foster communication and support among youth working to change their schools. "Students have the answers to most of their questions and the amount of knowledge and experience they have to share is amazing. I see the most essential part of our job as helping student activists learn from each other," said Phoebe Hanshew, an intern at GLSTN working on the project. The networking between student groups is hoped to lead to even larger projects, such as planning awareness and pride days in high schools and holding leadership conferences for students involved in the organization. Enthusiasm from students and faculty about the program is being voiced as well. Gigi Sperber, leader of a gay/straight alliance in Indiana, said "Just being able to talk to other people doing this will be great -- knowing there's others out there. And learning organizational and tactical skills at a conference would help my group actually make a difference in our school." Added Hanshew, "Working together, students and teachers can do amazing things. Student Pride provides an important vehicle for those concerned about homophobia in our schools to get together and do something about it." Student Pride originated from Ayala's experience starting Chicago's first LGBT student group at Whitney Young High School. "I learned first hand how hard it can be to start a group in a high school, and I wanted to find some way to support other youth trying to do this." Ayala, who graduates this month, was approached by GLSTN Executive Director Kevin Jennings this spring about the possibilities of GLSTN assuming responsibility for Student Pride. Phoebe Hanshew, who founded Indiana's first Gay-Straight Alliance at Bloomington High School South, will work this summer to establish an expanded Student Pride program out of GLSTN's New York City office. --30-- Reporter's Note: Photos of Phoebe Hanshew and Miguel Ayala are available via electronic file over the Internet; direct requests to Phoebe Hanshew, 212-727-0135 ext. 109. If you are a part of a student group, know someone who is, know of one in your community, or want more information about Student Pride contact: Student Pride c/o GLSTN 121 W. 27th St. Suite 804, New York, NY 10001 tel: 212-727-0135 fax: 212-727-0254 e-mail: glstnspusa@aol.com ====================================================================== The Detroit News, June 11, 1997 In Wayne-Westland: Beliefs cost me my job, says ousted schools chief By Manny Lopez / The Detroit News Patricia Brown, unseated by voters as Wayne-Westland Community Schools board president, said she can handle losing Monday's election. But she voiced anger over anonymous comments about her personal life during the campaign. Brown, who is a lesbian, lost by 110 votes. She is convinced a smear campaign cost her the election, and said the episode helped her learn some things about herself. "I was confronted with either facing who I am and not winning the election or not facing it and winning," she said. "Winning an election was not more important than facing who I am." Throughout the last week, three different flyers with anti-gay comments were handed to board members and residents on the street and at some doorsteps, claiming Brown would introduce gay themes and topics into school lessons. "Gays have their rights in today's society and we must accept it," one unsigned handout said. "However, there is something really wrong here if we allow community leaders to promote it." The flyers also contained crude remarks about gays. Brown, who owns a public relations and marketing firm in Westland, has been an unpaid school board member for four years and served as president this past year. Her term ends June 30. Trouble started for Brown not long after the board unanimously approved an amendment to the school code of conduct in January, adding the words "sexual orientation" to a list of groups protected against harassment. Some parents voiced concern about that amendment and Brown's sexual orientation, which board colleagues and others had known about earlier. "She was sucker-punched by a bunch of very ignorant people," said Jeffrey Montgomery, president of the Triangle Foundation, a gay rights group in Detroit. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 9 Jun 97 16:30:40 -0400 From: Anderson, Clint To: div44@lists.apa.org There are some errors in the following Action Alert [on the U.S. HHS report on youth suicide no longer being available]. First, the content on lesbian and gay adolescents in the Secretary's Report on Youth Suicide was two chapters, not a whole volume. Second, that the report is no longer available is very routine and is not any indicator of conspiracy. It was a report of commissioned chapters coming out of a major conference. A certain number of reports were printed and they are all gone. If one wishes to have access to a copy, I would recommend going to a library that is a federal depository. To my knowledge there have never been any attempts to hide the report; rather then Congressman William Dannemeyer objected to the report's positive treatment of gay kids to the then Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan who seemed to agree, but nothing was done to prevent copies of the report from being distributed that I know of. That is not to say that a four volume many hundreds of pages technical document on youth suicide was not hard to find for most people. It was. But most such documents are hard to find for most people. As to ending distribution without replacement, first, the content was not that good and has created considerable misinformation about the actual state of knowledge on gay youth suicide. Second, a special issue of the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior published in 1996 based on commissioned papers from a CDC and NiMH conference in 1994 is in effect a replacement and a vast improvement. Clinton Anderson Officer, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns cwa.apa@email.apa.org ********* ===================================================================== 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/