Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 16:34:29 -0700 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 10/22/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. CA: 1998 Youth Lobby Day 2. "Billy's Boy": fiction by Patricia Nell Warren 3. UT: correction to Monday's article on Jacob Orosco's suicide; Articles on lesbian teacher lawsuit over gag order posted to web ==================================================================== From: Ellen McCormick Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 17:32:32 Subject: CA: 1998 Youth Lobby Day October 20, 1997 For Immediate Release Contact: Ellen McCormick (916) 444-0424 LIFE ANNOUNCES 3RD ANNUAL YOUTH LOBBY DAY LIFE Institute and LIFE: California's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV/AIDS Lobby are pleased to announce the third annual Youth Lobby Day. The Youth Lobby Day, founded in 1995, is the statewide effort to educate and empower lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and straight youth. The event is set for January 21, 1998 and will consist of educational activities throughout the day at the State Capitol and the historic Crest Theatre. The Youth Lobby Day is co-sponsored by Frontiers NewsMagazine, incite! Web Site, and OutWord NewsMagazine. The goals of the event are to educate young people about the issues that affect their lives, the legislative process, and avenues for effecting change; to educate the California State Legislature about youth and their needs; and last, for participants to have a great time, make new friends, and be empowered. On January 3, 1996 over 350 young people from all over the state of California came to Sacramento to meet and learn about their elected officials and the legislative process. In 1997 over 550 youth participated - almost doubling the numbers. On January 21, 1998, honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, this inspiring event will take place again. The 1998 Youth Lobby Day will include workshops, caucuses and other special events, as well as visits with Elected Officials. If you would like more information about participating or volunteering for the 1998 Youth Lobby Day, please write back to this message or contact LIFE at (916) 444-0424. ### About LIFE... LIFE Institute and LIFE Lobby were founded in 1986. LIFE is a statewide voice representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-affected communities of California. LIFE staff, members and directors serve as advocates, researchers and facilitators of information to and from the State Legislature for these communities. For more information about LIFE, please contact us at: LIFE Lobby and LIFE Institute 1301 H Street Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-0424 fax (916) 444-3059 life.info@lifelobby.org www.lifelobby.org ===================================================================== From: WildcatPrs Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 12:14:07 EDT Subject: Review of Billy's Boy Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com) LIBRARY JOURNAL Oct. 15, 1997 Review of BILLY'S BOY, by Patricia Nell Warren (forthcoming from Wildcat Press (hardcover, ISBN 0-9641099-4-8, $24.95). Raised alone by his mother, 13-year-old narrator William knows that his father is dead and considers his Mom and Aunt Marian his only family. But when Mom comes out as a lesbian and William has a dream that his father is alive, he is forced to rethink things. He begins by searching for his father, also discovering a new, communal sense of family in which role models are not necessarily biological parents. Teak enters William's household rejected and beaten up by his own family because he is gay. And Shawn, a special friend of William, runs away from his fundamentalist Christian parents, disguising himself as a girl to evade private investigators. William's search is ultimately for himself, and it is stark and troubling. Warren's (Harlan's Race, Wildcat, 1994) ability to understand this character and tell his story in the lingo of 1990s youth is remarkable. Highly recommended for all fiction collections. -- Tom Nielsen, Park Parker-Vito Russo Library, New York. ===================================================================== Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 11:29:23 -0700 From: "Reis, Elizabeth" Jean, hi. Beth Reis here, from the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington. I need to clarify something that was kind of misquoted in this post from Lambda. We (Safe Schools Coalition) have not ever done statewide survey research. We cited 3 pieces of research in our 3rd annual (1996) Safe Schools Report. First was our own on-going statewide qualitative study (not a survey), in which we are gathering the stories of incidents of anti-gay harassment and violence in schools. Second, we cited the Seattle Public Schools' 1995 district-wide survey (an adapted version of the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Third, we cited an evaluation completed by 19 students participating in in-school GLBTQS support groups. That's the survey you mention. It was not statewide. It was a small number of young people attending a handful of support groups. Still, they had some poignant things to say, as you noted. ====================================================================== I've posted a collection of press releases and news articles to our web site regarding Wendy Weaver's lawsuit against her school district over an anti-gay gag order imposed upon her. The URL is: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/States/Utah/weaver.html At 28K, it's a bit long to post here. However, if you can't access the web and would like to have the material emailed to you, please let me know. ====================================================================== 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/