Subject: Mass. Gay, Lesbian College Students sought to testify
From: MyrnaGrfld <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 19:33:06 EST

Gay, Lesbian College Students Sought to Testify
About Campus Experiences for Statewide Hearing

March 27 Hearing To Be Held by
Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth

Have you or someone you know been mistreated, harassed, or attacked at your
 college or university because you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual? Or have you
 had any positive experiences in which fellow students, faculty, staff, or
 community members made you feel better or safer about your gay identity? If
 so, the "Safe Colleges Program for Gay and Lesbian Students" would like you to
 testify about your experiences.

The Committee on Higher Education of the Governor's Commission on Gay and
 Lesbian Youth, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the "Safe
 Colleges Program for Gay and Lesbian Students" will hold a hearing and press
 conference in Boston on March 27, 1998 to hear testimony from gay, lesbian,
 and bisexual Massachusetts college and university students. Hearing about your
 experiences, both positive and negative, will help ensure support for your
 safety, health, and well-being. In addition to student testimony, political
 and university representatives and Commission members will speak on behalf of
 the initiative. Members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community and the
 media will also be present. The hearing will take place on March 27 from 1-4
 pm at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, in
 downtown Boston.

The hearing will serve as the kick-off for "Sound Mind, Sound Body, Sound
 Off," a statewide conference on gay and lesbian issues on the college campus,
 which will be held at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts on March 28.
 In addition, regional workshops for campus change will be held at Massasoit
 Community College in Brockton on April 3, UMass/Lowell on April 17, UMass/
 Amherst on April 23, and Harvard University on April 24. All of the events are
 free and open to the public.

For more information on testifying or attending any of the events, call
 617-491-5301 or send an email to [email-masked].

=============================

Subject: College Student Conference & Request for Student Testimonials
From: Catherine Roberts <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 22:10:56 +0000

The Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth (Massachusetts) is
sponsoring the nation's first state-wide conference to focus on the subject
of safe campuses for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender college
students.

The conference, "Sound Mind, Sound Body, Sound Off" is co-sponsored with
Tufts University and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

March 27, 1998 - Grand Opening - Kick-off of the Governor's Commission's
Five Year Project
March 28, 1998 - Conference Panels and Concert by Catie Curtis

Student Testimonials Needed
The conference Grand Opening will be a media event to help demonstate the
need of this five year project for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender
college students. The Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth is
seeking testimonials by college students (and recent alumni/ae) of
Massachusetts colleges and universities about the experience of being gay,
lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered on campus. The types of experiences
might be positive "What colleges and universities are doing right." They may
also include difficult experiences such as "hate crimes" or the pesky
annoyances of name-calling, graffiti, being discourage from pursing research
in "gay studies," the exclusion of gay-related topics in course, etc.

If you are interested in testifying or in conference details, please
contact:
Arthur Lipkin or Catherine Roberts, Instructors at Harvard University at the
following e-mail addresses:

Arthur Lipkin -- [email-masked]
Catherine Roberts -- [email-masked]