Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 17:35:13 -0800 From: Jean Richter Subject: 11/2/98 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news REMEMBER TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND! 1. CA: Vote for Delaine Eastin for state superintendent of schools; Claremont teachers' education working group forming 2. Boycott Hewlett-Packard 3. CT: Call for submissions for elementary curriculum aid 4. Federal education department attends GLSEN conference ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 17:12:34 -0700 From: Jessea NR Greenman Subject: California Action Alert RE-ELECT DELAINE EASTIN SUPERTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. DELAINE EASTIN THIS YEAR BECAME THE FIRST STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TO PARTICIPATE IN SAN FRANCISCO'S PRIDE PARADE!!! She has actively supported lesbian assemblymember Sheila Kuehl's landmark nondiscrimination legislation, AB 499. She supports the Health Framework, which states in part "Students should respect the rights of others to seek information about homosexuality from a parent or other trusted and knowledgeable adult." She sponsors Positively Speaking, which brought the reality of HIV risks to over 70,000 Californian youth. When she was a member of the Assembly, she supported legislation increasing penalties for hate crimes, voted for increased funding for HIV-AIDS research and education, and co-authored a bill to require AIDS education in schools across the state. She is under attack by a massively funded right wing candidate. The candidate has, of course, tried to use Eastin's support of LGBT issues against her. VOTE FOR EASTIN FOR STATE SUPERINTENDENT NOVEMBER 3. WITH GRAY DAVIS AS GOVERNOR, EASTIN WILL BE ABLE TO DO MUCH MORE REGARDING LGBT SAFETY IN SCHOOLS. O+O+ O+O+ O+O+ O+O+ jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) "Support democracy. Buy a Congressman." Berkeley bumper sticker ===================================================================== Announcing a Working Group for GLBT Issues in Claremont Graduate University's Teacher Education Program. Your participation is welcome! Our group facilitates GLBT training for the teacher interns and other members of the university's teacher education program. Topics of interest include: International approaches, transgender issues, queer male perspectives, institutionalizing change. For more information, contact Karen Glasgow: 818 896-5236 Sharon Murphy: glamur@gte.net ===================================================================== Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 17:23:22 -0700 From: Jessea NR Greenman Subject: NATIONAL ALERT: BOYCOTT HEWLETT-PACKARD In the last two weeks of the campaign, David Packard, of Hewlett-Packard fortune and fame, has just given $500,000 to the candidate running against incumbent California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Delaine Eastin. Eastin has been an outstanding supporter of LGBT issues, both in the California Assembly and now during her first four years as State Superintendent. Eastin is the first State Superintendent ever to march in San Francisco's Pride Parade [and probably the first state superintendent in the nation ever to do so!!!] Her opponent is an unknown, a stealth-candidate. Although Tuchman's qualifications for the state's highest education office have been called into question in a number of newspaper editorials, she is nonetheless running an extremely aggressive campaign bankrolled by the radical right. Tuchman has, of course, tried to use Eastin's support of LGBT issues against her. Another key donor is Howard Ahmanson, who gave her $175,000, called "paymaster to the political right" by none other than the conservative Orange County Register. Early on, Tuchman declined to answer questions about her sources of campaign funding [a third big donor is the conservative owner of Wal Mart stores]. Tuchman is against public education and a supporter of vouchers. Her candidacy is an effort by the right-wing to buy state's highest education office and take over our public school system, and they are using homophobic money and tactics to do it. DAVID PACKARD'S $500,000 CONTRIBUTION TO EASTIN'S OPPONENT IS THE SINGLE LARGEST CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY. BOYCOTT HEWLETT-PACKARD. ==================================================================== Call for submissions: "Tackling LGBT Issues in Elementary School" Members of GLSEN Connecticut have decided to create a supplement to the acclaimed Tackling Gay Issues in School resource module, with a focus on Elementary issues. Please submit: Teacher-friendly lesson plans Consciousness-raising activities Social research and theoretical rationale for the inclusion of LGBT issues in Elementary school Bibliographies and other resources Deadline for submissions: January 10, 1999 Mail to: GLSEN Connecticut 179 A Louisiana Ave. Bridgeport CT 06510 If you have any questions, contact Leif Mitchell or Michael Fiorello at 203-332-1480 or via email at Leifygreen@aol.com or MJFiorello@aol.com, respectively. ===================================================================== Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 17:28:49 -0700 From: Jessea NR Greenman Subject: SF Ex article, Title IX, and the Feds Re the below, The P.E.R.S.O.N Project urges its readers to contact the U.S. Dept. of Ed.'s Office of Civil Rights to 1. Thank them for attending the GLSEN conference. 2. Urge them to present their Title IX workshops on ending harassment of LGBT youth to EVERY STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EVERY STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY. TAKE THE SHOW ON THE ROAD! U. S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Customer Service Team Mary E. Switzer Building 330 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20202 Telephone: 202-260-0471; 1-800-421-3481 FAX: 202-205-9862; TDD: 202-205-5166 Email: OCR@ED.Gov ALSO, contact the OCR Office near you and ask the same: that they train your area's education officials on how Title IX protects LGBT youth in the schools: In addition to the OCR national headquarters, there are four divisions, consisting of 12 enforcement offices. Most of the OCR critical enforcement activities take place in these offices. The core organizational unit within OCR is the case resolution team. These groups of attorneys, investigators, and support staff work to resolve, promptly and appropriately, cases of illegal discrimination. The following list includes contact information for the twelve OCR enforcement offices. Eastern Division Serving, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont Office for Civil Rights, Boston Office U.S. Department of Education J. W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse Room 222, 01-0061 Boston, MA 02109-4557 (617) 223-9662; FAX (617) 223-9669; TDD (617) 223-9695 Email: OCR_Boston@ed.gov Serving, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands Office for Civil Rights, New York Office U. S. Department of Education 75 Park Place, 14th Floor New York, NY 10007-2146 (212) 637-6466; FAX (212) 264-3803; TDD (212) 637-0478 Email: OCR_NewYork@ed.gov Serving, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia Office for Civil Rights, Philadelphia Office U.S. Department of Education Wanamaker Building, Suite 515 100 Penn Square East Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 656-8541; FAX (215) 656-8605; TDD (215) 656-8604 Email: OCR_Philadelphia@ed.gov Southern Division Serving, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee Office for Civil Rights, Atlanta Office U.S. Department of Education 61 Forsyth St. S.W., Suite 19T70 Atlanta, GA 30303-3104 (404) 562-6350; FAX (404) 562-6455; TDD (404) 331-7236 Email: OCR_Atlanta@ed.gov Serving, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas Office for Civil Rights, Dallas Office U.S. Department of Education 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2600 Dallas, TX 75201 (214) 880-2459; FAX (214) 880-3082; TDD (214) 880-2456 Email: OCR_Dallas@ed.gov Serving, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC Office for Civil Rights, District of Columbia Office U.S. Department of Education 1100 PA. Ave, N.W., Rm. 316 P.O. Box 14620 Washington, D.C. 20044-4620 (202) 208-2545; FAX (202)-208-7797; TDD (202) 208-7741 Email: OCR@ed.gov Midwestern Division Serving, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin Office for Civil Rights, Chicago Office U.S. Department of Education 111 N. Canal Street, Suite 1053 Chicago, IL 60606-7204 (312) 886-8434; FAX (312) 353-4888; TDD (312) 353-2540 Email: OCR_Chicago@ed.gov Serving, Michigan & Ohio Office for Civil Rights, Cleveland Office U.S. Department of Education 600 Superior Avenue East Bank One Center, Room 750 Cleveland, OH 44114-2611 (216) 522-4970; FAX (216) 522-2573; TDD (216) 522-4944 OCR_Cleveland@ed.gov Serving, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota Office for Civil Rights, Kansas City Office U.S. Department of Education 10220 North Executive Hills Boulevard 8th Floor, 07-6010 Kansas City, MO 64153-1367 (816) 880-4200; FAX (816) 891-0644; TDD (816) 891-0582 Email: OCR_KansasCity@ed.gov Western Division Serving, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Office for Civil Rights, Denver Office U.S. Department of Education Federal Building, Suite 310, 08-7010 1244 Speer Boulevard Denver, CO 80204-3582 (303) 844-5695; FAX (303) 844-4303; TDD (303) 844-3417 Email: OCR_Denver@ed.gov Serving, California Office for Civil Rights, San Francisco Office U.S. Department of Education Old Federal Building, 09-8010 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 239 San Francisco, CA 94102-4102 (415) 437-7700; FAX (415) 437-7783; TDD (415) 437-7786 Email: OCR_SanFrancisco@ed.gov Serving, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Office for Civil Rights, Seattle Office U.S. Department of Education 915 Second Avenue Room 3310, 10-9010 Seattle, WA 98174-1099 (206) 220-7900; FAX (206) 220-7887; TDD (206) 220-7907 Email: OCR_Seattle@ed.gov San Francisco Examiner, October 31, 1998 P. O. Box 7260,San Francisco,CA,94120 (Fax 415-512-1264 ) (E-MAIL: letters@examiner.com ) ( http://www.examiner.com ) Feds push to end gay youth bashing Title 9 of Civil Rights Act may end school attacks By Carol Ness, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF OAKLAND -- As an indication of how serious the effort to end gay bashing in schools has become, two officials from the U.S. Department of Education were on hand Saturday for a national conference on the issue. "This is the first time the department has sent a representative to the conference of a gay organization to talk about how to protect gay youth in schools," said Kate Frankfurt, an organizer of the weekendlong gathering of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. GLSEN's second annual conference drew an estimated 900 gay and straight students, teachers, administrators and advocates from all over the country to the Oakland Marriott for the conference, which continues Sunday. That's three times the 300 who attended GLSEN's first conference last year. Staging one of dozens of workshops were Art Coleman and Gloria Estolano, both of the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, watchdog for federal anti-discrimination laws covering schools and colleges. Coleman, a deputy assistant secretary for Education, flew in from Washington, D.C.; Estolano, an attorney, works in the OCR's San Francisco office. Lawsuits are an increasingly potent weapon in the battle to end what can often be rampant name-calling, harassment and even violence against young gay people in schools and colleges. School districts that have chosen to ignore the problem, or paid only lip service to solving it, are being held liable. None of the federal anti-discrimination laws cover sexual orientation, and Massachusetts is the only state to mandate such protection. But under constitutional claims to equal protection and under the main law against sex discrimination and sexual harassment, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, new legal ground is being carved out to help abused gay youth. "I'm not saying we came to tell you we've got all the magic bullets and right answers," said Coleman. "Frankly, we are struggling with as many questions as you have." A new urgency While the legalities remain murky, more and more court decisions are clarifying the main issue involving Title IX, which under certain circumstances can cover same-sex harassment. For instance, Coleman said, a boy who is harassed by other boys because he is effeminate may have a valid claim that he's being discriminated against because of his sex -- because he doesn't act like they do or what they expect a male to act like. Estolano's office is looking at just such a case involving a private school in the Bay Area that she did not name. The issue has taken on new urgency since the Oct. 12 death of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and left tied to a fence to die. "When you don't deal with sexual harassment, it leads to society accepting it, and that leads to tragedies like that," said Estolano. "He was only 21 years old." Last resort a lawsuit Both the OCR officials and GLSEN organizers agreed that lawsuits should be a last resort in the fight. "I really hope school districts learn to listen more effectively to the students they claim to be serving without forcing them into the legal arena," said Frankfurt. "The last time students needed lawyers to get them through high school was in the '50s and '60s" during the civil rights movement, she said. What's needed instead, she said, is organizations that can stimulate real dialogue on the issue between the two very polarized sides -- religious conservatives who oppose any mention of homosexuality in schools, and groups like GLSEN which seek policies and curriculum as early as elementary school so hatred of gays can never take hold. An effective tool Helping such groups, often called Gay-Straight Alliances, get started in schools, colleges and communities is one of GLSEN's most effective tools. GLSEN executive director Kevin Jennings takes credit for starting the first one when he was teaching at Concord Academy in Massachusetts in 1991. Now, there are more than 500 that GLSEN knows of and probably more, Frankfurt said. Learning how to better run their own is what brought Veronica Lopez, 22, from Stockton to the conference on one of 100 scholarships provided by Levi Strauss' Dockers label. A Delta College student who works full time in a day care center, she knows just how ingrained homophobia can be and how early it starts. A 4-year- old boy recently came to her in tears because a 5-year-old had just called him an anti-gay epithet. "It shows the parents are talking about it, because kids don't even know what (gay) is," said Lopez, who has a 4-year-old daughter of her own. Lopez started a gay youth group in her conservative, agricultural Valley town, but had trouble with logistics. From other young people at the conference, she learned new strategies and the value of inviting in straight allies. "I think it's important that people realize we're not sick people... I consider myself pretty normal," said Lopez, who identifies herself as bisexual and has a lesbian sister. The conference also brought Monoiki Ah Nee, 24, from Honolulu, just days before Hawaii's historic vote on gay marriage. But whatever happens with Tuesday's election, he knows gay youth will be contending with the same old problems and he wants to help them. He and six other youths active in the pro-marriage campaign chose to take a precious few days to fly to Oakland because Honolulu has no GLSEN chapter and they remember how painful high school was for them. "They called me (anti-gay names) because I'm a big guy, soft-hearted and gentle. There was no GSA, there was no one to talk to," said Ah Nee, with a yellow flower tucked over one ear. He hopes to fly home with skills that will make a difference to gay boys and girls constantly forced to defend themselves. "Why should we always have to fight harder?" he asked. ================================================================================ 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/