Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1999 17:18:18 -0800 From: Jean Richter Subject: 1/4/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. CA: Young, Loud and Proud '99 conference; Oceanside teacher appeals harassment lawsuit 2. Employment opportunities with GLSEN 3. NY: Safe Schools Coalition sponsors senior assembly ======================================================= Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 15:44:31 +0000 From: "Or Slozberg" Subject: Young, Loud and Proud 99 Young, Loud and Proud 99 12/18/98 An amazing, empowering, and awesome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth conference! The largest peer-run LGBTQQ youth conference in the country! The fourth YLP, will take place in San Francisco on July 10-12. We expect 600 youth from across the country to attend this conference. YLP provides a space for LGBTQQ youth to network, gain organizing skills, meet new people and have lots of fun. This year we will also be adding a special track with a variety of workshops for adult allies and youth service providers. The conference is organized by the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC) with the support of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) and the San Francisco Unified School District. For more information and registration for YLP 99 check our web site at www.incite.org or call the YLP line at 415/703-6150 ext. 25 *** YLP Internship now available *** A paid internship for the YLP coordinator is available now. From April to July! Call Zak at LYRIC 415/703-6150 ext. 21 for internship description. Act now! Deadline is 3/31/98 *** Don't miss the opportunity to be part of the prestigious YLP Steering Committee *** * Gain valuable organizing skills * Work closely with other awesome queer youth leaders and organizers * Put together a conference that will change the life of LGBTQQ youth across the nation Call Zak at LYRIC 415/703-6150 ext. 21 to join YLP 99 Steering Committee *** Interested in presenting at the conference? *** If you are interested in presenting a workshop, leading a caucus or speaking at YLP send us your address and we will send you a Request for Workshops Proposal (RFP). Phone: 415/703-6150 ext. 25 Fax: 415/703-6153 E mail: ylp@lyric.org YLP c/o LYRIC 127 Collingwood St. San Francisco, CA 94114 =========================================================================== From: LLDEFNY@aol.com Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 16:42:32 EST Subject: Lambda Brings Suit to Highest California Court Ever to Hear Case Challenging An =========================================== LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND National Headquarters News Release ============================================ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, December 22, 1998 Contact: Peg Byron 212-809-8585, 888-987-1984 pager Myron Dean Quon 323-937-2728, ext. 229 ============================================ Lambda Brings Suit to Highest California Court Ever to Hear Case Challenging Anti-Gay Harassment of Teacher Lawsuit expected to test state employment discrimination law (LOS ANGELES, December 22, 1998) - High school teacher Dawn Murray, having won an Ivy League fellowship and prestigious national teaching award, should be at the pinnacle of her career. Instead, vicious anti-gay rumors and harassment have traumatized and undermined Murray at her San Diego school, where officials not only refuse to intervene but have added to the verbal assaults. On Tuesday, December 22, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is filing a lawsuit against Murray's Oceanside Unified School District for failing to address the harassment, which has continued for the last five years. The lawsuit, Murray v. Oceanside Unified School District, is California's first appellate challenge to anti-gay harassment of a teacher. Filed at the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego, the suit appeals a lower court's dismissal of Murray's case before it could go to trial. "When school officials tolerate vicious harassment of lesbian and gay teachers, they renege on their responsibility to show their students that it's not OK to hate and discriminate against gay people," said Staff Attorney Myron Dean Quon at Lambda's Western Regional Office in Los Angeles. "Lambda has seen what happens when schools are allowed to degenerate into breeding grounds for hatred. Often, anti-gay abuse in schools is directed at students; in this case, the target is a teacher," said Quon, Lambda's attorney on the case. "We plan to teach Oceanside school officials an important lesson about stopping hatred and discrimination," he added. Lambda hopes to build upon its earlier case testing California's anti- discrimination laws (Kovatch v. California Casualty Co.) in which a state appellate court earlier this year ruled that sexual orientation discrimination claims should be judged by the same standard as racial discrimination and sexual harassment claims. The Murray case was spurred by Oceanside school officials' refusal to take action against the abuse directed at the 15-year veteran biology teacher. Murray was made to suffer false accusations that she had sexual encounters on campus with school employees, endure an obsessive focus on her sexual orientation from school administrators, teachers, and other school personnel, as well as vandalism of her classroom. When she pressed for action to stop this harassment, Murray was threatened with loss of her job. Murray's stellar record includes a Princeton University fellowship for teaching biotechnology to high school students, completed in 1993. The National Association of Biology Teachers selected her as Outstanding Biology Teacher of the Year in 1995. Said Murray, "No one -- gay or straight -- should be treated the way I have been because of my sexual orientation. I hope this suit not only bolsters California's employment discrimination law for lesbian and gay teachers across the state, but also helps teach students something many adults still don't understand -- all people deserve respect." Lambda Managing Attorney Jennifer C. Pizer said, "Matthew Shepard's killing shed light on the fact that young people are responsible for many violent attacks against lesbians and gay men." She added, "School officials should be teaching students to respect differences, not exposing them to a climate that allows gay people to be dehumanized and abused." Founded in 1973, and now with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta, Lambda is the nation's oldest and largest legal organization serving lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV and AIDS. (Murray v. Oceanside Unified School District) -- 30 -- ======================================= Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund www.lambdalegal.org National Headquarters 120 Wall Street, Suite 1500 New York, NY 10005-3904 212-809-8585 phone 212-809-0055 fax lambda@lambdalegal.org =========================================================================== Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 17:35:34 -0800 From: GLSEN Alert To: "GLSEN News" Subject: GLSENAlert: Employment opportunities at GLSEN *** CIRCULATE WIDELY *** Sender: ........................................................... An important message from GLSEN-Alert, the electronic news service of GLSEN. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network -- GLSEN 121 West 27th Street, Suite 804 New York, NY 10001 212-717-0135; 212-727-0254 - fax glsen@glsen.org http://www.glsen.org/ ........................................................... UPDATED 5:30 P.M. Posted Friday, December 18, 1998 PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY Employment Opportunities GLSEN, the largest national organization working to end anti-gay bias in America's public, private and parochial schools, has created the following new positions. If interested in obtaining a full job description for any of these positions, please call Keota Fields at (212) 727-0135 x111 or visit our web site at www.glsen.org. Deputy Director for Operations Reporting to the Executive Director, the Deputy Director for Operations will work to ensure efficient operation of the organization. He or she will supervise and support program area directors and other staff; implement effective systems in the financial, human resource and management system areas; plan and monitor the annual budget; develop and implement information, technology and operations systems to support staff; and serve as a conduit between staff and the Executive Director. The position is based in New York City. Assistant Field Director for Southern Organizing Reporting to the Field Director, the Assistant Field Director for Southern Organizing will work to build and support the organization's chapter network. He or she will establish and support chapters in the South; manage the Southern Regional Field Office in Atlanta, GA; provide technical assistance and training to Southern chapters; and assist in fundraising efforts. Further, this staff member may provide chapters with technical assistance in one of the following four program areas: (1) media relations and communications; (2) advocacy and public policy; (3) in-school programming; or (4) fundraising. The position is based in Atlanta, GA. Assistant Field Director for Student Organizing Reporting to the Field Director, the Assistant Field Director for Student Organizing will work to build GLSEN's Student Pride program, a national network of high school-based gay-straight alliances. He or she will assess need and develop resources for student activists and faculty advisors; develop and implement outreach efforts; publish and edit the quarterly Student Pride newsletter; work on the national and local levels to support youth involvement and youth/adult alliances throughout GLSEN; and facilitate meetings of a youth leadership advisory board. The position is based in New York City. ***** Applicants are required to submit a cover letter, resume, salary history, writing samples and at least two professional references. Information should be mailed to: GLSEN Attn: K. Fields; 121 W. 27th Street #804; New York, NY 10001. Application material can also be faxed to: (212) 727-0254. GLSEN is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Members of groups historically under-represented in the LGBT movement are especially encouraged to apply. ........................................................... Visit the GLSEN Blackboard online: http://www.glsen.org/ Past GLSENAlert posts are archived on the GLSEN Blackboard: http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/news/glsenalert/ ........................................................... TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE You may add or remove yourself from this mailing list by going to: http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/news/glsenalert/ If you have problems or questions, you can contact the list server administrator at: ........................................................... ======================================================================== From: SARATOGANY@aol.com Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 08:32:55 EST Subject: CSS-NYS Addresses High School Students and Staff message from: the Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS PO Box 2345 Malta, NY 12020 Tel: (518) 587-0176 Email to: saratogany@aol.com ========================================================== 12/23/98 A Skidmore College gay student joined CSS-NYS in reaching out to local high school students and staff. Skidmore freshman Alex So joined with the Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS in presenting issues regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgenders in schools at a senior assembly at Granville High School (NY). The event took place on December 17th. The audience was comprised of 50+ HS senior students, the school principal, the school district superintendent, the guidance counselor, 3 teachers and the librarian. Alex addressed the audience about his being gay and his personal experiences as a gay teenager in high school and college. He was very articulate about intolerance issues, stereotyping and dispelling myths. He spoke of the love and attractions for another human regardless of an individual's sexual orientation. John Myers, CSS-NYS, told the audience how gay bashing hurts all and not just GLBT students. He cited four tragic recent instances: 1) Moses Lake, WA, Frontier HS, ( February 96) 9th grade student enters math class with a gun and kills two male students and the teacher. He was convicted of first degree murder for killing his first victim, a boy who had been gay bashing him. 2) Paducah, KY, Heath HS, (December 97) 9th grade student shot and killed three female students in a school lobby prayer group and wounded five others. he had been gay bashed for more than a year following a school newspaper piece that said he was gay. 3) Northhampton, MA, (May 98)15 year old boy stabs to death a 16 year old boy who had been gay bashing him. 4) Cherokee, GA, (November 98) 15 year old beats a13 year old boy to death at a school bus stop. He had been gay bashing, harassing and assaulting the victim for a period of time. (All involved in the above cases are thought to be non-gay.) Myers told the the audience that a study indicates that more non-gay students are gay bashed than gay students. He asked the students to standby and support your friends if they come out to you as gay or those that are preceived gay. Then the short (23 minutes) video "Trevor" was shown. This video is about a boy who is struggling with his sexuailty but realy is about anyone who is perceived to be different. (can be purchased for $10 from Amazon Books at www.amazon.com) Other speakers at this CSS-NYS coordinated event included: Naomi Marsh, representing the NYS Education Department (Albany) Carol Carlson, representing Sexual Trauma and Recovery Services, STARS, Washington and Warren Counties (John Myers, Director, Operations and Programs, CSS-NYS) Following the speakers and the video a question and answer period ensued. Most of the questions, and there were many, were directed towards Alex. His ability to answer questions honestly, intelligently and without hesitation definitely enhanced this education program. "With Liberty and Justice for All" rainbow triangle pins and stickers were provided to all students and staff. The words and the head of the Statue of Liberty are inscribed.These very impressive pins/stickers were donated by American Pledge, a not-for profit GLBT advocacy organization founded by Dr. Neil Kavey (Columbia U.) and his wife Karen. (Contact American Pledge at kekv1@aol.com for more information.) Two senior goverment classes at this school recently debated the Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, and captured this debate on video tape. All the debating was cordial and serious. The resulting overall vote was to NOT pass the Act and to allow gays to marry. Much credit is given to Mr. Paul Manchester the government class teacher for addressing gay issues in his school. Mr. Manchester is a father, local judge and non-gay. The feedback from the Granville administration and students has been very positive and many expressed their admiration towards the courage Alex exhibited. A request for another visit next spring is likely. (Note: High school government classes are very appropiate venues for discussing gay issues like sodomy laws, gays in the military, gay marriage, hate crimes ect.) Please pass to those who have an interest and concern about GLBT school issues. =============================================================================== 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/