Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 16:56:54 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines October 26, 1998 GLAADLINES Contact: Liz Tracey (212) 807-1700 tracey@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 1998 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community JOURNALISTS TALK ABOUT HATE CRIMES: On Tuesday, October 27, 1998, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) will co-sponsor a public forum discussing the recent murder of Matthew Shepard, and the media's coverage of anti-gay hate crimes. Among those participating will be: Jason Marsden, a political reporter from the Casper (Wyo.)Star-Tribune; Robert Denbo, national news director for NBC; Lonnie Isabel, Long Island Newsday national editor; Juan Mendez, opinion page editor of El Diario/La Prensa; and Peg Rivera, board member of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, and sister of Julio Rivera, a gay man in New York City murdered in a bias attack in 1990. The forum will be held on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the New York City Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center, 1 Little West 12 Street. For more information, contact the NYC Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center at (212) 620 7310. SCHOOL'S IN (AND OUT) : The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) will hold its second annual national conference from October 30 through November 1 in Oakland, CA. The organization, whose mission is to assist lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and educators in making schools positive and safe places. Among the topics covered in workshops will be: sexual harassment, grantwriting, building coalitions, the radical religious right's impact on schools, sports and homophobia, and how to start a gay/straight alliance. Presenters at the conference will include: representatives of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, People for the American Way, the Anti-Defamation League, the San Francisco Unified School District, GLSEN, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Lesbian and Gay Parents Association, and GLAAD. For more information about the conference and the 1998 Pathfinder Awards, which will be presented at the conference, call Jim Anderson (GLSEN) at (212) 727.0135 or via e-mail at janderson@glsen.org. ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE: The Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation, the nation's oldest and largest foundation dedicated to providing financial support to lesbian-led projects, celebrates its 20th anniversary with a masked ball fundrasier on Halloween night, October 31. The event, whose theme is "Empower, Envision, Embrace," will be hosted by singer Janis Ian, with awards being presented to Tracy Gary for philanthropy, singer and activist Ronnie Gilbert for artistic integrity, and activist Urvashi Vaid of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's (NGLTF) Policy Institute for community empowerment. In addition, a silent auction will be held and dinner will be served. The event begins at 7:00 p.m., and will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in New York City, at 7th Avenue and 52nd Street; tickets are $150. For more information, contact Astraea at (212) 529-8021. KEEP OFF BOB JONES' GRASS: A 60-year-old alumnus of Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian college, recently received a letter from the dean of students informing him that "as long as you are living as a homosexual, you, of course, will not be welcome on the campus and would be arrested for trespassing if you did visit." The school lost its tax-exempt status in 1970 because it banned interracial dating and marriage. Wayne Mouritzen, a retired minister and the alumnus who received the letter, responded to the letter by bringing attention to the status of the school's museum of religious art, which remains tax-exempt. The university then informed Mouritzen that he may visit the galleries. Since the letter became public, local representatives, including a councilwoman who was barred entrance from the campus in the early 1950s because of her race, have called for the museum to be denied tax revenue money for improvements. For more information, contact Tony Snell (president, South Carolina Gay & Lesbian Pride Movement) at (803) 771.7713. HOT OFF THE GLAAD PLATE!: On Tuesday, October 27, GLAAD will launch a new online entertainment news service, GLAAD's Hollywood Hotsheet. The new project will bring GLAAD Online visitors the latest news from film, television, music and theatre that concerns or involves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Hotsheet will offer a "heads up" on upcoming gay-themed television shows and provide information on upcoming record releases by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender artists. Casting news, film development information and celebrity interviews will also be included. The very first installment of GLAAD's Hollywood Hotsheet can be seen tomorrow at GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org. For more information, contact William Horn (GLAAD Assistant Entertainment Media Director) at (213) 658-6775, ext.17 or via e-mail at horn@glaad.org. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Wonbo Woo at (212) 807-1700 or at woo@glaad.org. "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.