Subject: GLSTN Conference
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1996 12:37:55 -0500

For Immediate Release
Dec 4., 1996

Contact: Diedre Cuffee-Gray, Media Coordinator or Kevin Jennings, Executive
Director: 212-727-0135

GLSTN Issues Special Invitation to PFLAG Members for First-Ever National
Conference in Salt Lake City

Conference for those Addressing Homophobia in Schools to be Held March 21-23

New York, NY The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) today
issued a special invitation to members of PFLAG to attend its first-ever
national conference, to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah from March 21-23,
1997.  Hosted by GLSTN/Utah, the conference will bring together hundreds of
teachers, parents, community activists, and students working to create
schools were all people are respected, regardless of sexual orientation.
 "We see PFLAG and its members as natural allies in this struggle," said
Kevin Jennings, GLSTN's Executive Director.  "Without the support of our
families and friends, those of us working from within schools will not be
able to make them better places for lesbian and gay youth."  Jennings noted
that PFLAG members speak with a unique voice borne of personal experience
when it comes to addressing the costs of anti-gay bigotry for the young.  "No
one knows better than PFLAG members what homophobia does to kids and their
families," said Jennings, "and we need their support to help both our schools
and our communities to better understand that."
 The issue of anti-gay bigotry in schools has been a hot one in Utah this
year.  In January 1996, students and teachers at Salt Lake City's East High
School formed a Gay-Straight Student Alliance, an act which prompted the Utah
legislature which banned Gay-Straight Alliances in April 1996 to prevent the
East High GSA from meeting.  In response, teachers, parents, students, and
community members banded together to form GLSTN/Utah, one of the GLSTN's most
active chapters, which led the national organization to choose Utah as the
site for its first-ever national conference.
 "We've chosen the theme 'Stand and Deliver' for the conference," said Kevin
Jennings, GLSTN's Executive Director and a former high school history
teacher, "because we need to stand and deliver a message of tolerance and
justice in Utah.  We need to let the folks who are fighting for equal
educational opportunity there know that they are not alone."  GLSTN/Utah
Co-Chair Camille Lee, a teacher at East High School, added, "The legislature
obviously thought they would silence us with their actions last spring, but
they've done just the opposite -- they've brought us support we never dreamed
we had from --  both Utah and beyond."  Doug Wortham, Lee's fellow Co-Chair,
added "We couldn't be more proud to be the hosts of this historic event."
 The Conference will be preceded by special one-day institutes on Friday,
March 21 for "Straight Allies," GLSTN Chapter Leaders, People of Color, and
LGBT Educators, as well as a "Change Agent" Training.  That evening, Kelli
Peterson, founder of the East High GSA, and Clayton Vetter, Utah's first
openly gay pubic school teacher, will welcome participants at a free
reception.  The formal conference will begin on Saturday, March 22 with a
keynote by Urvashi Vaid, former Executive Director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force and author of Virtual Equality, followed by workshops that
day and on Sunday, March 23.  The conference will close with a Brunch
Celebration with comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, at which GLSTN will present its
1996-97 Pathfinder Awards for leadership in the fight to end bigotry in our
schools.  Registration forms are available by calling 212-727-0135.  "Looking
over this program, there will obviously be something for everybody!" added
Jennings

With over forty chapters, and a membership of over four thousand teachers,
parents, and concerned citizens, GLSTN is the largest national organization
working to insure that schools are places where all people are respected and
valued, regardless of sexual orientation.    For more information, visit the
GLSTN web site at http://www.glstn.org/ or call the national office at
212-727-0135.