Subject: YOUTHARTS BROADENS ITS ELECTRONIC HORIZONS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 1996 19:04:20 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles - July 4

The YouthArts Project, one of the most unusual youth publications on the
World Wide Web, quietly celebrated its Independence Day by putting some final
 touches on its western edition's move to an independent new home on the Web.

With an Annenberg grant, co-publisher John Waiblinger had acquired his own
server and six Apple computers, then created a public-access Internet
facility that he named the Queer CyberCenter.  A few weeks ago, he moved
YouthArts West  to the QCC from its former home on the USC server.   The QCC
is located in the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center.  YAW's new
URL is now http://www.qcc.org/yap

Founded in July 1995 by Wharton student Darin Weeks and author Patricia Nell
Warren, and expanded three months later when USC librarian John Waiblinger
joined the volunteer staff, the YouthArts Project has made its mark on
America in its baby year.   It now publishes some of the solidest young (25
or under)  gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender  writing, art, opinion and
style.  YAP  got  in the face of the Justice Department about CDA censorship
on the Internet.  Three of the four youth affadavits filed with the federal
district court, in this case affecting millions of young people, were
YouthArts voices -- Hunter Allen (17), Rheana (Juno) Parrenas (16), and
Christine Soto (19).  Their affadavits, posted on YouthArts West, are searing
statements of the need for youth free speech.

Last Saturday, YouthArts West resumed the regular workshops which make it
unique
on the Web.  Interested local young people converged on the computer room
with their latest work, to participate in the publishing process, learn about
html and graphics programs, and get career boosts.  They included several
regulars and a new African-American writer, Armond Anderson-Bell (19), with
chapters from his hypertext fantasy novel.  YAW has already helped boost some
careers, publishing awardwinning  talent like photographer Chris Balian,
Filipina poet Juno Parrenas and Latina poet Christine Soto.

YouthArts East continues to be webmastered by Darin Weeks, and is located on
the U of Pennsylvania computer, courtesy of Penn's LGBA, at
http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~lgba/youtharts.   From time to time, similar
workshops happen at LGBA, with input from writers like Daniel Sloane, Leah
Sheppard, Maria Gonzalez, Lani Ka'ahumanu, Vanessa Eisemann and Paul
Lukasiak.   

Unlike most ezines, the YouthArts Project does not have monthly issues.  It
is more like a museum of contemporary young gay talent, with the most
prolific contributors able to turn their pages into growing  "museum wings."
 Nor are the two sites formally "bi-coastal" -- their pages are peppered with
work from the Midwest, Texas, the South. The first few submissions have
arrived from other countries.

Among the new additions to YAW:

*A section for African-American poets.

*An exclusive column, "QueerCoreBeat," that tracks new and emerging young
musicians and bands.

*Excerpts from already published youth writing -- right now the "Queer and Bi
Girls" chapter from Hillary Carlip's bestselling book <Girl Power>, reprinted
electronically thanks to permission from Warners.

For its part, YAE has moved into cutting-edge investigative reporting, in
Paul Lukasiak's hair-raising report on ROTC on campus.

To come: YouthArts chats.  John Waiblinger is getting  the chat softwear up
and debugged.  When it's ready, our scattered participants will be able to
network more easily, have online learning sessions with established
professionals, and talk about how they will make a deeper mark on America.
  
The YouthArts Project is a nonprofit publication.  For information, email
[email-masked], [email-masked] or [email-masked].

Wildcat Press
Co-Publisher of YouthArts Project