From: MyrnaGrfld Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 19:33:06 EST Subject: Mass. Gay, Lesbian College Students sought to testify Gay, Lesbian College Students Sought to Testify About Campus Experiences for Statewide Hearing March 27 Hearing To Be Held by Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth Have you or someone you know been mistreated, harassed, or attacked at your college or university because you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual? Or have you had any positive experiences in which fellow students, faculty, staff, or community members made you feel better or safer about your gay identity? If so, the "Safe Colleges Program for Gay and Lesbian Students" would like you to testify about your experiences. The Committee on Higher Education of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the "Safe Colleges Program for Gay and Lesbian Students" will hold a hearing and press conference in Boston on March 27, 1998 to hear testimony from gay, lesbian, and bisexual Massachusetts college and university students. Hearing about your experiences, both positive and negative, will help ensure support for your safety, health, and well-being. In addition to student testimony, political and university representatives and Commission members will speak on behalf of the initiative. Members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community and the media will also be present. The hearing will take place on March 27 from 1-4 pm at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, in downtown Boston. The hearing will serve as the kick-off for "Sound Mind, Sound Body, Sound Off," a statewide conference on gay and lesbian issues on the college campus, which will be held at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts on March 28. In addition, regional workshops for campus change will be held at Massasoit Community College in Brockton on April 3, UMass/Lowell on April 17, UMass/ Amherst on April 23, and Harvard University on April 24. All of the events are free and open to the public. For more information on testifying or attending any of the events, call 617-491-5301 or send an email to lipkinar@hugse1.harvard.edu. ============================= Subject: College Student Conference & Request for Student Testimonials From: Catherine Roberts Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 22:10:56 +0000 The Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth (Massachusetts) is sponsoring the nation's first state-wide conference to focus on the subject of safe campuses for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender college students. The conference, "Sound Mind, Sound Body, Sound Off" is co-sponsored with Tufts University and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. March 27, 1998 - Grand Opening - Kick-off of the Governor's Commission's Five Year Project March 28, 1998 - Conference Panels and Concert by Catie Curtis Student Testimonials Needed The conference Grand Opening will be a media event to help demonstate the need of this five year project for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender college students. The Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth is seeking testimonials by college students (and recent alumni/ae) of Massachusetts colleges and universities about the experience of being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered on campus. The types of experiences might be positive "What colleges and universities are doing right." They may also include difficult experiences such as "hate crimes" or the pesky annoyances of name-calling, graffiti, being discourage from pursing research in "gay studies," the exclusion of gay-related topics in course, etc. If you are interested in testifying or in conference details, please contact: Arthur Lipkin or Catherine Roberts, Instructors at Harvard University at the following e-mail addresses: Arthur Lipkin -- lipkinar@hugse1.harvard.edu Catherine Roberts -- robertca@hugse1.harvard.edu