Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 08:27:34 -0800 (PST) From: jessea@uclink2.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: Alert to support NASP and NASW Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has filed a brief in the first federal appeal challenging anti-LGBT violence in public schools. Joining Lambda in a friend-of-the-court brief are the National Association of School Psychologists and the National Association of Social Workers. Below you will find information on how to contact NASP and NASW (both mainstream groups) to thank them for their crucial support in this potentially precedent-setting case. Lambda (LLDEF) is looking for more cases such as the one outlined below. If you know of a similar fact situation in your area's school districts, contact LLDEF at or phone them at 212-995-8585. Their fax is 212-995-2306 and mailing address is 666 Broadway NY Ny 10012-2317. The case at issue currently in the federal court pertains to Jamie Nabozny, who suffered multiple physical assaults during his 7th-11th grade years in an Ashland, Wisconsin school district a few years ago. School officials told Jamie that he'd have to endure the harassment and assaults because he is gay. Yet, ironically enough, the school HAS recognized the need to eliminate harassment based on gender but not harassment based on sexual orientation. Students trapped Jamie in the halls and bathroom, then beat, kicked, punched, and even urinated on him. He also suffered relentless verbal abuse and sexual harassment. The torment led him to make multiple suicide attempts, to drop out of school, and to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Throughout all of this, his parents stood up for him, constantly attempting to get the school to discipline the boys who abused their son. Actually, at one point, schools officials even told him, about his tormentors' behavior, "Boys will be boys." HOWEVER, NO MEANINGFUL DISCIPLINE WAS IMPOSED AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS SCOFFED AT JAMIE, TELLING HIM HE HAD TO EXPECT SUCH ABUSE BECAUSE HE IS GAY. Please write to NASP and NASW to thank them for joining Lambda in a friend-of-the-court brief. NASP - National Association of School Psychologists 4340 East West Highway Suite 402 Bethesda, MD 20814-4406 home page: http://www.uncg.edu/~ericcas2/nasp/ National Association of Social Workers 750 First St. NE Suite 700 Washington DC 20002-4241 voice mail= 202 408 8600 fax 202 336 8312 Share your thoughts about Jamie's case with the local newspaper in Ashland, where his abuse a few years ago took place, and ask the local and state community to examine its conscience to see what, if anything, has been done since then to make the situation better for LGBT youth in their schools: The Daily Express,122 W. 3rd St.,Ashland,WI,54806 -(Fax 715-682-4699, print run 8,200) and with Wisconsin's largest newspapers (remember, Wisconsin is a nondiscrimination state, supposedly!!! ask the newspaper readers whether this does/should apply in the state's schools!): Milwaukee Journal,Box 661,Milwaukee,WI,53201-0661 -(Fax 414-224-2047, print run 239,901) Miilwaukee Sentinel,Box 371,Milwaukee,WI,53201 -(Fax 414-224-2049, print run 169,961) and with the newspapers in the state capital, where the state education department is situated: The Capital Times,Box 8060,Madison,WI,53708 -(Fax 608-252-6333, print run 24,668) Wisconsin State Journal,Box 8058,Madison,WI,53708 -(Fax 608-252-6333, print run 83,756) Finally, Wisconsin is one of 15 states that has an elected state superintendent and is the only state without a state board of education. The DPI's largest responsibilities involve helping 427 school districts with school finance and instructional programs. Contact the state's education offices and officials as shown below to encourage them to do more to protect LGBT youth in Wisconsin's schools and to formulate and implement LGBT-inclusive curricular policies and instructional programs. Ask them for a reply and then please cc us at The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (address and fax below in sig file). Thanks! : State Office of Education, 1-800-441-4563 or 608-266-1771 Superintendent of Public Instruction (John T. Benson) State Dept of Public Instruction P.O. Box 7841 (mail); 125 South Webster (location) Madison WI 53707-7841 Fax 608-267-1053 office hours 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 pm *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ YOU MAY RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project*; ph/fax: 510-601-8883, 586 62nd St. Oakland, CA 94609-1245 Gopher to "gopher.outright.com" Web sites: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/glb/person.html/ http://www.pride.net/pridenet/person The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project is *always* looking for volunteer organizers. Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts. *Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally. "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." Vito Russo