Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 09:07:22 -0700 (PDT) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: MA safe schools *Action Alert* (fwd) || Call for proposals for BANGLE (CA) conference ||correction re SC conference phone number || correction re SHHAGLY URL (MA) FYI -- the following was posted to another list to which I am subscribed. ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- *******************ACTION ALERT*********************** The Massachusetts Department of Education has eliminated the position of Central and Western Massachusetts Program Coordinator for the Safe Schools for Gay and Lesbian Youth Program, designed to make schools safe for G/L/B/T kids. The Safe Schools Program Coordinator in Central and Western Massachusetts conducted essential teacher, administrator, guidance counselor and parent anti-homophobia trainings in elementary, middle and high schools in this predominately rural region of Massachusetts. The Safe Schools program is fully funded for the coming year, so the move to cut the position is purely political, not budgetary. The elimination of the Coordinator's position comes on the heels of pioneering anti-homophobia work in elementary schools in Western Massachusetts. The focus on prevention of homophobia at the elementary school level drew much media attention in May when the organized radical right stepped in to challenge the Amherst, Massachusetts public schools for showing a photo-text exhibit of lesbian and gay families in the elementary schools as part of their diversity curriculum. The former regional director of the Virginia-based Rutherford Institute, Gregory Hession, brought a suit against the Amherst school system. In a landmark federal court ruling, thanks to key legal arguments on the part of GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders), the court refused to halt the anti-homophobia work in the schools. Governor Weld, a Republican, is currently running for a US Senate seat in Massachusetts. The elimination of the Program Coordinator's position removes a vital source of support for anti-homophobia work in elementary schools. E-mail messages, calls and letters are needed ASAP to the following people: Robert Antonucci, Commissioner of Education at Massachusetts Department of Education E-mail: rantonucci @doe.mass.edu Snail: Massachusetts Department of Education, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148 Phone: 617/388-3300 David LaFontaine, Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth Statehouse Room 111 Boston, MA 02133 617/727-3600. x312 (no e-mail) When you call or e-mail, urge them to reinstate a full-time, on-site, program coordinator for Central and Western Massachusetts. Tell them that anti-homophobia work in elementary schools is critical to preventing homophobia before it starts. The commitment Massachusetts has made to making schools safe for G/L/B/T youth and kids with lesbian and gay parents through the Safe Schools program is a model for other states in the country. The Governor and Department of Education should move forward with increased support for anti-homophobia work in elementary and middle schools. FOR INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS contact: pbrown2000@aol or jdewey@crocker.com PLEASE FORWARD TO OTHER RELEVANT LISTS OR INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS. ************************************************************* Some useful statistics: According to the US Department of Justice, Gays and Lesbians are probably the most frequent victims of hate crimes. A national study found that 90% had experienced victimization because of their perceived or actual orientation. More than 1 in 10 had been threatened directly with violence: at home in SCHOOLS, and in their communities. 45% of males and 25% of females reported being harassed or attacked in HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR HIGH. Gay and lesbian teens are more than three times as likely to attempt suicide than other teens and may comprise up to 30% of successful teen suicides annually. In 1989, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued its "Report on the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicides" in which it reported that 28% of gay and lesbian youth drop out of school because of discomfort in the school environment. The task force recommended that schools can protect gay youth from abuse from their peers and provide accurate information about homosexuality..." The Safe Schools program was designed for just these reasons. Please add your voice in demanding support for anti-homophobia work in elementary schools. (END OF ACTION ALERT) --------------------------------- --------------------------------- A Call for Proposals for the Second Annual BANGLE/GLSTN West Coast Conference on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Education: United in Diversity Saturday, October 26, 1996 James Logan High School, Union City, California The Second Annual BANGLE/GLSTN West Coast Conference on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Education is scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 1996, at James Logan High School in Union City, California. The site is within walking distance of the Union City BART Station on the San Francisco-Fremont Line. It is hoped that the conference will help make school environments safe and supportive for ALL students. It is expected that the conference will provide concrete tools that can be used to combat homophobia in schools. Interested individuals and organizations are invited to submit proposals for workshop sessions by Wednesday, July 31, 1996. Notification will be sent to all submitters by August 17, 1996. Please fill out the information below and mail it to the address below. OR, better yet, e-mail the equivalent information. All workshops are planned to be 75 minutes. This includes time you may want to allow for questions or discussion. We regret that we are unable to reimburse presenters. However all presenters will receive complimentary registration for the conference. Proposed Title ____________________________________________________ Presenter(s) ______________________________________________________ Address, Phone Number, E-mail Address of Presenters: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ A/V Equipment Needed ____________________________________________ Brief Description of Workshop (75 words or less--use back if necessary) __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Return to: BANGLE, PO Box 70554, Point Richmond, CA 94807-0554 Or e-mail: BobLatham@aol.com More info: (510) 234-3429 ****Please return by Wednesday, July 31, 1996 --------------------------------- --------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 13:01:21 -0700 To: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu Subject: Youth Conference in Columbia SC - phone number update! A correction to my earlier posting today: The Reaching Out In The South Conference organizers have set up a special conference number at their Community Center. Please call ***(803) 771-0008** for more information about the conference. I just learned that the number I gave in a e-mail message from earlier today was a home phone number. If you are going to forward the earlier message, please edit the phone number. I copied the earlier message below with the corrected phone number. Sorry for any confusion. Dave >Gaurav Shroff, president of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Association at >the University of South Carolina, wants y'all to know that they are >planning a conference for LGBT youth (age 13-23) this coming fall. It is >titled: Reaching Out In The South: Second Annual Southeastern Conference >for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Youth, their Advisors and >Counselors. It will be held at the University of South Carolina, Columbia >on October 25-17, 1996. > >Currently they are identifying key-note speakers and workshops for the >conference, and have an initial brochure prepared. There is also some >rudimentary information about the conference at their WWW site: >(http://web.csd.sc.edu/bgla/conference.html), with registration forms and a >call for papers. Their first deadline is July 15 for proposals. > >They would appreciate any help you can provide in getting word about this >conference out to people who might be interested in participating. Please >get in touch with Gaurav (by email , by mail at the >address below, or by telephone: ****(803) 771-0008*** if you have any other >questions. > >Reaching Out in the South >Bisexual Gay and Lesbian Association >University of South Carolina >PO Box 80098 >Columbia SC 29225 >email: uscbgla@vm.sc.edu >http://web.csd.sc.edu/bgla --------------------------------- --------------------------------- CORRECTION TO URL in SHHAGLY message The URL for SSHAGLY listed in this message doesn't seem to work; the correct URL appears to be http://www2.pcix.com:80/~altoniv/SSHAGLY/index.html Jean >[note from PERSON: we send this for a number >of reasons of interest to many: to apprise our >list readers once again of the existence >of the NGLTF Youth Leadership Institute (tho >it's too late to apply for this year, orgnaizations >should contact NGLTF to get on its mailing list >for next year's cycle, so that education-oriented >youth can get advanced leadership training >and networking contacts), to share information >about SSHAGLY with others in MA and elsewhere >who may be interested in contacting that organization, >to put forward some of the remarkable work of this >young leader, and to support the fantastic >work that Michael Kozuch has been doing at >the Massachusetss State Dept. of Education...he's a >great resource person and organizer. jessea] > >Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 09:37:50 -0400 >From: Michael_J_Kozuch@doe.mass.edu (Michael J Kozuch) >Subject: NEWS RELEASE >To: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) > > >Jessea, > >I thought some of your readers might be interested in this, especially the >Massachusetts ones. Also, $2,000 is alot to raise in two weeks so if people >want to make tax deductible contributions to his trip or his projects they >should call or send them to SSHAGLY c/o Michael Kozuch, 18 Milford St. Apt #2 >Boston, MA 02118. Thanks for your continued efforts. > >__________________________________________________________________________ > > NEWS RELEASE > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: > Tuesday, July 9, 1996 Michael Kozuch > 617/338-7082 > __________________________________________________________________ > > > ****South Shore gay youth selected to attend NGLTF Youth > Leadership Training Institute.******** > > Norwell, MA - Alton Phillips IV, an 18 year old Duxbury, Massachusetts > resident was selected to be part of the National Gay and Lesbian Task > Force's Youth Leadership Training Institute. The Institute, which will > take place July 27th - August 2, 1996 near San Francisco, is designed > to build a network of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender > organizers who are working in their communities to create change for > and with young people. Alton is one of 24 young people from across > the country chosen to participate in the Institute. "It will be a > phenomenal time for the participants to grow and transform as > organizers and as people, and to prepare to lead and create change in > their communities," Karen Bullock-Jordan, Field Organizer for NGLTF > said about the Institute. After the Institute, graduates will travel > to San Diego to work with NGLTF staff in producing a progressive > response to the Republican National Convention. > > "I am excited to have the opportunity to bring the experiences of > being a gay youth in Massachusetts where we have accomplished so much, > from a statewide anti-discrimination law for students to nearly 100 > Gay/Straight Alliances and community groups like SSHAGLY. I am also > looking forward to learning from the experiences of the other > participants and bringing that knowledge back to our community," said > Alton of the Institute. As part of the application, youth had to > develop a project that they would bring back to their community and > try to raise the $2000 it will cost to attend. Alton will be > developing a voter registration drive and an outreach and networking > project for South Shore gay youth. > > Overcoming harassment and opposition, Alton Phillips graduated 10th in > his class from Tabor Academy in June and will attend Vassar College in > the fall. While at Tabor, he started the schools Gay/Straight > Alliance in 1994 and developed a world wide web site for SSHAGLY, the > South Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth, the first site of its > kind in the nation. During his senior year, Alton also was a student > intern for the Department of Education's Safe Schools Program for Gay > and Lesbian Students, helping to start Gay/Straight Alliances and > speaking to literally thousands of faculty and students across the > state. > > Michael Kozuch, adult advisor for SSHAGLY said, "Alton is truly an > amazing and brilliant youth. He has overcome so much harassment from > his peers to get where he is today. When Alton first came to SSHAGLY > he was quiet and beaten down, now he has truly blossomed and become an > inspiration for other youth. I am happy he will get this opportunity > to share his experiences with others and continue to grow." > > The South Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (SSHAGLY) is a > community-based, grass roots youth group serving GLBT youth from > Braintree to Plymouth. SSHAGLY meets the first and third Saturday of > every month at the 1st Parish Unitarian Church in Norwell, MA and runs > programs from writing workshops to hiking trips. For more information > please call toll free 1-888-SSHAGLY or visit our web site at > ****corrected URL: http://www2.pcix.com:80/~altoniv/SSHAGLY/index.html > > -- 30 -- *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ OK TO RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK THIS OUT FOR TONS OF INFO - - http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts. "Out of 19 top industrial nations, the US took 17th place in public spending for education in 1992...and came in last for compensation of teachers." __The Nation__