Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 16:52:30 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 7/30/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. ID: Action alert: Legislators pressuring station not to show "It's Elementary" 2. MO: Editorial on "agendas" in education 3. Surgeon General launches suicide prevention effort =================================================================================== Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:31:02 -0700 From: Jessea NR Greenman Subject: ACTION ALERT Please contact the Idaho State Board of Education to thank them for their vote to support the showing of "It's Elementary" on the state's public tv network, which is licensed to the State Board of Education. Contact Information for the Idaho State Board of Education PO Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-0037 (208)334-2270 FAX (208)334-2632 e-mail: board@osbe.state.id.us Chair: Harold Davis Please also contact the two Idaho state legislators mentioned in the article to urge them to LAY off their pressure tactics: write to them c/o Office of the Secretary Idaho State Senate Room 345; 208/332-1310 Idaho Falls Post-Register, July 24, 1999 333 Northgate Mile,Idaho Falls,ID,83401 (Fax 208-529-9683 ) (E-MAIL: dmiller@idahonews.com ) ( http://www.idahonews.com ) Idaho Public Television - Senators jump in fray over broadcast about gay issues By Gene Fadness Idaho Public Television Manager Peter Morrill is interested in the plentiful reaction he's getting from all quarters about his station's decision to air a documentary this fall about gay issues in elementary schools. But when the return address on the envelope reads "Sen. Atwell J. Parry," or the newspaper quote is from Sen. Stan Hawkins, Morrill winces and takes special note. Both Parry, R-Melba, and Hawkins, R-Ucon, sit on the Legislature's budget committee, Parry as co-chair. That committee decides how much money public TV will get from state coffers each year. The controversy created by IPTV's decision to run the gay issues documentary and a new national furor about some public TV stations sharing their donor lists with the Democratic National Committee don't help endear Idaho's largely conservative Legislature to the cause of public television. Idaho Public TV gets about 30 percent of its budget from the state. During the next three years, IPTV needs more money than usual if it is to complete its conversion to digital programming by 2003, mandated by the federal government. "It's kind of disturbing when this kind of sad news comes to the forefront," Morrill said this week. The Washington Times reported earlier this week that WETA, Washington's public TV station, swapped donor lists with the Democratic National Committee. Further investigation showed that the donor lists had been shared with Republicans as well, including the 1996 Bob Dole presidential campaign. Within hours after the news came out, Idaho Public Television dispatched a press release that said, "The Friends of Idaho Public Television does not loan, exchange, rent or sell its membership list, nor has it historically done so." That furor will die out, especially with assurances that public TV stations will no longer be allowed to share donor lists. The arguments over "It's Elementary" will likely continue to plague IPTV, however. Morrill got the go-ahead from the state Board of Education to show the video, despite objections from conservative groups like the Christian Coalition and the Idaho Family Forum. But legislators are now entering the fray, Hawkins even questioning Morrill's fitness for his job if the documentary airs. "It's Elementary," is about handling gay issues when they surface on the playground or in the classroom. Proponents of the documentary say it helps teachers and others to promote tolerance for kids whose parents may be gay or may be dealing with homosexual issues themselves. Opponents say the film promotes homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle and that kids in elementary grades need to hear about this issue from parents, not schoolteachers. Further, opponents contend the video shouldn't air on a station partially funded by tax dollars. "If this were on one of the major networks, you wouldn't be hearing from us," said Nancy Bloomer, executive director of the Christian Coalition. Idaho's public TV network is state-owned, with the state Board of Education assigned the broadcast license. That board, chaired by Idaho Falls businessman Harold Davis, voted last month not to prohibit showing the documentary, but "strongly recommended" that those who have objections be given air time as well. Morrill is offering the Christian Coalition and the Idaho Family Forum up to 60 minutes to provide a response to the video. He is also willing to air a rebuttal video produced by the American Family Association called "Suffer the Children." However, lawyers for the producers of "It's Elementary" are claiming copyright violations against the American Family Association, which airs lengthy excerpts from "It's Elementary," in its video. The Idaho Attorney General's Office has instructed Morrill not to air "Suffer the Children," until the legal problems are worked out. Bloomer of the Christian Coalition says her group hasn't decided whether to provide a rebuttal program. "We don't want it shown, period," she said of "It's Elementary." "If we offer a rebuttal to it, we are giving it credibility," Bloomer said. "How do you find something to balance something that's so inappropriate? Once their show is aired, the damage has been done. I don't think they understand how offensive this video is to us." Parry of the budget committee wrote Morrill: "From my viewpoint, there is a real firestorm brewing over this. It might do public TV more harm than good if you go ahead with the showing." Hawkins was more blunt. "I have to question Morrill's judgment at this point," the Ucon senator said. "And I have to question Harold Davis' judgment in the same manner," Hawkins said of the Board of Education chairman. "Morrill's been going before the Legislature repeatedly with budget requests that haven't been well received. He's got to know he's under a lot of scrutiny," Hawkins said. Hawkins said he had hoped Morrill would be an improvement over his predecessor, Jerold Garber, who resigned three years ago. "I personally congratulated him (Morrill) on cleaning up some of the programming, but this calendar year we've seen a giant step backward to the days when Garber was running documentaries about sex changes and homosexuality. "They've had one program about a senior citizen lesbian woman whose last hoorah in life was to create a retreat for older lesbian women and another program interviewing prison inmates convicted of murdering homosexuals," Hawkins said. "I don't think taxpayer dollars should be used for this purpose." Board member Tom Dillon said censoring the documentary would be a "horrible mistake and bad precedent." He said the documentary is "very professionally done and well-produced," but questioned its depiction of Christians "as bigots and terrible people." Morrill said the video will air late - 10 p.m. on Sept. 7 - and will be followed by the locally-produced "Dialogue" program two nights later that will feature opponents and proponents of the documentary. That will be in addition to the rebuttal time the Christian Coalition may request and the showing of "Suffer the Children," if legal problems are resolved. Most public TV stations across the country are airing the documentary, Morrill said, but 80 have turned it down. Last year, IPTV requested about $1.5 million from the state budget. Over the next three years, it will need about $11 million, on top of its regular appropriation, to complete the conversion from analog to digital programming. That $11 million will be phased in yearly requests of about $4.7 million and some of that may be reduced if more federal funding is approved, Morrill said. Political and government reporter Gene Fadness can be reached at 542-6763, or via e-mail at gfadness@idahonews.com. O+O+ O+O+ O+O+ O+O+ jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) ~Is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself " ELEANOR ROOSEVELT =============================================================================== Kansas City Star, July 26, 1999 1729 Grand Avenue,Kansas City,MO,64108 (Fax 816-234-4926 ) (E-MAIL: letters@kcstar.com ) ( http://www.kcstar.com/ ) Opinion: Education Should Be Sole Agenda KATHLEEN PARKER Attention gays, lesbians and straights: Let's not get hysterical. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] Kathleen Parker's column regularly appears on Mondays. ================================================================================ From: SARATOGANY@aol.com Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:54:40 EDT Subject: Suicide Prevention Effort Launched By Surgeon General Msg fwd by: The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020 "The Actual or Perceived GLBT Student Protection Project" CSS-NYS Note: 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, YRBS, funded by US CDC-Prevention Massachusetts: Attemped suicide in past year Gay Lesbian Bisexual Students = 46.0% Other Students = 8.8% Ratio: 5 to 1 (rounded) Vermont: Attempted suicide in past year Students having sex with same gender = 34.0% Students having sex with opposite gender = 12.0% Ratio: 3 to 1 (rounded) MA & VT Average Ratio: 4 to 1 (rounded) Note the student breakout difference between each state. Suicides, age 10 to 14, have doubled (1980 to 1997) Media outlets rarely report cause of death as suicide. =========================================================== July 28, 1999 Suicide Prevention Effort Launched By Laura Meckler Associated Press Writer Wednesday, July 28, 1999; 10:01 a.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The surgeon general today declared suicide a serious public health threat for the first time, launching an effort to educate school counselors, parents and even hairdressers on how to spot signs of trouble. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================= Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) These messages are archived by state on our information-loaded free web site: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/