Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 17:12:53 -0800 From: Jean Richter Subject: 12/6/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. CA: Anti-gay commentary from ex-gay minister on GSA controversy 2. NY: Thanks newspapers for commentary on student harassment ======================================================================= Los Angeles Times, November 24, 1999 Local pastor admonishes concept of gay club on campus Having dealt with homosexual urgings as a teen himself, he says high school students should not be labeled so early. By ANDY COMINSKEY The debate over a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School in Orange reveals the murky state of morality in our post-Christian culture, and the danger such murkiness poses to our teenagers. As the father of two students at Esperanza High School, and as a pastor at Desert Stream Ministries in Anaheim Hills, I have ministered to countless young people who are seeking clarity in their sexual and spiritual lives. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================= Reply-To: listserver@channelq.com Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 17:41:17 -0800 From: "Channel Q" Subject: GLAADAlert - November 25, 1999 GLAADAlert November 25, 1999 GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation [non-schools items omitted] Troy Record and Albany Times Union: Outstanding Local Commentary A high-school student in Clifton Park, N.Y., was suspended from school recently. Though accounts of the incident vary, several people - including the student himself - have indicated that his suspension was the result of self-defense against anti-gay physical harassment. Unfortunately, no final findings have been released, as the school board, citing concerns for student confidentiality, has declined to discuss the case publicly. Two local newspapers, the Troy Record and the Albany Times Union have offered exceptional commentary on this developing story. ... The Nov. 14 Record featured an editorial ("Hate still a blight on American scene") which opened with a series of hypothetical scenarios in which a Black student is harassed. The last such scenario is an incident just like the one at Shenendowah High School. "Would anyone be suspended?" asks the Record. "Probably the student who did the pushing, as the student who was getting harassed was acting in self defense. Simple as pie, right? Now substitute the word homosexual for the word black. The rules shouldn't change, but they do, as was the case at Shenendehowa in Clifton Park." The Record advocates a revised school harassment policy inclusive of sexual orientation which would protect all students from harm and ensure a safe learning environment. After all, the paper notes, "If role models for proper behavior aren't provided in our schools, where are out young people to learn?" Please thank the Record for its forceful editorial. ... In a tight and compelling Nov. 16 column, "As hands are tied, so are tongues," Times Union's Saratoga Bureau Chief Jim Rogalski criticized the district's refusal to comment on the case. Rogalski quotes Superintendent Robert McClure as saying, "We took appropriate action for those who were involved." "I'm sorry, Mr. McClure," Rogalski replies, "but that is of little comfort. The public deserves much, much more. ... No one is asking for the names of any of the students involved. These are basic procedural questions of how the school district is dealing with this very serious allegation. ... Perhaps they were [disciplined]. Perhaps they weren't. We just don't know because the district isn't saying. And that's unfair to all Shenendehowa students who might suffer harassment in the future." Please thank Times Union for Rogalski's articulate analysis and advocacy. Contact: Ms. Lisa Robert-Lewis, Editor, The Record, 501 Broadway, Troy, NY, 12181, fax: 518-272-1202, e-mail: newsroom@troyrecord.com Mr. Jeff Cohen, Editor, Times Union, 645 Albany-Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12201, e-mail: tuletters@timesunion.com GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 323.658.6775 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media and breaking news of interest to the LGBT community by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. GLAADAlert may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY GLAADNOTES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. =================================================================================== 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/