Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 16:29:44 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines September 8, 1998 GLAADLINES Contact: Sharen Shaw Johnson (202) 986-1360 x193 sjohnson@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 8, 1998 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community GRADING U.S. SCHOOLS ON SAFETY FOR LESBIAN AND GAY YOUTH: Are America's largest school districts safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth? Which school districts have put in place even basic measures to protect such youth? Which districts have done nothing? These are among questions to be addressed at a news conference at the Zenger Room of the National Press Club, 14th and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C., at noon on Thursday, Sept. 10. The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is holding the event to release results of its survey of America's 42 largest school districts on policies that provide safe learning environments for all students. GLSEN's report comes amid court and regulatory rulings that have held school districts financially and programmatically responsible for the safety of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. Also present at GLSEN's news conference will be Leslie Sadasivan of Strongsville, Ohio, mother of a gay son who committed suicide, and representatives from four national groups endorsing GLSEN's school safety campaign. The organizations, which have a combined membership that exceeds 3.4 million, are the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, American Counseling Association and National Association of School Psychologists. For more information contact Kate Frankfurt, GLSEN director of advocacy, at (212) 727-0135 or via e-mail at kfrankfurt@glsen.org . On the day of the Sept. 10 news conference, Frankfurt may be paged toll-free at (888) 650-1190. TRAINING TEACHERS, TO KEEP KIDS SAFE: Project YES has begun intensive trainings for four Miami-area high schools on how to create safer school environments for their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. The trainings will then be analyzed to determine whether Project YES's "Safe Schools, Healthy Families" initiative should be replicated nationally, said Martha Fugate, Project YES director. She said, "Studies show that 33 percent of teenagers who commit suicide are gay. No one can keep children from killing themselves if they are determined to do so, but we hope to make the community supportive enough that gay youths will not want to take their lives." For more information contact Martha Fugate at (305) 663-7195 or visit the Project YES website at http://www.projectyes.org . GAYSPEAK: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender languages, linguistics and communication will be discussed at the sixth annual international "Lavender Language and Linguistics" conference Sept. 11-13 at Washington, D.C.'s American University. Among speakers will be Wesley Thomas, a Navajo, who will discuss how Navajo people talk about the body; and Louise Blum, who will read from her novel Amnesty. Also, a Saturday afternoon panel will discuss language and workplace rights; a Sunday session will address responding to homophobic language. The conference, hosted by the Department of Anthropology, will be in the Butler Pavilion's fourth and six floor conference rooms on American University's campus at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Presentations begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information contact Bill Leap at (202) 885-1831. MEDICAL PROS FOCUS ON LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER WOMEN'S HEALTH: "Creating Healthy Lives," a regional conference to explore health, service delivery and community building issues as they pertain to enriching the lives of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, will be held Sept. 11-12 at University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) in the Chicago Circle Center. The conference is being spearheaded by a consortium of Midwestern health and social service groups and national organizations including the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The event, designed to include input from grassroots organizers and health consumers, will examine medical, psycho-social, and political factors affecting the well-being of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. The complete schedule is available on the conference web site, http://www.uic.edu/orgs/healthy_lives/. For more information contact Diane Goodwin at (773) 388-8993. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Wonbo Woo at (212) 807-1700 or at woo@glaad.org . "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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. 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