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GSA Network News Email Archive - July 2005
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Please note that during the months of July and August GSA Network News will be bi-monthly instead of weekly.
In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:
GSA Network Announcements
1. Still time to give us your feedback - Take GSA Network's Year-End
Evaluation
2. GSA ACTIVIST CAMP 2005! A few slots left for Central Valley Camp! (Central
Valley)
3. SAVE THE DATES - GSA Network youth activist conferences coming this fall!
Other Announcements
4 . Check out what's going on at the Rainbow Community Center for LGBTQ youth
(Contra Costa)
5 . Transgender Specific Media Advocacy Training (S.F.)
6 . California Gathering for Transgender Families (Los Gatos)
7 . JOB: Position of Program Coordinator for Bayview Mobilization for Adolescent
Growth in our Communities (S.F.)
8 . Volunteers Needed for Lambda Youth Project (Hayward)
9 . NEWS: Safe Schools for Whom?
10 . NEWS: Report: Federal abstinence site contains inaccurate information
+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++
**********************************************
1. Still time to give us your feedback - Take GSA Network's Year-End
Evaluation
How successful was your club fighting transphobia and homophobia in your school? Did GSA Network help or do you need more from us next year? Please fill out this evaluation and let us know what you need in order to have an even more successful club next year! (Please ensure that at least one advisor and one GSA student fills out the application).
For the on-line evaluation go to: www.gsanetwork.org/yearendeval/index.php
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2. GSA ACTIVIST CAMP 2005! A few slots left for Central Valley Camp!
(Central Valley)
The GSA Activist Camps are youth-planned and youth-led intense 3-day events featuring hardcore community building, skill-building, political education, and leadership training for GSA members. All youth who will be involved in a high school or middle school GSA next year are strongly encouraged to apply.
To apply for GSA Activist Camp for Summer 2005, visit www.gsanetwork.org/camp
Central Valley (Shaver Lake - the Central Valley's first ever Activist
Camp)
Date: July 27-29, 2005
Location: Tamarack - near Shaver Lake, CA.
Want more info?: robin@gsanetwork.org
**********************************************
3. SAVE THE DATES - GSA Network youth activist conferences coming this
fall!
For the 2005-2006 school year, kick-off your GSA with a Fall youth activist
conference and dance. GSA Network's annual youth conferences are going to be
held earlier in the year, so you can use all the skills and resources you get
throughout the school year!!
Bay Area - Y.E.S. (Youth Empowerment Summit) December 3rd 2005
Central Valley - E.N.S. (Expression Not Suppression) October 29th 2005
++++++++++++++++ OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS ++++++++++++++++
GSA Network News is a publication of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Events,
resources, and news items listed under "Other Announcements" are not
sponsored or written by GSA Network, and do not necessarily reflect the views
and opinions of GSA Network.
*********************************************
4. Check out what's going on at the Rainbow Community Center
for LGBTQ youth (Contra Costa County)
RCC is sponsoring one last youth pride event...
What: Summer Pride Dance
When: Friday, July 29th 2005
Time: 7:30 PM - 11PM
Where: United Methodist Church in Walnut Creek (Just like always)
1543 Sunnyvalle Ave, WC 94597
This is a drug free and alcohol free event. No containers will be
allowed.
**********
Sing your Heart Out
It's Karaoke Night at RCC. Stop by and have fun embarressing
yourself and others!! Snacks will be provided.
Date: July 23 (Saturday)
Time: 6PM
Where: Rainbow Community Center.
3024 Willow Pass Rd.
Concord, CA 94519
Keep an eye out in August for a night at the Theatre, Pot Luck Party and more!
www.rainbowcc.org/youthpage.html>www.rainbowcc.org/youthpage.html
*********************************************
5. Transgender Specific Media Advocacy Training (S.F.)
Presenter: Kathy Sanchez, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Southwest Regional Media Manager
The media has largely ignored or misrepresented transgender issues ranging from
discrimination to health care access to criminalization. In order to change
that, our community needs to become better at engaging and directing the media.
This seminar will provide you with techniques and media skills necessary to
become a more effective spokesperson on important community issues. Participants
will get to develop key messages, practice interviewing and get tips on responding
to inaccurate or inflammatory coverage.
Wednesday, July 27
6:30 - 9 PM
SF Community Center, Room 300
Please RSVP to Kathy Sanchez at GLAAD: sanchez@glaad.org
or (323)634-2022
Co-Presented by the Transgender Law Center and the San Francisco LGBT Community
Center
*********************************************
6. California Gathering for Transgender Families (Los Gatos)
Do you know a transgender youth who needs support?
Do you have a young person in your life questioning their gender identity? Or
are you a parent of an adult child who has already transitioned?
Join with other parents, families and friends for a weekend of sharing and support
and learn more about this complex issue. We will discuss strategies for communicating
about transgenderism with neighbors, medical professionals, and schools.
This informal, parent-organized event will take place Friday July 29, Saturday
30 and Sunday 31 at,
The Los Gatos Lodge
50 Los Gatos - Saratoga Road
Los Gatos, Ca 95032
There is no charge to attend; food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Special room rates are available! RSVP REQUIRED to Marina 408-281-266637 email
Eliana_20_00@yahoo.com
or Deborah 650-856-4940.
Attendance is limited to the first 50 registrants.
Registration Deadline:
July 15, 2005
We look forward to seeing you!
*********************************************
7. JOB: Position of Program Coordinator for Bayview Mobilization for
Adolescent Growth in our Communities (S.F.)
Type of Position: (Program Coordinator)
Salary Range: $45,000 (plus benefits package)
Bayview MAGIC, a collaboration of 42 youth and family agencies
in Bayview Hunters Point dedicated to creating positive outcomes for children
and families, is hiring an enthusiastic, resourceful and outcome-oriented
culturally competent program coordinator to oversee MAGIC's day-to-day work.
For more information about BMAGIC, please visit www.bayviewmagic.com.
Description and application information is included below. Deadline
for applications is July 18, 2005. MAGIC appreciates your help in assembling
strong group of candidates.
Please send your application to: info@bayviewmagic.com or Bayview MAGIC at PO Box 77313, San Francisco, CA 94107, no later than July 18, 2005. Please include a writing sample (may be a grant proposal you authored or other writing sample that exemplifies your ability to write). If you are selected for the position, you must be available to begin on August 8, 2005. Good luck!
Jason Yoder
SF Public Defender's Office
555 Seventh Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-4709
Phone: 415-553-9617
FAX: 415-553-9810
Email: Jason_Yoder@ci.sf.ca.us
********************************************
8. Volunteers Needed for Lambda Youth Project (Hayward)
Project Eden is looking for dedicated LGBTQ adults or allies of LGBTQ youth to volunteer in our Lambda Youth Project. Lambda activities include: support groups, educational presentations, participation in public events, and the Gay Prom. Volunteers are needed for our support group. Lambda Support Group meets every Tuesday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
For more information, call 510-247-8200.
Lambda Youth Project/Project Eden
A Program of Horizon Services, Inc.
22646 2nd Street
Hayward, CA 94541
********************************************
9. NEWS: Safe Schools for Whom?
June 23, 2005
Outword Northern California
(page 15)
After Five Years, California Schools Are Still Not Safe Places For LGBT Students
Guest commentary by Gerald O'Connor
Susan had "faggot" written on her locker, and it remained there for weeks before anyone at the school acted on her complaint to remove it. Personal items in her locker were vandalized with anti-gay language as well.
Sean endured an almost daily barrage of anti-gay comments from the student who sat in front of him in his English class, and his teacher did little or nothing.
Ryan, an out gay student, was harassed and had rocks thrown at him over a year
ago. He has yet to hear back about the status of his complaint.
Though not their real names, these are typical of the stories we have heard from students in Sacramento area schools. There are many more.
The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) serves as a perfect microcosm for all that has failed in implementing policies designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in K-12 schools. A year ago, and without opposition, the Board of Education of the SCUSD passed a resolution designed to protect LGBT students from discrimination and harassment. Formally submitted by Superintendent Maggie Carrillo Mejia, the resolution stated that the Board supports efforts to "provide schools that are safe places for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, gender non-conforming, and straight allied youth and adults."
To read the full article, visit:********************************************
10. NEWS: Report: Federal abstinence site contains inaccurate information
The Advocate
July 15, 2005
A report by several medical experts released this week says that a
federal Health and Human Services Web site designed to help parents discuss
abstinence with their teenage children contains a wealth of inaccurate information
and misleading content, The Washington Post reports. The Web site, at www.4parents.gov,
contains inaccurate information about condoms, sexual orientation, dangers associated
with oral sex, and single-parent households, according to the report, prepared
at the request of Democratic representative Henry Waxman from California. The
abundance of misinformation could lead to riskier sexual behaviors by some teens
or alienation among families, the experts say.
To read the full article, visit:
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail.asp?id=18830
Please note that during the months of July and August GSA Network News will be bi-monthly instead of weekly.
In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:
GSA Network Highlight
$100 WINNER - GSA Network Evaluation - Burton High School, SF
GSA Network Announcements
1. CENTRAL VALLEY GSA ACTIVIST CAMP 2005! Deadline extended - Apply
By July 15th, space is limited
2. A Faerie Prom on A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Fresno)
3. SF AIDS WALK: Meet other youth leaders & raise $$$ for a good cause with
GSA Network! (SF)
Other Announcements
4. San Diego Pride Parade (San Diego)
5 . Are you a single mom between the ages of 16-23? (SF)
6 . What are Do Something Grants?
7 . SMACK - LIP Day Camp 05' (Oakland)
8 . LYRIC Internship participants and trainers needed (SF)
9 . Support group for young women (SF)
10. NEWS: District Settles Suit Alleging Gay-Bashing
11. NEWS: School Settles With ACLU Over Anti-Gay Bias
12. NEWS: Keeping Focus on Victim in Retrial
13. NEWS: Fireworks arrive early as school board looks at marriage
+++++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK HIGHLIGHT+++++++++++++++
$100 WINNER - GSA Network Evaluation - Burton High School, SF
Congratulations to Burton High School in San Francisco. Your school was selected in our "Year-end evaluation raffle" and your GSA has won $100 for a kick-ass GSA party.
Thank you to everyone else that filled out an evaluation. The information is very helpful in planning our 2005-2006 school year.
If you have not taken the time to fill out an evaluation please take 5 mins.
to tell us how this past school year was.
Go to our website at www.gsanetwork.org/yearendeval/index.php
and fill out an evaluation for your school.
+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++
**********************************************
1. CENTRAL VALLEY GSA ACTIVIST CAMP 2005! Deadline extended - Apply
By July 15th, space is limited
The GSA Activist Camps are youth-planned and youth-led intense 3-day events featuring hardcore community building, skill-building, political education, and leadership training for GSA members. All youth who will be involved in a high school or middle school GSA next year are strongly encouraged to apply.
To apply for GSA Activist Camp for Summer 2005, visit www.gsanetwork.org/camp
Central Valley (Shaver Lake - the Central Valley's first ever Activist
Camp)
Date: July 27-29, 2005
Location: Tamarack - near Shaver Lake, CA.
Want more info?: robin@gsanetwork.org
*********************************************
2. A Faerie Prom on A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Fresno)
Community Link's Fresno Youth Alliance & the Gay Straight Alliance Network warmly invite everyone to our Lavender Youth Prom for high school students.
When: Saturday, July 9th, 6pm to 10 pm.
Where: The event will be held at the Big Red Church.
All ages welcome.
Dancing, Food & Beverages, Prom Pictures, King & Queen.
Cost is $5 - sliding scale.
For more info call GSA Network at (559) 453-9040 or Community Link at (559)
486-3464.
**********************************************
3. SF AIDS WALK: Meet other youth leaders & raise $$$ for a good
cause with GSA Network! (SF)
Want to hang out, meet folks from other GSAs, and help raise money for Bay Area HIV/AIDS service provider organizations? Then join the GSA Network walking team for the San Francisco AIDS Walk on Sunday, July 17, in Golden Gate Park! The walk is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:30 am, and the course is a little over 6 miles long.
If you would like to join our team or get more information on the walk, please go to www.aidswalk.net/sanfran/
To register to walk on the GSA Network team select the "register now"
tab. Click "join a team"and find our team under "GSA Network-9625."
Once you register to be part of our team we will send you information such as
where and when to meet up with us, what to bring, etc.
After you register to walk you can print out a sponsor form and ask friends,
family, other GSA members, etc. to sponsor you for the walk. When someone sponsors
you, this means that they agree to make a donation in your name. And, ask your
friends, family, and GSA members to sign up for our team and walk with us!
For more information, please contact Northern CA Program Coordinator Lai-San Seto at lai-san@gsanetwork.org or 415-552-4229.
++++++++++++++++ OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS ++++++++++++++++
GSA Network News is a publication of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Events,
resources, and news items listed under "Other Announcements" are not
sponsored or written by GSA Network, and do not necessarily reflect the views
and opinions of GSA Network.
*********************************************
4. San Diego Pride Parade (San Diego)
GLSEN San Diego will be marching in the San Diego Pride Parade on Saturday, July 30. GLSEN will be meeting at 10:30am at the Yellow School Bus near the DMV at the corner of Normal and Blaine in Hillcrest. GLSEN is encouraging as many youth, GSA members and allies as possible to march along side the bus. For more information contact Mick at comick1@aol.com.
*********************************************
5. Are you a single mom between the ages of 16-23? (SF)
Share Your Experiences, Your Struggle and Power:
$50 Cash Participation StipendRSVP Required:
Call Lateefah @ 415-420-7415
And leave message w/name and #
****Childcare Provided Upon Request****
Sponsored By the Mothers Learning Project for and by mothers
*********************************************
6. What are Do Something Grants?
Do Something awards $500 grants to change-makers and potential community leaders
age 18 and under who identify problems in their communities, and then create
game plans to do something to change their world. Young people can apply on
their own behalves, or on behalf of a group or team. Our Youth Advisory Council
reviews grant proposals twice each year and awards 10 grants every fall and
10 grants every spring. A total of $10,000 is given in grants annually.
Deadline for proposal submission is Sept. 2, 2005.
For more info go to: www.dosomething.org/awards/grants/?PHPSESSID=553612fc0c3b3579645aec5906ea0c10
********************************************
7. SMACK - LIP Day Camp 05' (Oakland)
-Conflict Resolution Course
-Expressive Arts Workshop
-Fashion Workshop
-Poetry & Lyrics Workshop
-First Aid & CPR Certification
-Life Goals & Personal Finance Workshop
-Spoken Word
-Music Workshop
-Fun & Recreation
July 12- August 17
Mon/Tues/Wed
12PM-4PM
For more information:
Shamont Hussey
Coordinator of Support Services
SMAAC Youth Center
1608 Webster Street, Oakland
(510) 834-9578
********************************************
8. LYRIC Internship participants and trainers needed (SF)
+ Paid Youth Internships Available
The Internship Program is a Job Readiness Training Program and Placement series
for LGBTQQ young people, 14-21 years
old, living in San Francisco. Learn things like resume writing, interview skills
and computer training. After the training, we'll place you in a paid internship
at LYRIC, or with other community organization, earning $8.50 an hour.
We really need young folks to participate who are interested in earning money, building skills and being placed in a 3-6 month internship. It's a chance for youth to learn job readiness skills in a safe, supportive environment, while building community and getting paid. + Internship Training Positions Available
Internship training focus on both fostering youth employment and youth development
skills, including job readiness skills, resume/cover letter writing, interviewing,
financial management, employment laws, computer training, job searches and more.
We're looking for a few good trainers who would like to work with queer youth,
around employment issues mostly, but also around
self-sufficiency, independence, money management, etc.
If you are you are interested either of the above opportunities, please contact
Mercedes at mercedes@lyric.org or
415-703-6150 x21.
*********************************************
9. Support group for young women (SF)
EVERY WEDNESDAY 5:30PM TO 7:30PM
534 PRECITA AVE / ALABAMA
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94110
DINNER PROVIDED AND A SAFE RIDE HOME BY AN YQ STAFF MEMBER
WEEKLY WORKSHOPS WILL FOCUS ON:
EMPLOYMENT* PEER PRESSURE* TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION" BABY THINK OVER DOLL'S"
*SAFE SEX *COMMUNICATION SKILLS*MENTORING *CASE MANAGEMENT *GRANT WRITING*JUVENILE
JUSTICE INFORMATION+ LIFE SKILLS
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS
-ANNUAL DINNER'S "HONORING THE WOMEN IN OUR LIFE'S" * VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN MONTH
-FUNDRAISING EVENTS
-COMMUNITY AWARENESS MONTH AND MUCH MORE
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JOANNA HERNANDEZ OR ALEJANDRA RODAS (415)
206-7756A PROGRAM OF MISSION NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER'S INC: FUNDED BY THE SAN FRANCISCO
JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENT
*********************************************
10. NEWS: District Settles Suit Alleging Gay-Bashing
The ACLU had sued L.A. Unified over purported harassment at Washington
Prep. Teachers, students must take anti-bias training.
By Rachana Rathi
Times Staff Writer
July 1, 2005
The ACLU of Southern California settled a federal lawsuit this week alleging that administrators, teachers and security guards at Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles harassed gay and lesbian students.
The settlement, reached Tuesday, requires the Los Angeles Unified School District to pay attorney fees and $2,000 to a campus club, as well as provide anti-bias training for Washington Prep teachers, staff and students, and for middle school students who will attend the high school.
The suit alleged that the school and the district allowed a climate "rife with hostility" toward gay students to exist on campus. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in October in U.S. District Court on behalf of two Washington Prep students and the campus' Gay-Straight Alliance Network club.
Faculty and student training sessions on diversity, discrimination and harassment related to actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity began in the spring - before the lawsuit was settled.
"All parties were in agreement that it was necessary to intervene on that campus right away because of the severity of the harassment," said Catherine Lhamon, co-counsel in the case for the ACLU of Southern California. "At this point, we're very enthusiastic the school and district are both taking serious steps to make Washington Prep a more welcoming place for all of its students and staff."
To read the full article, visit: www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-washprep1jul01,1,960162.story?coll=la-headlines-california
********************************************
11. NEWS: School Settles With ACLU Over Anti-Gay Bias
Daily Journal
Jun. 30, 2005
By Susan McRae
Daily Journal Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES - The ACLU has reached a settlement with a South Los Angeles high school that calls for a series of training sessions with teachers, staff and students aimed at preventing harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.
The settlement was reached late Monday with the Los Angeles Unified School District on behalf of Washington Preparatory High School students and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.
"I think it is a trend of school districts not to allow gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender students to express themselves and to push them back in the closet and not talk about it," said Christine Sun, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
"What's wonderful about this settlement is that it addresses the situation head-on and acknowledges gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender students and that they should be accepted as part of the school community," added Sun, who was in Bakersfield taking depositions on behalf of a Kern County high school over similar issues.
Washington Preparatory High School administrators were attending graduation ceremonies and unavailable to comment. A district representative, Deanne Neiman of the Education Equity Compliance Office, noted that the district has had a long-standing commitment of protecting students against gender- and sexual-orientation bias through training and education.
"At Washington Prep, this settlement agreement augments the comprehensive training and activities already under way at the school and in the district as a whole," Neiman said.
The suit, filed last year in U.S. District Court for the Central District, in Los Angeles, on behalf of two students and a school counselor, says that school administrators and the district operated in "a climate rife with hostility toward and discrimination against students and staff based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation." Ramirez v. Los Angeles Unified School District, CV04-8923 (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 28, 2004).
Last summer, the complaint states, some of the students and members of the school's It's OK Club, a gay-nongay alliance, filed administrative complaints with the district.
Response by the school and district was "so blatantly half-hearted and ineffective" that it only exacerbated the harassment and discriminatory treatment because of an unwillingness to discipline and counsel those responsible, according to the complaint.
So the ACLU followed up in October with a federal civil rights suit.
In one instance, the complaint states, a teacher told two female students kissing goodbye at their lockers that she was "going to call your mama and tell her you're a lesbian and a sinner."
Another teacher told a lesbian student that her ways were hateful and "unholy," the complaint says. A coach told students that the school's It's OK Club meant it's OK to be a "faggot," the complaint states.
In another instance, the assistant principal ordered a school counselor not to distribute any material with homosexual content and issued a memo directing students to return a novel the counselor had distributed about an African-American gay man's high-school reunion.
"The intentional discrimination, hostile environment and deliberate indifference toward Washington Prep students and staff who are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual, and who do not conform to sex stereotypes causes substantial injury to plaintiffs," the complaint states.
The settlement includes mandatory daylong faculty training on diversity, discrimination and harassment, focused primarily on issues pertaining to actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
In addition, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality, another advocacy group, will hold classroom training sessions and assemblies for high-school students and middle-school students preparing to enter high school that encourage diversity and aim to eliminate discrimination and harassment.
"History has shown that ignoring bias never works and only silences the voices that need most to be heard," Sun said.
"Other school districts have tried to hide sexual-orientation and
gender-identity issues as too controversial," she added. "So we are
pleased that [the district] has chosen to face these issues head-on and is working
to create a better environment for students at Washington Prep."
© 2005 Daily Journal Corporation. All rights reserved.
*********************************************
12. NEWS: Keeping Focus on Victim in Retrial
Transgender advocates publicize the details of the latest proceeding
against three men accused in the slaying of teenager Gwen Araujo.
By John M. Glionna
LA Times
July 5, 2005
HAYWARD, Calif. - Most days Connie Champagne is there in the courtroom, scrutinizing the evidence presented in the grisly murder of transgender teen Gwen Araujo - killed in 2002 by three men who said she had deceived them into believing she was biologically female.
Champagne never knew the victim and only met her family after the slaying. But the anti-violence advocate wants every one of the details of the 17-year-old's killing to become public. Her regular blog tracks developments in the East Bay trio's retrial, which started last month and could continue all summer.
A program director for the San Francisco nonprofit group Community United Against Violence, Champagne calls this a different trial than the first one, which ended in a mistrial in 2004: "Last time, attorneys tried to drag Gwen's character through the mud. But now there's none of that trans-phobia and trans-ignorance because they know the jury won't buy it."
There's indeed a changed atmosphere surrounding this second proceeding against Jason Cazares, Michael Magidson and Jose Merel, all 25. The three men, close friends and drinking cohorts who often called themselves "The Three Stooges," face murder and hate-crime charges in the killing, which occurred early Oct. 4, 2002, inside a dingy tract house Merel shared with his two brothers.
To read the full article, visit:
www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-gwen5jul05,1,4532481.story?coll=la-news-state
*********************************************
13. NEWS: Fireworks arrive early as school board looks at marriage
By Kyle Jorrey
Thousand Oaks Acorn
Ninth-grade health textbooks in Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) will define marriage as an agreement of partners-not just a man and a woman-after action at Tuesday night's board of education meeting.
Trustees listened to nearly three emotion-filled hours of passionate public debate on the issue of whether or not CVUSD should approve a new ninthgrade health textbook that doesn't define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Board members decided to follow the original advice of the committee that reviewed the books.
To read the full article, visit:
www.toacorn.com/news/2005/0630/Front_Page/002.html