GSA Network News archives

GSA Network News Email Archive - November 2007

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November 28, 2007

In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:

GSA Network Highlight
Will You Take the Lead and Keep the Promise to Stop AIDS?
Go directly to GSA Network highlight

GSA Network Announcements
1. eQuality Scholarships - Apply Today!
2. YES is Almost Here - Register Today!
3. Get GSA Network T-shirts, Buttons & More!
4. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!
Go directly to GSA Network announcements

Other Announcements
Southern California
5. Night of Bad Before X-Mas Performance Arts 2007 (Los Angeles)
Go directly to Southern California listings

Central Valley
6. Call for Interviews (Central Valley)
Go directly to Central Valley listings

Northern California
7. The Center Announces Youth Internships for 2008 (San Francisco)
8. Jewish Youth for Community Action Info Night (Berkeley)
9. Apply for Revolution 101 (Bay Area)
Go directly to Northern California listings

National
10. Help Future Generations of LGBTIQQ Youth - Take A Survey
11. Apply for the 2008 Student Of Color Organizing Conference!
12. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training
Go directly to National listings

Jobs
13. Youth Program Coordinator
14. Policy Advocate
Go directly to Jobs listings

+++++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK HIGHLIGHT+++++++++++++++

Will You Take the Lead and Keep the Promise to Stop AIDS?

World AIDS Day has been commemorated and observed by a variety of community organizations, governments and charities around the world. It is a day to remember those that we have lost due to this dangerous pandemic, and it is also a day to renew our vow to stop the spread of HIV.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 is “Take the Lead - Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” According to the official World AIDS Day website, http://www.worldaidscampaign.info, over 5700 people died each day from AIDS-related illnesses in 2007. Over 6800 people are still being infected with HIV daily, about 1200 of whom are children under 15 and about 2900 are women 15 years and older. The infection rates in young people ages 15-24 remain frighteningly high.

What can your GSA do?
- Begin raising awareness on your campus by wearing the trademark red ribbons (these are really cheap and easy to make!). Since World Aids Day falls on a Saturday this year, plan to wear ribbons on Friday or during the following week.
- Collaborate with local HIV prevention agencies and hold safer sex workshops, discussion panels, and other events to begin the conversation as to how your school can do its part to stop the spread of HIV.
- Ask local HIV prevention agencies to come and hold a “testing day” at your school to test for HIV.
- Hold a fundraiser in coalition with other school clubs and then donate the money to a charity dedicated to preventing HIV.

Many more ideas are listed on the official World AIDS Day website http://www.worldaidscampaign.info. You’ll also find resources, posters, and other materials to help make your event more visible.

World AIDS Day is this coming December 1st. Will YOU take the lead and keep the promise this day, and every other day of the year?

For more information regarding World AIDS Day and resources, please visit these websites:
http://www.avert.org/worldaid.htm
http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/index.php/en/wac/world_aids_day__1/world_aids_day_2007
http://www.thebody.com/hotlines/calif.html - A listing of HIV prevention agencies in California

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+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++

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1. eQuality Scholarships - Apply Today!

The eQuality Scholarship Collaborative awards scholarships to graduating high-school seniors in northern and central California for their service to the LGBT community. In 2008, 10 or more $5000 scholarships will be awarded to assist with post-secondary educational expenses - tuition, books, and supplies.

Applications are available from high school guidance counselors throughout Northern and Central California.

Applicants must:
- be graduating from a high school in northern or central California;
- have applied to an accredited post-secondary institution - college, university, or trade school.

Completed applications, including transcripts and a letter of recommendation, must be postmarked no later than February 16, 2008.

The Collaborative is the joint effort of a group of individuals and organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Organizational members include PG&E PrideNetwork, KP Pride, Genentech Out & Equal, Ally Action, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, and GSA Network.

For more information or to download an application, visit the Collaborative's web site at http://www.allyaction.org/scholarship.

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2. YES is Almost Here - Register Today!

UPDATE: For those of you who want to present a workshop, the deadline to submit a proposal has been extended to November 30, 2007

GSA Network Presents the 2007 Youth Empowerment Summit!
Saturday, December 8 - San Francisco, CA

YES is a FREE conference for LGBTQQI youth activists and their allies who are dedicated to defeating homophobia and transphobia, and creating safe and supporting schools for everyone. The target audience is high school and middle school students, teachers, GSA advisors and the community. The YES conference is a chance for LGBTQQI and straight ally youth to network and enjoy free workshops on activism and topics related to queer life.

Registration is now on-line at http://gsanetwork.org/yes

For presenter and community table faire info, please send your organization's information to Marco Castro-Bojorquez at mailto:marco@gsanetwork.org or call 415-552-4229.

YES 2007!
Who: LGBTQQI youth activists and their allies
Where: Everett Middle School, 450 Church Street, San Francisco,CA
When: Saturday, December 8, 2007 - 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Cost: FREE, including breakfast and lunch!
What else: The after-YES dance will take place from 5:00-8:00pm at the Everett cafeteria!!

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3. Get GSA Network T-shirts, Buttons & More!

Another GSA Network T-shirt hot off the press... Cafepress that is. Do you just love our GSA Power postcard? Well, now it's a shirt. Buy it today and help support GSA Network!

Order one of our three New T-shirts and help support GSA Network:
* GSA Power
* A is for Ally
* Activist
* Male, Female, Other / Neither / All of the above

Also in stock:
* I heart GSA
* I HELLA Heart GSA
* and our classic GSA Organizing Shirt

These new designs can ONLY be purchased at our online store. For every item you buy GSA Network gets a small donation ($3-5) to keep doing all the good work we do!!!

So, help support GSAs and look cool doing it.

To Buy Today: http://www.cafepress.com/gsanetwork

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4. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!

Before you plan any events for your GSA, remember to register or re-register your group with the GSA Network. Do it NOW to make sure you receive our student resource sheets, campaign resources, and notifications of future GSA Network or LGBT-related events. (Mailings will go out only to California GSAs in middle and high schools.)

Register online at http://www.gsanetwork.org/register/index.php

If you have any questions or concerns contact:
mailto:info@gsanetwork.org
415-552-4229

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qteam presents:

The Night of Bad Before X-Mas Performance Arts 2007

Come join us for a night full of performances, visual art, spoken word, music, fun, culture, resistance, and celebration!

Featuring radical trans and queer youth of color performing and displaying their creativity, sharing their stories, dancing through the rhythms of their hearts and expressing the depths of their minds and souls through political, fun, and bad performances.

Exploring and celebrating our identities, struggles, and experience:

NOB is bad cuz it's rad

Dates: Friday 12/07 @ 7pm and Saturday 12/15 @ 6pm
Locations: * 12/07 @ IDEPSCA Day Labor Center
1813 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
* 12/15 @ Bienestar-East Los Angeles
5326 E. Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90022

$5-500 Donation
No one will be turned away for lack of funds

qteam hosts Night of Bad to provide a safe physical and political space for queer and trans youth of color to express themselves, their stories, their struggles, and their spirit, through a multi-medium cultural show. By providing this community space, we shift cultures among queer and trans youth of color communities, one bad performance at a time.

Your presence and support will help us continue organizing successful and fun events by and for trans and queer youth of color. If you cannot attend, or to simply show your continuous support feel free to donate to qteam by mailing us a check; make it out to Community Partners FBO qteam.

Contact us for more information:
mailto:qteam@hotmail.com
323.581.3554
http://myspace.com/q_team
P.O. Box 1448
Cudahy, CA 90201

qteam is a radical trans and queer youth of color multi-issue organizing collective for humyn rights and social justice.

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Central Valley
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6. Call for Interviews (Central Valley)

GroundSpark, formerly Women’s Educational Media, is looking for teenagers to interview for their current documentary Straightlaced, which features teenagers talking about the homophobia and gender role expectations that are so prominent in their lives.

The producers are looking for teens who have experienced physical violence because they are LGBT, perceived to be LGBT, or do not conform to gender roles and would like to share those experiences with other teens with the hope of reducing violence.

Straightlaced will be used in educational settings to open up dialogue among teens about the ways that homophobia affects all students, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Adults working with teens, or teens themselves, should contact Producer Sue Chen at 1800-405-3322 or mailto:schen@groundspark.org. More information about Straightlaced is available at http://www.groundspark.org.

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Northern California
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7. The Center Announces Youth Internships for 2008 (San Francisco)

If you are a young person between the ages of 18 and 24, and you have a strong interest in conducting outreach and organizing youth in LGBT community, consider applying for one of the Center's youth internship positions. As part of this internship, you will help organize the 2nd annual San Francisco Queer Youth Prom. The internships are a 20 hour-a-week commitment and lasts six months (Jan.-June, 2008). The pay is $13.00/hr.

For application information, please contact Nicole at 415.865.5530 or mailto:nicoler@sfcenter.org or Joel at 415.865.5560 or mailto:joell@sfcenter.org.

The deadline for applications is November 30.

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8. Jewish Youth for Community Action Info Night (Berkeley)

Do you want to:
- Build an awesome tight-knit youth-run community with other teens who care about social justice?
- Learn, build, and practice leadership skills?
- Explore the connections between Judaism and activism?

JYCA is a youth empowerment program open to all high school aged teens. We encourage and create a safe space for all sorts of diverse folks. Everyone is welcome including Jews, non-Jews, Jews from mixed faith families, and non-practicing Jews.

COME TO OUR PROGRAM INFORMATION NIGHT! (for interested youth)
Sunday December 2nd 7-9pm
JCC of the East Bay
1414 Walnut St, Berkeley

The event is accessible and free. Come learn all about JYCA- meet the staff, meet the youth and have all your
questions answered!

For more information check out http://www.jyca-justice.org or email mailto:jycatalia@gmail.com or mailto:jycasara@gmail.com

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9. Apply for Revolution 101 (Bay Area)

Listen Up: Revolution 101 is back in full effect!!!!!

What is Rev 101?
Revolution 101 is SOULs (http://www.schoolofunityandliberation.org) political education series that focuses on revolutionary theory and practice. The series seeks to explore lessons and models developed by our revolutionary minded ancestors, and create space to apply those lessons and models to our work today. The series is broken down into 3 components: Structures of Oppression, Histories of Resistance, and Tools for Resistance. This time around we're running it as an 8-session course, beginning mid January 08 and running through mid March 08 (wrapping up in time for our National Youth Organizing Training Institute!). Exact dates will be determined by participants' schedules. It is a free course, and participants get a reader. We ask for a donation of $ 10-20 for the printing of the reader.

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National
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10. Help Future Generations of LGBTIQQ Youth - Take A Survey

Are you between the ages of 13 and 21?

Do you sometimes question your sexual orientation, your gender identity?

Do you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender / transsexual, intersex / hermaphrodite, or queer / questioning?

Do you use... LGBTIQQ-oriented forums . chatrooms . mailing lists . blog rings . networking / dating sites . or other LGBTIQQ-oriented online communities for youth, including Facebook and MySpace?

Then you could help future generations of LGBTIQQ youth across the United States!

Help to provide information about the needs of LGBTIQQ youth of the technological generation by taking the following quick, anonymous and secure survey:

Click here, and forward to all your LGBTIQQ-identified friends !
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cqB_2bsqIvVpwBnIQf_2bUzT4A_3d_3d

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11. Apply for the 2008 Student Of Color Organizing Conference!

GLSEN is pleased to announce our fifth Student of Color Organizing Conference to be held on January 18th - January 21st 2008 in Atlanta. The Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Conference, which has been held for the past four years, is one of the most important components of our student organizing work. This event, made possible by a generous grant from the Time Warner Foundation, will gather Middle and High School Students of color from all over the country during the Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. The mission of this weekend is to provide networking and skills building opportunities to empower young people of color to organize and become engaged in safer schools work.

Throughout this weekend we will be providing students with an opportunity to: network with organizers across the country, create action plans for organizing in their communities and look at their work with an anti-oppression lens. The weekend will also provide an opportunity for students and adult allies to network with one another.

Each student, representing diverse communities and from different parts of the country, will arrive at the retreat with an idea for a project which would combine safe schools organizing and communities of color and/or students of color. By the end of the weekend, each student will leave with a plan, using the new information, networks and skill-building from the SOCO Retreat to make their projects come to life!

GLSEN will cover the transportation, lodging and meals throughout the entire weekend. Students will be selected based on their community involvement, safe schools work, organizing background and their commitment to social change. If you are - or know any High/Middle school student who would like to be considered to attend the summit, please submit an application to us no later than November 30th, 2007.

A complete application must include - a letter of reference/recommendation from a teacher/mentor, a registration on http://www.studentorganizing.org, a completed application form with essays and availability during the weekend of January 18th - 21st, 2008. We have a limited number of spaces available, so please apply soon! You can also apply at http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2003.html!

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12. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training

THE INSTITUTE is a five-day intensive training on youth organizing, designed to meet the needs of leading youth organizers from around the country. This youth organizing "boot camp" will give 40 young organizers a solid and systematic orientation to the fundamentals of youth organizing including: base-building, leadership development, campaign development, and organizational development.

THE INSTITUTE has been designed to play a role similar to the training intensives run by national organizing networks for their new staff organizers, but focusing on youth organizations. Our training model reflects youth organizing's specific and inspiring organizing methodology, including its democratic practices, its emphasis on political education, its integration of culture and its prioritization of leadership development.

THE INSTITUTE is led by SOUL (the School Of Unity & Liberation) in partnership with youth organizing groups and intermediaries from around the country. SOUL is a movement-building center in Oakland that has been running political education and organizing trainings for young people from oppressed communities since 1996.

THE INSTITUTE will be from March 22nd-March 28, 2007 in Detroit Michigan. For more information contact Akua Jackson @ (510) 451-5466 x. 312 or mailto:akua@schoolofunityandliberation.org.

Jobs
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13. Youth Program Coordinator

JOB TITLE: Youth Program Coordinator
REPORTS TO: Director of Community Programs
STATUS: Regular/Full – Time

GENERAL SUMMARY: Under the direction of the Director of Community Programs develops and implements innovative programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and questioning youth. The Youth Program Coordinator(s) work as part of a youth services team to provide programs for queer and questioning youth in the areas of health and wellness, arts/culture, economic empowerment and recreation. Services are tailored for youth 17 and under and for homeless and/or marginally housed transitional age youth (18 – 24).

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
• Coordinate programs for LGBT and questioning youth including one or more of the following activities: facilitation and support for youth community organizing projects, coordination of drop in activities, coordination of workshops, provision of crisis intervention and linkage/referral services.
• Provide peer based crisis intervention services, information and referrals to youth participants linking them to Center programming and external city and bay area wide services.
• Maintain external relationships and build collaborative activities with community based organizations serving youth.
• Develop and implement outreach strategies to ensure program promotion and participation.
• Work with the Director of Community Programs to develop evaluation tools which measure participant satisfaction and outcome objectives. Administer evaluation tools, including tracking data and basic statistical analysis.
• Provide reports, statistics, written narratives and other administrative documentation required by Director of Community Programs.
• Provide training and supervision of youth program volunteers and interns.
General Program Duties
• Actively participate as a member of the program team, including provision of back up for other program staff as needed.
• Other duties assigned by Director of Community Programs
• Occasional work on evenings and week-end hours will be required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
1. Commitment to the mission of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. Experience and commitment to working in a multicultural environment.
2. Minimum one year experience in working with LGBTQ youth and demonstrated ability to work with youth 17 and under and homeless and/or marginally housed transitional age youth (18 – 24).
3. Strong communication and conflict resolution skills, ability to maintain confidentiality.
4. Excellent customer-service abilities. Outgoing and engaging personality.
5. Experience working collaboratively with multiple agencies desired. Strong familiarity with San Francisco non-profits especially youth service providers desired.
6. Ability to work independently, collaboratively with supervisor or as part of a team in a fast paced environment.
7. Criminal background check and TB test will be required if employment is offered.
8. Computer/PC literacy, including Internet proficiency, FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Office software and networked systems.
9. Fluency in English is required. Bilingual or ASL skills highly desired.
10. The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and lift objects up to 30 pounds. The employee frequently is required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.

THE SAN FRANCISCO LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
The mission of The Center is to develop programs and services that welcome the entire diversity of the LGBT community; unite our community across lines of age, race, gender and economics; give visibility to the history and culture of all the diverse parts of our community; foster discussion and planning for our political and cultural future; and nurture new and start-up organizations to meet emerging community needs.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
The SF LGBT Community Center is an Equal Opportunity employer. We actively seek applications from lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, women, transgendered individuals, people of color, people living with HIV/AIDS and/or other disabilities.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Submit resume and cover letter explaining your interests and qualifications to:
The SF LGBT Community Center
1800 Market Street
San Francisco CA 94102
Email: mailto:jobs@sfcenter.org
Or fax to:(415) 865-5501

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE
DEADLINE: Open until filled.

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14. Policy Advocate

The Transgender Law Center (http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org), founded in 2002, is a multi-disciplinary social justice organization working throughout California to ensure that all of us are able to fully and freely express our gender identities. Our Transforming Institutions Project is one of TLC's core means of achieving this goal. Through community organizing, public policy and media advocacy, and public education, TLC engages with institutions in order to make them more transgender friendly. Currently, our work is divided up into programs related to: economic empowerment, health care access, leadership development, safe bathrooms, student safety, and transitioning the bar. TLC also works on other important policy issues on an ad-hoc basis.

The Policy Advocate will work primarily on expanding our health care access work into different counties around California, but also on our projects related to leadership development, safe bathrooms, and student safety. The Policy Advocate will work in San Francisco with TLC staff, consultants, partners, and volunteers to carry out these transformative social change initiatives. Because TLC is a statewide organization, this position will include some amount of travel throughout California (including availability to travel on weekends).

Responsibilities:
· Coordinate TLC's statewide organizing and advocacy campaign to increase access to transgender specific health care in county and community clinics. In addition to assisting with existing efforts, the Advocate will help expand TLC's existing county specific organizing and advocacy efforts into several additional counties.
· Work with students, parents, student safety advocates, and school personnel to advance adoption and implementation of California's Student Safety law on local and statewide level.
· Continue TLC's ground-breaking work on bathroom safety through educating business owners, public officials, employers and educators about need for supportive policies related to bathroom use and gender-neutral bathrooms.
· Participate in expanding TLC's leadership development program beyond our annual work on the California Transgender Leadership Summit, including possibly initiating a year-long leadership fellows program.
· Translate our policy and advocacy work into written publications similar to Beyond the Binary and Peeing in Peace (both are available on our website).

Required Qualifications:
· Demonstrable cultural competency in working with transgender communities.
· Minimum of two years of experience in a paid or volunteer position advocating for the rights of transgender people or other underserved communities.
· Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write clearly, speak in public, and facilitate large and small meetings. Demonstrated experience tailoring messages to different types of audiences is also necessary.
· A degree in law, public policy, public health, social change OR substantial and related real world experience.
· Proven ability to work with a group to plan and implement social change strategies to address a pressing problem of systemic discrimination, isolation, and/or oppression.
· Ability to work without close supervision on both assigned and self-initiated tasks.
· Commitment to a multi-disciplinary approach to social change.

Preferred Qualifications:
· Spanish proficiency and experience working with native Spanish speaking activists and community members.
· Experience creating publications that explain policy proposals in easily understood language.
· Experience creating and implementing media campaigns to support public policy efforts.

Annual salary range: $37,000 - $42,000 DOE

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume as Word attachments to Kristina Wertz at mailto:kristina@transgenderlawcenter.org. Competitive candidates will be invited for first-round, telephone interviews beginning sometime after December 15th. Feel free to email questions not answered by this posting to the same address. No phone calls, please.

Anticipated start date: February 1, 2008 (earlier and later start dates will be considered).

Transgender women and people of color are encouraged to apply. The Transgender Law Center is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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November 21, 2007

In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:

GSA Network Highlight
Central Valley GSAs Honor Transgender Day of Remembrance in Different Ways
Go directly to GSA Network highlight

GSA Network Announcements
1. Register for YES 2007!
2. Need Something to Wear? Buy a GSA Power T-shirt!
3. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!!
Go directly to GSA Network announcements

Other Announcements
Southern California
4. Call for Interviews (Southern California)
Go directly to Southern California listings

Northern California
5. The Center Announces Youth Internships for 2008 (San Francisco)
6. Apply for Revolution 101 (Bay Area)
Go directly to Northern California listings

National
7. Apply for the 2008 Student Of Color Organizing Conference
8. Premiere of It's STILL Elementary
9. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training
Go directly to National listings

Jobs
10. Policy Advocate, Full-Time
11. Jobs with the Direct Action & Research Training Center
Go directly to Jobs listings

+++++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK HIGHLIGHT+++++++++++++++

Central Valley GSAs Honor Transgender Day of Remembrance in Different Ways

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of transgender people who might otherwise be forgotten.

In the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a newly formed GSA club has worked hard to become socially active, while also not forgetting the importance of educating their peers. Their President, Xavier Gomez, said that at first, students tried to find a connection with him, because they were secretly looking for a place to fit in as well, and being LGBT and not having a place at school where they could go to be themselves and meet other people who are LGBT and allies of students who are LGBT was very difficult. As the club started to form, Xavier saw something that he thought was truly needed. Now, after the first couple of meetings, they have found a place of connection and have participated in Ally Week.

This week, they will complete their newest event - participating in Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDR). Gomez stated, “we are passing out cards about Transgender Day of Remembrance, about our GSA club, what our mission is and the benefits we bring to Sierra High School. Along with recognizing the terrible tragedies that TDR represents, this event will allow us the opportunity to give out stickers, armbands, and ask our teachers that support it to let us have about five minutes of class to talk about this important event.”

Down the foothills and into the city, a former GSA network club member, Chris Martinez, and current GSA Network youth board member and GSA club member at McLane High School, Chesley Ramirez, helped other youth community members plan a community-wide TDR event at Café Fresno. This event allowed students from area schools the opportunity to plan a larger event around TDR, even though they were not able to get a club event together at their school. The event was marked with an open mic, poetry readings, music and general youth fellowship.

So, if you’re asking yourself why didn’t I/we plan an event for Transgender Day of Remembrance? The answer is – it’s not too late. Now, is the time to push your school and community “beyond the binary” and focus on not only fighting homophobia on your campus, but also fighting transphobia.

What can be done to educate and fight against transphobia?
• Candlelight Vigils / Marches
• Discussion forums with local activists, politicians, or school officials
• Performance Actions
• Poetry or spoken word art readings
• Visual representation of the number of deaths with:
-Cardboard Tomb Stones of Remembered People
-Paper Cutouts of Remembered People
-Body Outline Chalking of Remembered People
• Teach-Ins and Speakers Bureaus
• Art / Photography Displays
• Movie screenings (such as “Boys Don’t Cry”)
• Trans 101 trainings for staff or any interested people
• Anything else that reflects the grounding principles of breaking gender boundaries

Some ideas for addressing larger issues within the school or community include:
• Adding “gender identity and gender expression” to the school’s handbook
• Having a Trans 101 training for faculty and staff
• Having some restrooms be gender neutral and available to people of all genders to use
• Educating the school’s GSA or diversity group on trans issues and how to be better trans allies

This information was adapted from materials published by the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a project of Gender Education and Advocacy. For more information, check out the website: http://www.gender.org/remember/day/what.html. Also check out our Beyond the Binary campaign manual at http://www.gsanetwork.org/resources.

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+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++

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1. Register for YES 2007!

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2. Need Something to Wear? Buy a GSA Power T-shirt!

Another GSA Network T-shirt hot off the press... Cafepress that is. Do you just love our GSA Power postcard? Well, now it's a shirt. Buy it today and help support GSA Network!

Order one of our three New T-shirts and help support GSA Network:
* GSA Power
* A is for Ally
* Activist
* Male, Female, Other / Neither / All of the above

Also in stock:
* I heart GSA
* I HELLA Heart GSA
* and our classic GSA Organizing Shirt

These new designs can ONLY be purchased at our online store. For every item you buy GSA Network gets a small donation ($3-5) to keep doing all the good work we do!!!

So, help support GSAs and look cool doing it.

To Buy Today: http://www.cafepress.com/gsanetwork

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3. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!!

If you have any questions or concerns contact:
mailto:info@gsanetwork.org
415-552-4229

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Straightlaced will be used in educational settings to open up dialogue among teens about the ways that homophobia affects all students, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

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Northern California
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5. The Center Announces Youth Internships for 2008 (San Francisco)

If you are a young person between the ages of 18 and 24, and you have a strong interest in conducting outreach and organizing youth in LGBT community, consider applying for one of the Center's youth internship positions. As part of this internship, you will help organize the 2nd annual San Francisco Queer Youth Prom. The internships are a 20 hour-a-week commitment and lasts six months (Jan.-June, 2008). The pay is $13.00/hr.

For application information, please contact Nicole at 415.865.5530 or mailto:nicoler@sfcenter.org or Joel at 415.865.5560 or mailto:joell@sfcenter.org. The deadline for applications is November 30.

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6. Apply for Revolution 101 (Bay Area)

Listen Up: Revolution 101 is back in full effect!!!!!

What is Rev 101?
Revolution 101 is SOULs (http://www.schoolofunityandliberation.org) political education series that focuses on revolutionary theory and practice. The series seeks to explore lessons and models developed by our revolutionary minded ancestors, and create space to apply those lessons and models to our work today. The series is broken down into 3 components: Structures of Oppression, Histories of Resistance, and Tools for Resistance. This time around we're running it as an 8-session course, beginning mid January 08 and running through mid March 08 (wrapping up in time for our National Youth Organizing Training Institute!). Exact dates will be determined by participants' schedules. It is a free course, and participants get a reader. We ask for a donation of $ 10-20 for the printing of the reader.

How Can I Be Down Wit the Get Down?
You can simply apply online at http://www.schoolofunityandliberation.org. Applications are due by DECEMBER 21, 2007! We will accept 15 folks, so get your app in early cause spots fill up quick like church seats on Sunday morning! YOU MUST BE COMMITTED TO THIS CLASS, so don't take up space that you can't fill. We do offer childcare and translation, and our space is BART and wheelchair accessible.

Who Is Cool Enough for School?
Anyone and everyone! We accept apps from all party people, but SOUL prioritizes the participation of people of color, working class people, differently abled people, queer and trans folks, and women! So this is the deal, please either apply if you've never taken the course, or send to someone else to apply. If there is someone you have in mind that is perfect for this program, send me (Liz at mailto:liz@schoolofunityandliberation.org) their contact and I'll make sure to do a follow up w/ them organizer style!

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National
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7. Apply for the 2008 Student Of Color Organizing Conference!

GLSEN is pleased to announce our fifth Student of Color Organizing Conference to be held on January 18th - January 21st 2008 in Atlanta. The Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Conference, which has been held for the past four years, is one of the most important components of our student organizing work. This event, made possible by a generous grant from the Time Warner Foundation, will gather Middle and High School Students of color from all over the country during the Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. The mission of this weekend is to provide networking and skills building opportunities to empower young people of color to organize and become engaged in safer schools work.

Throughout this weekend we will be providing students with an opportunity to: network with organizers across the country, create action plans for organizing in their communities and look at their work with an anti-oppression lens. The weekend will also provide an opportunity for students and adult allies to network with one another.

Each student, representing diverse communities and from different parts of the country, will arrive at the retreat with an idea for a project which would combine safe schools organizing and communities of color and/or students of color. By the end of the weekend, each student will leave with a plan, using the new information, networks and skill-building from the SOCO Retreat to make their projects come to life!

GLSEN will cover the transportation, lodging and meals throughout the entire weekend. Students will be selected based on their community involvement, safe schools work, organizing background and their commitment to social change. If you are - or know any High/Middle school student who would like to be considered to attend the summit, please submit an application to us no later than November 30th, 2007.

A complete application must include - a letter of reference/recommendation from a teacher/mentor, a registration on http://www.studentorganizing.org, a completed application form with essays and availability during the weekend of January 18th - 21st, 2008. We have a limited number of spaces available, so please apply soon! You can also apply at http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2003.html!

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8. Premiere of It's STILL Elementary

Join safe school activists from around the country for the Washington, D.C. premiere of It's STILL Elementary on Wednesday, November 28!
Please join GroundSpark (formerly Women's Educational Media) for the the screening of our new retrospective documentary It's STILL Elementary. Directed by Academy Award-winner and GroundSpark's executive director, Debra Chasnoff, produced by Chasnoff and Sue Chen and co-directed by Johnny Synmons, It's STILL Elementary marks the 10th anniversary of of the landmark documentary, It's Elementary--Talking About Gay Issues In School, originally produced by Chasnoff and Helen S. Cohen.

Come see the inspiring impact of being exposed to LGBT-inclusive education on some of the students and teachers who were in the original film, the fascinating history of why the film got made, the response it provoked from the religious right, and the questions it raises about the national safe schools movement today.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
6:00 PM - Doors open for reception
6:30 PM - Film screening
8:00 PM - Light dinner reception

National Education Association Auditorium
1201 16th Street, NW at M Street
Washington, D.C.

For more information please visit: http://www.groundspark.org/newsletters/wdc_ise_reminder.html.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please go to http://www.groundspark.org or call 1-800-405-3322 to register. Hosted by The Respect For All Project, National Education Association, and the National Safe Schools Roundtable.

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9. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training

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Jobs
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10. Policy Advocate, Full-Time

The Transgender Law Center (http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org), founded in 2002, is a multi-disciplinary social justice organization working throughout California to ensure that all of us are able to fully and freely express our gender identities. Our Transforming Institutions Project is one of TLC's core means of achieving this goal. Through community organizing, public policy and media advocacy, and public education, TLC engages with institutions in order to make them more transgender friendly. Currently, our work is divided up into programs related to: economic empowerment, health care access, leadership development, safe bathrooms, student safety, and transitioning the bar. TLC also works on other important policy issues on an ad-hoc basis.

The Policy Advocate will work primarily on expanding our health care access work into different counties around California, but also on our projects related to leadership development, safe bathrooms, and student safety. The Policy Advocate will work in San Francisco with TLC staff, consultants, partners, and volunteers to carry out these transformative social change initiatives. Because TLC is a statewide organization, this position will include some amount of travel throughout California (including availability to travel on weekends).

Responsibilities:
· Coordinate TLC's statewide organizing and advocacy campaign to increase access to transgender specific health care in county and community clinics. In addition to assisting with existing efforts, the Advocate will help expand TLC's existing county specific organizing and advocacy efforts into several additional counties.
· Work with students, parents, student safety advocates, and school personnel to advance adoption and implementation of California's Student Safety law on local and statewide level.
· Continue TLC's ground-breaking work on bathroom safety through educating business owners, public officials, employers and educators about need for supportive policies related to bathroom use and gender-neutral bathrooms.
· Participate in expanding TLC's leadership development program beyond our annual work on the California Transgender Leadership Summit, including possibly initiating a year-long leadership fellows program.
· Translate our policy and advocacy work into written publications similar to Beyond the Binary and Peeing in Peace (both are available on our website).

Required Qualifications:
· Demonstrable cultural competency in working with transgender communities.
· Minimum of two years of experience in a paid or volunteer position advocating for the rights of transgender people or other underserved communities.
· Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write clearly, speak in public, and facilitate large and small meetings. Demonstrated experience tailoring messages to different types of audiences is also necessary.
· A degree in law, public policy, public health, social change OR substantial and related real world experience.
· Proven ability to work with a group to plan and implement social change strategies to address a pressing problem of systemic discrimination, isolation, and/or oppression.
· Ability to work without close supervision on both assigned and self-initiated tasks.
· Commitment to a multi-disciplinary approach to social change.

Preferred Qualifications:
· Spanish proficiency and experience working with native Spanish speaking activists and community members.
· Experience creating publications that explain policy proposals in easily understood language.
· Experience creating and implementing media campaigns to support public policy efforts.

Annual salary range: $37,000 - $42,000 DOE

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume as Word attachments to Kristina Wertz at mailto:kristina@transgenderlawcenter.org. Competitive candidates will be invited for first-round, telephone interviews beginning sometime after December 15th. Feel free to email questions not answered by this posting to the same address. No phone calls, please.

Anticipated start date: February 1, 2008 (earlier and later start dates will be considered).

Transgender women and people of color are encouraged to apply. The Transgender Law Center is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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11. Jobs with the Direct Action & Research Training Center

The Direct Action & Research Training (DART) Center is currently accepting resumes from those interested in social and economic justice issues for their paid, four-month community organizing training program known as the DART Organizers Institute.

The application deadline for this program is January 1, 2008.

The DART Center has built non-partisan community organizations throughout the country that have won important improvements on a broad set of issues affecting low-moderate income people including:
. Education reform in low-performing public schools
. Job Training
. Drugs and Violence
. Affordable Housing
. Criminal Recidivism
. Neighborhood Revitalization, etc.

The DART Organizers Institute starts June 17, 2008 and combines a 7-day classroom with 15-week field training. Organizer Trainees will learn such things as:
. Entering a community
. Identifying and training local leaders
. Strategic planning and issue cutting
. Relationship and community building
. Direct Action on community issues
. Fundraising

This is a paid training program designed to promote successful graduates into permanent salaried positions making up to $35,000/year in starting salaries, plus benefits. Graduates from the DART Organizers Institute have gone onto accept Executive Director and Associate Community Organizing positions throughout the country. We continue to train the best of those working to build the power of low-moderate income neighborhoods to win victories on important issues in their community.

To understand what graduates of the DART Organizers Institute have accomplished, please take a moment and read through a few examples:

1. Jeff Modzelewski finished his undergraduate degree in 2004 at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. After working for two years in the business world, he then was accepted into the DART Organizers Institute. Eight months after Jeff's paid community organizing training, he organized over 750 community leaders in Columbus, Ohio to reign in payday lending operations that prey upon the most vulnerable by charging exorbitant fees and interest on short-term loans. As a result, State Senator Miller introduced statewide legislation that will equitably regulate the rampant misuse of payday lending. With the momentum of the State Senator's commitment, Jeff and coalition leaders are now building a statewide power base to ensure passage of this legislation.

2. Leah Woodward finished her masters in film in 2005 at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and then graduated from the Organizers Institute in 2005. She then accepted a job with the FAST organization in St. Petersburg, Florida. Using the training provided, Leah and another organizer mobilized 1,800 people from 28 congregations to take action on affordable housing. As a result of this action, County Commissioners agreed to create a $10 million dollar housing trust fund that will set public monies aside for building housing that low- to moderate-income families can afford. In addition, the commission unanimously approved a mandatory inclusionary zoning ordinance that will compel builders to include affordable units in their developments for years to come.

3. Andy Lee graduated from Michigan State University and went into the DART Organizers Institute in 2004 and was hired onto staff with the BUILD organization in Lexington, Kentucky. Andy organized with local leaders to create a drug recovery program in the women's jail in 2006. During an in-depth research phase facilitated by Andy, leaders discovered that over 80% of the jail population in Fayette County are there for problems related to drugs and alcohol, and with treatment the re-arrest rate drops from 66% to 19%. While a drug recovery program existed in the jail for men there was no program for women. After initially denying any consideration of BUILD's plan to add the needed $175,000 to the city's annual budget for the program, the mayor eventually agreed to do so after being confronted by 1,010 people from 20 congregations all pressing for the program at a community action on March 20, 2006. Two months later the Urban County Council made it official by approving the Mayor's budget, and later that summer,the drug recovery program in the women's jail opened. The program is expected to save millions of dollars in tax money previously spent on re-arrests, while also demonstrably improving the lives of thousands of women who would have continued wrestling with drug addiction and crime. Andy is now the Executive Director of another community organization in Broward County, Florida known as BOLD Justice.

4. Virginia Lynch finished her undergraduate degree at Emory University with a degree in religious studies and then entered the DART Organizers Institute in 2004. Following training she accepted a position on staff with the PEACE organization in Lakeland, Florida. Using the training provided by DART, Virginia led an organizing drive that mobilized over 800 community leaders to publicly call for action on health care related issues. As a result of her work, the organization won the approval of a permanent half cent sales tax that will provide over $35 million
dollars annually to fund one new health clinic a year for the next five years and increase indigent patients seen from the current 2,000 to 45,000 patients per year. Virginia is now the Executive Director of a the RISC organization in Richmond, Virginia.

While these are clear-cut victories with measurable results, they are only snapshots in time depicting the work of three of the graduates of our training program. Along with over 30 others, Andy, Leah, Jeff, and Virginia continue to organize and regularly express a long-term commitment to the field.

To apply, please send an updated resume to: Ben MacConnell, the Recruitment Director at: mailto:institute@thedartcenter.org before January 1, 2008. You can also call him with questions: (785) 841-2680. To find out more about the DART center, check out our website: http://www.thedartcenter.org.

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November 14, 2007

In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:

GSA Network Highlight
Fight Slurs In Your School with GSA Network’s New Campaign Guide!
Go directly to GSA Network highlight

GSA Network Announcements
1. Register for YES 2007!
2. Need Something to Wear? Buy a GSA Power T-shirt!
3. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!!
Go directly to GSA Network announcements

Other Announcements
Southern California
4. Free Movie Screening at Crossroads School! (Santa Monica)
5. Free Thanksgiving Dinner! (West Hollywood)
6. Pre-Thanksgiving Social for LGBTQ Youth (West Hollywood)
Go directly to Southern California listings

Northern California
7. Candy Land Dance Party (San Francisco)
8. Open Mic Night (San Jose)
Go directly to Northern California listings

Statewide
9. Call for Interviews for GroundSpark Documentary
Go directly to Statewide listings

National
10. Student of Color Organizing Conference
11. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training
12. Book: The God Box
Go directly to National listings

Jobs
13. Jobs with the Direct Action & Research Training Center
Go directly to Jobs listings

News
14. NEWS: Dixon Meeting Discusses Governor's 'Gender Identity' Law
Go directly to News listings

+++++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK HIGHLIGHT+++++++++++++++

Fight Slurs In Your School with GSA Network’s New Campaign Guide!

Last month, your GSA should have received a copy of our new, easier-to-use guide to the Take It Back: Fighting Slurs On Your Campus campaign. This version is a much shorter and streamlined version of the full Take It Back handbook (available at http://www.gsanetwork.org/resources) and is a super simple way to get the information that you and your GSA need to start a campaign at your school to eliminate slurs, name-calling and other kinds of verbal harassment at your school.

Here’s a sneak peak at what this new campaign guide has to offer:

What’s a slur? What’s the big deal about using them?
A slur is any offensive, insulting remark or comment that is meant to ridicule someone based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, class, etc. Slurs help to create an unsafe school environment for members of the targeted group and negatively affects their ability to learn.

The problem with using words like “faggot,” “FOB (Fresh Off the Boat), or “bitch” is that they are tools of oppression. They reinforce the systems of power (i.e., racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc.) that continually oppress the folks who often have less power in our society; it’s a way of making sure that the people in power stay in power. They keep people down and prevent them from joining together to fight all kinds of oppression.

Learn how to organize a campaign at your school!
Now, it’s time to take action! The guide explains the step-by-step process your GSA can use to plan out an anti-slur campaign including tactics, days of actions, and other suggestions for your GSA’s campaign.

1. Research & Evaluation—Researching and counting up how often slurs get used at your school is an important step to take when figuring out the strategies for your campaign.

• Tally slurs---Each GSA member can count the number of times in a day they hear students or teachers saying slurs.
• Keep journals---Each GSA member keeps a journal of harassment they witness or slurs they hear.
• Collect stories---Ask GSA members and other students to write down their personal experiences about being targeted with slurs and what effect it had on them. You can keep the stories anonymous and then compile them together before sharing with them other people so they can learn more about what’s happening at your school.
• Distribute student surveys---This is a great way of collecting data! A sample survey can be found at http://www.gsanetwork.org/takeitback.

2. Peer Education---Educating your peers is one of the most effective ways of cutting down the use of slurs on your campus and creating a safer learning environment.

• Hold a teach-in after school---Hold a teach-in about slurs and harassment during a GSA meeting and invite other clubs to attend or team up with a local community center, supportive church, or youth group and work together.
• Practice guerilla theater---This is a great way to get people’s attention! Stage an incident where one of your GSA members uses a slur and then other members confront him/her/hir about it and explain why it’s wrong. Then hold a discussion afterwards with everyone about why slurs are hurtful. ***Make sure you assess the possible risks of this tactic ahead of time (such as getting in trouble even if you were acting). ***

3. Teacher education---Teachers can be powerful allies. Reach out to them and educate them about the different schools laws that protect students and train them how to intervene and help when they see slurs being used or other kinds of harassment happening.

4. Visual Activism---Art/visual activism is a powerful tool for getting your message out to people. A well-designed poster campaign, for example, can effectively summarize the main points of your cause and can be great way to attract more support.

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+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++

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1. Register for YES 2007!

GSA Network Presents the 2007 Youth Empowerment Summit!
Saturday, December 8 - San Francisco, CA

YES is a FREE conference for LGBTQQI youth activists and their allies who are dedicated to defeating homophobia and transphobia, and creating safe and supporting schools for everyone. The target audience is high school and middle school students, teachers, GSA advisors and the community. The YES conference is a chance for LGBTQQI and straight ally youth to network and enjoy free workshops on activism and topics related to queer life.

Registration is now on-line at http://gsanetwork.org/yes

For presenter and community table faire info, please send your organization's information to Marco Castro-Bojorquez at mailto:marco@gsanetwork.org or call 415-552-4229.

Who: LGBTQQI youth activists and their allies
Where: Everett Middle School, 450 Church Street, San Francisco,CA
When: Saturday, December 8, 2007 - 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Cost: FREE, including breakfast and lunch!
What else: The after-YES dance will take place from 5:00-8:00pm at the Everett cafeteria!!

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If you have any questions or concerns contact:
mailto:info@gsanetwork.org
415-552-4229

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++++++++++++++++ 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.

Southern California
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4. Free Movie Screening at Crossroads School! (Santa Monica)

As part of the queer film series at Crossroads, sponsored by FLAG (our gay/straight alliance), we will be having our next movie screening of the year on Wednesday, Nov. 14th, from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. We invite you to join us!

We'll be screening a film called Shelter, a sexy and moving gay-surfers-coming-out-love story that was featured at many queer film festivals this year. We'll also be showing a short film called Davy & Stu, about two Scottish boys on the brink of expressing love for each other. (See more movie descriptions below.)

Special bonus!-no guarantees at this point, but it looks like the directors of both movies will be with us-and maybe the STARS of the gay surfer movie as well!!

The movie is FREE and free pizza and drinks will be provided! But please reply and let us know if you might come, so we have an idea of how much food to get.

**When you reply, make sure to include your name and the school (if any) you are from, as well as how many people you are bringing-this helps a great deal.

Directions are below. Please email us at mailto:flag2@xrds.org
If you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail and ask. Hope to see you there.

Movie Descriptions:
A year out of high school, Zach is stuck in San Pedro, California working as a fry cook, skateboarding and stenciling guerrilla artwork on abandoned buildings. His bedroom is his oasis - he draws on the walls, in his notebook, in sketches piled up on the floor. But he's squashed his dream of attending Cal Arts in order to help his sister, Jeannie, raise her five-year-old son.Enter Shaun, the gay older brother of Zach's best friend and a writer taking a break from Hollywood to recover from a bad relationship. Zach and Shaun start hanging out, surfing and drinking too much beer, much to Jeannie's concern. "You're not a fag," she tells Zach. Wishful thinking! Zach's slow awakening to desire is at the heart of this gritty, romantic debut from talented writer/director Jonah Markowitz. A fine performance by handsome newcomer Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe (Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss). With a pitch-perfect soundtrack and plenty of guys in wetsuits riding waves under gorgeous sunsets, Shelter is a sexy, sensory treat.

This movie has been a hit at various queer film festivals and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

As the sun sets over a swampy Scotland bog, two boys meet in the darkness as part of a nightly ritual. Part character study, part love story, DAVY & STU is a heartwrenching look at the intensity of adolescent romance and forbidden love.

This movie has screened at queer film festivals around the world and received the CINE Golden Eagle Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking.

Directions:
Crossroads is at 1714 21st St. in Santa Monica, at the corner of 21st St. and Olympic Blvd. The screening room we're meeting in is on the 2nd floor of the Arts Building. Here's what you do--when you turn onto 21st from Olympic, take an immediate right onto a driveway-looking street and find a place to park. You'll see our "quad" which looks like a parking lot or an alley, and which we call (of course) the alley. Walk to the end of the alley to the tall building on the left, enter and climb the stairs to the 2nd floor. You should see people.

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5. Free Thanksgiving Dinner! (West Hollywood)

We would love for you to join us at our annual Thanksgiving celebration!
We will provide a free Thanksgiving Dinner with dessert. Bring a friend and come spend time with LifeWorks staff, Mentors, and friends. Have *great* food and bask in all those cheesey Thanksgiving sentiments of gratitude and abundance.

Hosted by the awesome people from MCCLA, LifeWorks, and WeHo Alt!

Thursday, November 15th, 6pm
Metropolitan Community Church
(the gay church in WeHo!)
8714 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Let us know you're coming - mailto:rsvp@lifeworksmentoring.org or 310-724-6300

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5991952654

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6. Pre-Thanksgiving Social for LGBTQ Youth (West Hollywood)

Now that Halloween is out of the way, it's time to start thinking about the next big thing - Thanksgiving!

EVENT INFO
In honor of the holiday, we are putting on a free pre-Thanksgiving event on Saturday, November 17th, 2007 from 6:00pm-9:00pm at Plummer Park in West Hollywood (7377 Santa Monica Blvd.).

ATTRACTIONS
We will have a turkey dinner catered with plenty of good food that is provided to the youth for free! We will also have live youth performances, giveaways, and some special surprises. The social is for LGTBQ youth (14-24) and their allies. This will be an alcohol-tobacco-free event.

PLEASE RSVP
If you plan on attending and/or bringing a group of youth with you, please RSVP. You can do so at our web site http://www.cityx1.com/thanx/rsvp.html or by replying to this e-mail. We want to make sure that we order enough food, so please let us know in advance.

EVENT WEB SITE
We have created a special event web site with information on Volunteer Opportunities, photos from previous ThanXgiving Social events, links, and more! Check it out at http://www.cityx1.com/thanx

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Northern California
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7. Candy Land Dance Party (San Francisco)

QUEER ALLIANCE & Disabled Students Association Presents a
CANDY LAND DANCE PARTY

Live bands
DJs
Entertainment
Food and Refreshments

WHERE:
Upper & Lower Levels
Student Union
City College of San Francisco

DATE & TIME:
Thursday November 15, 2007
7:00PM until 10:30PM

Admission is FREE for CCSF and all College Students with a photo ID.
Each student may bring one Guest.

Donations collected will go towards Scholarship Fund

Co-Sponsors: Queer Resource Center, Project SAFE, Project SURVIVE, Women’s Studies, Women’s Resource Center, Queer Studies Department, Family Resource Center

Persons requiring accommodations need to contact DSP&S at 415-452-5481. Please allow 24 Hrs notice.

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8. Open Mic Night (San Jose)

November 16, 2007
7pm-9pm
FREE!!!

Ages 13-22
I.D.'s may be checked at the door

All poets, musicians, and artists welcome to perform!

Where: Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center
938 The Alameda
San Jose, Ca 95126

Call (408) 293-3040 ext. 111 if you have any questions.

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Statewide
*********************************************
9. Call for Interviews for GroundSpark Documentary

Straightlaced will be used in educational settings to open up dialogue among teens about the ways that homophobia affects all students, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

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National
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10. Student of Color Organizing Conference

GLSEN is pleased to announce our fifth Student of Color Organizing Conference to be held on January 18th - January 21st 2008 in Atlanta. The Students of Color Organizing (SOCO) Conference, which has been held for the past four years, is one of the most important components of our student organizing work. This event, made possible by a generous grant from the Time Warner Foundation, will gather Middle and High School Students of color from all over the country during the Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. The mission of this weekend is to provide networking and skills building opportunities to empower young people of color to organize and become engaged in safer schools work.

Throughout this weekend we will be providing students with an opportunity to: network with organizers across the country, create action plans for organizing in their communities and look at their work with an anti-oppression lens. The weekend will also provide an opportunity for students and adult allies to network with one another.
Each student, representing diverse communities and from different parts of the country, will arrive at the retreat with an idea for a project which would combine safe schools organizing and communities of color and/or students of color. By the end of the weekend, each student will leave with a plan, using the new information, networks and skill-building from the SOCO Retreat to make their projects come to life!

GLSEN will cover the transportation, lodging and meals throughout the entire weekend. Students will be selected based on their community involvement, safe schools work, organizing background and their commitment to social change. If you are - or know any High/Middle school student who would like to be considered to attend the summit, please submit an application to us no later than November 30th, 2007.

A complete application must include - a letter of reference/recommendation from a teacher/mentor, a registration on http://www.studentorganizing.org, a completed application form with essays and availability during the weekend of January 18th - 21st, 2008. We have a limited number of spaces available, so please apply soon!

Remember, GLSEN will cover the entire costs of travel. You can also apply at http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2003.html.

Please feel free to contact me at 646-388-8055 or at mailto:bvasquez@glsen.org if you have any questions.

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11. THE INSTITUTE - Five-day Intensive Youth Organizing Training

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12. Book: The God Box

Lambda Literary Award-winning author Alex Sanchez tackles a subject ripped from headlines in this exciting and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be both religious and gay.High-school senior Paul has dated Angie since middle school, and they're good together: they have a lot of the same interests, like singing in their church choir, and being active in Bible club. But when a new boy, Manuel, transfers to their school, Paul has to rethink his life. Manuel is the first openly gay teen anyone in their small town has ever met, and yet he says he's also a committed Christian. Talking to Manuel makes Paul reconsider thoughts he has kept hidden, and listening to Manuel's interpretation of Biblical passages on homosexuality causes Paul to re-evaluate everything he believed. Manuel's outspokenness triggers dramatic consequences at school, culminating in a terrifying situation that leads Paul to take a stand.

From The God Box:
"I wasn't sure who was crazier, him or me. During prayers one night, I'd ask forgiveness for hanging out with Manuel, but the next day I'd thank Jesus for bringing him into my life. I couldn't stop thinking about Manuel, and every time I stormed away from him, swearing never to return, five minutes later I wanted to come running back. How could I choose between my sexuality and my spirituality, two of the most important parts that made me whole?"

Order your copy wherever books are sold in stores and online!

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Jobs
*********************************************
13. Jobs with the Direct Action & Research Training Center

News
********************************************
14. NEWS: Dixon Meeting Discusses Governor's 'Gender Identity' Law

Dixon meeting discusses governor's 'gender identity' law

November 9, 2007
The Reporter, Vacaville
By Melissa Murphy

Boys in girls' restrooms? Girls in boys' restrooms?

Dixon community members gathered together Thursday evening to discuss a "gender identity" law signed by the governor, which will take effect Jan. 1.

Dixon resident Chris Bushey called a town meeting for discussion as to why the school board could be told to accommodate transgender individuals in the school district.

About 50 students and adults gathered together at Java California and tried to push aside their beliefs on homosexuality to address the matter without bias.

"I'm here because no one else is doing it," Bushey said. "No one even knew about the new law. The state has gone way beyond standard practice from what we've done before."

The law, SB 777 says: "No person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained.'

In February of this year the bill was introduced by Senator Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica.

The California Code of Regulations defines "gender" as "a person's actual sex or perceived sex and includes a person's perceived identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with a person's sex at birth."

"You can now be whatever you want to be," Bushey explained to the crowd.

Several students explained how someone can't ignore their lifestyle and how the schools should inform instead of enforce. Others agreed and said that it's best to find a compromise.

Bushey and the students in the meeting agreed that the best solution would be to set aside at least one already existing bathroom as a unisex bathroom. All other restrooms would be designated for biological males and females.

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November 7, 2007

In this issue of GSA Network News, you'll find:

GSA Network Highlight
31 Days Until the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES)!
Go directly to GSA Network highlight

GSA Network Announcements
1. Register for YES 2007!
2. Join the SoCal Youth Council!!
3. Need Something to Wear? Buy a GSA Power T-shirt!
4. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!!
Go directly to GSA Network announcements

Other Announcements
Southern California
5. Free Movie Screening at Crossroads School! (Santa Monica)
6. Free Thanksgiving Dinner! (West Hollywood)
7. Pre-Thanksgiving Social for LGBTQ Youth (West Hollywood)
8. Qteam's Artist Call Out (Los Angeles)
Go directly to Southern California listings

Central Valley
9. Marriage Equality USA San Joaquin FAMILY Cookbook Potluck! (Stockton)
Go directly to Central Valley listings

Northern California
10 . The Speakers Bureau Needs You! (San Francisco)
11. Due Process: Justice for Youth, by Youth (Bay Area)
Go directly to Northern California listings

National
12. Call for Youth and Adults with Transgender Parents
13. Call for Interviews for GroundSpark Documentary
Go directly to National listings

News
14. NEWS: Same-sex Couples Raising Children Less Likely to be White, Wealthy
15. NEWS: Civil Rights Groups Call for End to School Harassment
Go directly to News listings

+++++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK HIGHLIGHT+++++++++++++++

31 Days Until the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES)!

And the countdown begins...

We are excited to announce that our annual Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) is only one month away! On December 8th. students, teachers, parents and members of the safe schools community from all over Northern and Central California will enjoy a day of networking, learning, and fun in celebration of being young, queer, and proud.

The main focus of the conference will be on education and skill building through workshops. Workshops will be offered throughout the day on a range of topics, including LGTBQ life, activism, gender, race and class issues, leadership development, and free expression. Taking advantage of the wealth of resources in the Bay Area, workshop leaders will come from a variety of different organizations, and many workshops will be youth-led.

Some of the workshops to look for this year include:
• How to have a kick-ass GSA
• Safer sex: What you need to know
• Hate speech and youth health
• How to be an ally to queer people of color
• How to have an anti-racist GSA
• Who’s coming out
• Dealing with sexual harassment and sexual assault
• AB 537 & SB 71: Flaming legal activism
• Breaking free: GSAs in religious schools
• Homophobia in sports

Keeping true to our goal to provide resources to all youth, the conference will be free for all who wish to attend. All workshops, entertainment, and food are of no cost to participants. Additionally, there will be a free, youth-only dance following the day's events, where all can enjoy great music and a drag show.

There are still many ways to help prepare for the conference and make the day a success! We are still looking for: volunteers for the conference day, youth drag show participants, organizations to table at the conference resource fair, and organizations and individuals to lead workshops (youth are especially encouraged to submit workshop proposals!).

Please contact Marco at mailto:marco@gsanetwork.org if interested. We hope to see you all there, and we look forward to another kick-ass YES Conference!

This year's conference will be located at Everett Middle School (450 Church Street, San Francisco) from 9am-5pm, and the dance will take place at Everett’s from 5pm-8pm.

Register NOW at http://gsanetwork.org/yes!

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+++++++++++++ GSA NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++

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2. Join the SoCal Youth Council!!

The SoCal Youth Council is a diverse group of youth leaders from GSAs all over Southern California. As a member of the youth council, you will learn skills to become a stronger activist and work toward creating a safer climate at your school for LGBTQ youth and straight allies. You will get support around mounting a campaign, event planning, and starting a GSA club on your campus.

As a member of the youth council, you will have monthly opportunities to:
* Network with youth from throughout your region
* Get peer and staff support and feedback on your ongoing campaign, action, or event
* Give input on GSA Network's programs, policies, and curriculum development.

Requirements
* Willingness to commit to serving on the SoCal Youth Council for one year
* Commitment to creating change for LGBTQ youth and fighting homophobia and transphobia in schools
* Interest in developing and suggesting ideas to strengthen the GSA Network
* Must be a student in a public or private middle or high school in Southern California

Next SoCal Youth Council Meeting
Saturday, November 16th, 1-5pm
Location: Aids Project Los Angeles at 3550 Wilshire Blvd. #300

For more info, email mailto:marco@gsanetwork.org
http://www.myspace.com/socalgsanetwork

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3. Need Something to Wear? Buy a GSA Power T-shirt!

Another GSA Network T-shirt hot off the press... Cafepress that is. Do you just love our GSA Power postcard? Well, now it's a shirt. Buy it today and help support GSA Network!

Order one of our three New T-shirts and help support GSA Network:
* GSA Power
* A is for Ally
* Activist
* Male, Female, Other / Neither / All of the above

Also in stock:
* I heart GSA
* I HELLA Heart GSA
* and our classic GSA Organizing Shirt

These new designs can ONLY be purchased at our online store. For every item you buy GSA Network gets a small donation ($3-5) to keep doing all the good work we do!!!

So, help support GSAs and look cool doing it.

To Buy Today: http://www.cafepress.com/gsanetwork

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4. Re-register Your GSA Today - Get New Resources & Keep Informed!!

If you have any questions or concerns contact:
mailto:info@gsanetwork.org
415-552-4229

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++++++++++++++++ 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.

Southern California
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5. Free Movie Screening at Crossroads School! (Santa Monica)

As part of the queer film series at Crossroads, sponsored by FLAG (our gay/straight alliance), we will be having our next movie screening of the year on Wednesday, Nov. 14th, from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. We invite you to join us!

We'll be screening a film called Shelter, a sexy and moving gay-surfers-coming-out-love story that was featured at many queer film festivals this year. We'll also be showing a short film called Davy & Stu, about two Scottish boys on the brink of expressing love for each other. (See more movie descriptions below.)

Special bonus!-no guarantees at this point, but it looks like the directors of both movies will be with us-and maybe the STARS of the gay surfer movie as well!!

The movie is FREE and free pizza and drinks will be provided! But please reply and let us know if you might come, so we have an idea of how much food to get.

**When you reply, make sure to include your name and the school (if any) you are from, as well as how many people you are bringing-this helps a great deal.

Directions are below. Please email us at mailto:flag2@xrds.org
If you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail and ask. Hope to see you there.

Movie Descriptions:
A year out of high school, Zach is stuck in San Pedro, California working as a fry cook, skateboarding and stenciling guerrilla artwork on abandoned buildings. His bedroom is his oasis - he draws on the walls, in his notebook, in sketches piled up on the floor. But he's squashed his dream of attending Cal Arts in order to help his sister, Jeannie, raise her five-year-old son.Enter Shaun, the gay older brother of Zach's best friend and a writer taking a break from Hollywood to recover from a bad relationship. Zach and Shaun start hanging out, surfing and drinking too much beer, much to Jeannie's concern. "You're not a fag," she tells Zach. Wishful thinking! Zach's slow awakening to desire is at the heart of this gritty, romantic debut from talented writer/director Jonah Markowitz. A fine performance by handsome newcomer Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe (Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss). With a pitch-perfect soundtrack and plenty of guys in wetsuits riding waves under gorgeous sunsets, Shelter is a sexy, sensory treat.

This movie has been a hit at various queer film festivals and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

As the sun sets over a swampy Scotland bog, two boys meet in the darkness as part of a nightly ritual. Part character study, part love story, DAVY & STU is a heartwrenching look at the intensity of adolescent romance and forbidden love.

This movie has screened at queer film festivals around the world and received the CINE Golden Eagle Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking.

Directions:
Crossroads is at 1714 21st St. in Santa Monica, at the corner of 21st St. and Olympic Blvd.
The screening room we're meeting in is on the 2nd floor of the Arts Building.
Here's what you do--when you turn onto 21st from Olympic, take an immediate right onto
a driveway-looking street and find a place to park. You'll see our "quad" which looks like a parking lot
or an alley, and which we call (of course) the alley.
Walk to the end of the alley to the tall building on the left, enter and climb the stairs to the 2nd floor. You should see people.

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6. Free Thanksgiving Dinner! (West Hollywood)

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7. Pre-Thanksgiving Social for LGBTQ Youth (West Hollywood)

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8. Qteam's Artist Call Out (Los Angeles)

qteam proudly presents:

Night of Bad Performance Arts before X-mas!
“You better watch out,
You better not cry
You be better not pout
We’re telling you why
Santa Claus is DYING tonight!”

December 7 and 15, 2007 (evening)

This is a night of celebration, music, spoken word, theater, poetry, short films, visual arts, and most importantly, fun and resistance!

We are looking for radical young queer and trans youth of color and allies to perform and/or display their creativity!

Tell us your story for living in this cruel and beautiful L.A. Dance through the rhythms of your heart and express the depths of your mind and soul.

Explore and celebrate your identities, struggles and experiences.

N.O.B. is bad cuz it’s rad
We provide a safe space for performers/artist with or without experience.

Guidelines:
Fun and/or serious
No hating- be respectful of all forms of life
(unless it’s on a purposeful way an/or satire)
Be Conscious
Have a message
Reflect life/experience (urs or someone else’s)
Be political (self defined)
Must attend Artist Circle/ Rehearsal (November 30 and December 5 –time TBA)

If you are interested in performing and/or showcasing your art, email us!
o state the type of performance/ art you wanna contribute
o List of equipment or special effects
o Your availability for both nights
o Your contact info.
o Name and a one liner

Submissions are due by Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at mailto:qteam@hotmail.com (if deadline has passed don’t be afraid to ask)

For more information call us at 323.581.3554

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Central Valley
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9. Marriage Equality USA San Joaquin FAMILY Cookbook Potluck!

Wednesday, 11/14/07, 6:00pm-7:30pm
Peace and Justice Center 231 Bedford, Stockton, CA 95204

Bring your favorite dish (prepared) and your written recipe to add to the MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA SJ FAMILY Cookbook. It's time to celebrate the great work we've done this year and just have some fun together!

The San Joaquin Chapter of MEUSA is collecting 100 recipes from local LGBT families and advocates. These recipes will be published in our S.J. Marriage Equality FAMILY Cookbook.

If you belong to a group/organization that would like to host a Marriage Equality Cookbook Potluck, please contact me at (209)518-9102.

We know that anonymity is very important for some individuals, so anonymous recipe entries are welcome, as well as recipes from straight family members or friends. It's all in the family! We want everyone to contribute to this project.

For more information visit our http://www.marriageequality.org/meusa/chapters.shtml?chapter=CA-San-Joaquin or email us at mailto:ca-sanjoaquin@marriageequality.org

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Northern California
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10. The Speakers Bureau Needs You! (San Francisco)

Wanna speak out for your community? Wanna make a difference? How about learning how speak in front of a group?

Pacific Center's youth program is having it's Speakers Bureau training by CUAV (Community UNited Against Violence) November 10-11 from 10-5 for LGBT (and straight allies) youth 12-25. There will be free food and lots of fun, plus when you have completed th e training you get paid $10 for each anti-homophobia speaking gig you do.

Sign up now!

Please contact Erica at 510-548-8283 x 514 or email at mailto:erica@pacificcenter.org

Note: Since we have updated the training those currently on the speakers bureau need to get re-trained by June 2008 in order to continue speaking on panels.

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11. Due Process: Justice for Youth, by Youth (Bay Area)

Introducing a bold new five-day curriculum experience that examines AB 537 and the intersections of social identity and safety.

Bring Due Process to Your School!

In this five-day peer education curriculum experience, students have the opportunity to lead a mock trial and create a school safety plan in response to a fictional situation involving a pattern of harassment and bias that culminates in a hate crime at school against a transgender youth of color.

Due Process engages students in deeper explorations of how social identity impacts their safety at school, and provides a space for students to think about what they can do as members of their school community to make their school safer for all students.

The accompanying Equity Action Kit: Change Thru Action! provides activities and resources for students to extend the impact of what they experienced in Due Process. The kit offers fun, interactive, and informative ways for students to raise LGBTQ and other social identity issues with their peers and to take action to change their own school's climate.

Get Involved in the Launch!

On Saturday, November 17th from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Location TBA), Ally Action will launch our first Due Process Training-of-Trainers. Youth members of Ally Action's Awareness Leadership Team (ALT) will train students from various campuses with the knowledge and skills they need to lead Due Process in their own school communities.

Want to find out more!

If you're interested in attending the training and/or having Due Process in your school, contact Jillian Ross (mailto:jillian@allyaction.org) for more information or visit http://www.allyaction.org.

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National
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12. Call for Youth and Adults with Transgender Parents

Participate in the Kids of Trans Survey

Do you (or did you) have one or more transgender parent/s? Be a part of COLAGE's Kids of Trans Resource guide! This guide will feature tips and resources exclusively for people with transgender parents. We will also include advice and experiences from people with transgender parents. Your story will help other KOTs know that there actually are many people with transgender parents, even if we sometimes feel like we are the only ones.

Please answer the following questions (100 words or less for each question) and email your responses to mailto:kidsoftrans@colage.org by Monday December 3rd. We will include excerpts from all the completed surveys in the resource guide in order to highlight the diverse voices of our community.

1. First Name and Last Initial
2. Age
3. Where do you live?
4. Who is in your family?
5. How did you find out that your parent/s is/are transgender?
6. What is the biggest challenge you have faced because you have a transgender parent/s?
7. What advice would you give to other people with transgender parents?
8. What do you wish other people knew about what it's like to have a transgender parent?

Please also provide the following information (for COLAGE office use only):

Phone Number:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Birthdate:
Email Address:
Parents Name/s:

If you have questions or would like more information about the COLAGE Kids of Trans Program, please contact Monica Canfield-Lenfest, Kids of Trans Fellow, at mailto:monica@colage.org or 415-861-5437 x104.

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13. Call for Interviews for GroundSpark Documentary

Straightlaced will be used in educational settings to open up dialogue among teens about the ways that homophobia affects all students, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

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News
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14. NEWS: Same-sex Couples Raising Children Less Likely to be White, Wealthy

Same-sex couples raising children less likely to be white, wealthy

October 31, 2007
SF Chronicle
by Tyche Hendricks

Oakland mom Huda Jadallah spent Tuesday afternoon balancing last-minute Halloween costume shopping for her twin boys against her daughter's soccer practice. It was a familiar conundrum for a woman used to juggling a variety of identities - as a Palestinian American, a lesbian and a mother.

Jadallah and her partner, Deanna Karraa, are among more than 26,000 gay and lesbian couples across the state who are raising an estimated 70,000 children. Like most - and unlike common public perception - these same-sex parents are neither white nor above the average in income.

A study released Tuesday by a group of Bay Area organizations serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families found that same-sex couples raising children in California are more likely to be people of color and that their median household income is 17 percent lower than the income of married couples with children.

"There is an idea of LGBT families, when people think about it at all, there's this perception that it's affluent white folks, and the data show that's based on our own misperceptions," said Judy Appel, director of the Our Family Coalition in San Francisco. "We're in every neighborhood, every race, ethnicity and economic group. Our kids are playing in the playgrounds and parks with all other kids."

The Our Family Coalition - along with the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center and Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere - produced the report to paint a more accurate picture of gay and lesbian parents and their children. They drew on data from the U.S. census of 2000, the first year in which the government asked people to report whether they were living with a same-sex partner, as well as on several other studies, including two by the Williams Project at the UCLA School of Law.

The Williams Project found 1,400 same-sex couples raising children in Alameda County and close to 700 in San Francisco. The Our Families report notes that the numbers are probably on the low side because the census tracked only same-gender couples raising children, not gay and lesbian individuals with children.

The "Our Families" report focused on San Francisco and Alameda counties, which are ranked No. 2 and No. 4 respectively for the number of gay and lesbian couples among counties in the state. Los Angeles is No. 1, and San Diego is No. 3.

In Alameda and San Francisco counties, the report found, a large proportion of gay and lesbian couples raising children were nonwhite. In addition, 69 percent of same-sex parents were women. Those two factors could help explain why same-sex families have lower incomes, Appel said, because women and people of color earn less on average.

The groups hope that by better understanding the demographics of gay and lesbian families, they not only can help fight bias affecting children in those families, but also help improve economic equity.

Married couples enjoy scores of legal and financial advantages unavailable to gay and lesbian parents, including preferential tax rates, inheritance rights, and the legal recognition of the family without costly court procedures, said Rebecca Rolfe, director of the LGBT Community Center.

Jadallah, 43, and Karraa, 45, felt those inequities directly after Jadallah gave birth to their twin boys. At the time, they lived in Santa Barbara, where she was a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara. They petitioned for Karraa to adopt the twins but were rejected by a judge because they were same-sex partners. (Five years later, after the passage of Assembly Bill 25, they succeeded in cross-adopting all three children.) As a result, Karraa couldn't put the children on her health insurance at work, so Jadallah paid extra to add the boys to her student insurance and sought MediCal for well-baby care. The couple also were turned down for university-owned married student housing, so they paid more to rent an apartment in town.

To read the full story, read: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/31/MNJET3CR3.DTL&type=printable

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15. NEWS: Civil Rights Groups Call for End to School Harassment

Civil rights groups call for end to school harassment

November 1, 2007
Bay Area Reporter
by Heather Cassell

Following Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature on two bills last month to strengthen student safety in schools, civil rights organizations are seeking ways to enforce the new laws in California's school districts.

On October 24 the Asian Law Caucus was joined by several other LGBT and civil rights groups at a news conference to get the word out about new laws and ways students and parents can protect themselves from harassment.

"With LGBT youth at a higher risk for dropping out of school due to harassment or violence, we are pleased that the governor signed these bills, sending a clear message that bias and intimidation have no place in our schools," said Kendra Harris, Equality California legislative advocate.

One of the new laws is the Student Civil Rights Act (SB777), authored by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). It strengthens the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 that was also authored by Kuehl. The other law, AB394, prohibits discriminatory harassment and violence in schools.

According to Angela Chan, staff attorney of the Asian Law Caucus, 37 percent of California's 75 school districts that were surveyed don't have bias-based harassment policies in place. Tamara Lange, senior staff attorney of the ACLU Northern California, added that 60 percent of schools don't have gender-based harassment policies in place. SB777 strengthens Kuehl's earlier bill, AB537, by ensuring teachers and school administrators understand their responsibilities to protect youth in five protected classes – race, ethnicity, or national origin; gender; religion; sexual orientation (actual or perceived); and physical or mental disability.

A California Health Kids Survey, which surveyed more than 200,000 California students in grades 7, 9, and 11, reported 37 percent of middle and high school kids reported some harassment, and about three-quarters of these experiences were bias-related. According to a 2003 report, students who experience harassment were more likely to have lower grades, drink, smoke and do drugs, suffer from depression and victimization, and were more likely to bring a weapon to school. Youths who were harassed because they identified as LGBT or who were perceived to be queer were 1.5 times more likely than students who were not harassed to report grades were C or below, experienced higher rates of drug and alcohol use, and were 3.5 times more likely to have been hurt by a girlfriend or boyfriend during the previous 12 months.

Yet the moment Schwarzenegger signed SB777, Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute, an anti-gay organization in Sacramento, filed a 33-page referendum against the bill with the attorney general's office. The referendum currently is waiting to be assigned a title and summary. Once it is given a title, the petitioners will have 150 days to circulate the petition to gather nearly 500,000 signatures to qualify the referendum for the ballot.

"It is ironic that an organization that alleges to promote 'family values' has chosen to fight a law that will protect all California youth based on religion, race, nationality, and gender, not just sexual orientation," said Geoff Kors, executive director of EQCA, in an October 18 press release. "In a desperate attempt to deny full equality to people – in this case youth – who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, right wing extremists continue to wage a misguided attack on the Student Civil Rights Act."

The Safe Place to Learn Act (AB394), authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), clarifies the minimum steps school districts must take to meet California's safe school standards. It wasn't met with the same opposition from conservative organizations.

To read the full story, visit: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2386

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