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Centennial High School Gay-Straight Alliance  The GSA's presentation before the faculty is scheduled for the 7th of February. This is an after school meeting. Wednesday mornings do not work as well because apparently the teachers are scattered according to department. I have secured people from both the International Club and the Speech and Debate Team to represent their respective groups for this presentation. Other people are looking for people interested in other clubs (or they should be). So far, our presentation consists of an interview of various students encountered in the hallway, asking questions relating to harassment, bigotry and diversity. There is also going to be a skit and I'm trying to get opinions on topics to address (not to mention format and other details) while people are actually standing in front of all these people. Unfortunately that part is rather underdeveloped. The purpose of this presentation has become multifaceted. In part, it is something of a GSA debút. The purpose of the content is of course in giving the staff members ideas on what to do when they observe one student harassing another and other issues of classroom conduct. It furthermore has become, because of the involvement of other groups in the presentation, more or less a message from the student body to the staff that a problem of harassment exists and it is their responsibility to provide an environment in which everyone can learn well and be safe. Ms. Reed has also put her hand into it. The president of the International Club (Susan Huang) is going to mention some of the ideals of the upcoming Diversity Week so the teachers can get into the mood, so to speak. As expected, few people showed up. Well. VERY few people. There was Mrs. Church, Aurianna Philavanh, and myself. Aurianna showed up because I asked her to briefly before the actual 'meeting.' But I'm glad I did. She's also a member of the student council (ASB president, if I'm not mistaken), like Kayla, but unlike Kayla, she actually was there. I'm glad I have more resources. Aurianna has a quick mind and she grasped our situation quickly. Mostly, we talked about some of the things on our agenda for this year, which was boosted by Matt's list (most of which coincided with my own thoughts), and also about what the GSA was, indeed, all about. Both Aurianna and myself felt that most of the student body has no idea what the GSA is all about and do not want to become involved with it, because it incorporates the word 'gay' in its name. I think it's reasonable to expect a slow increase in people interested in joining as time ensues. Sally Menolascina came and spoke to me the day before about a student who was interested in joining (evidently because she was questioning her sexuality and wanted to know if the GSA was the place for her). I told her that the GSA was geared towards multiple purposes and we would certainly help that student in whatever way we could and would love to have her join us. She said that she and the rest of the counselors were all very supportive of the GSA and that she was interested in attending. Oddly, she did not show up. And neither did that new counselor that I met with Matt a little before the start of school. I will have to go speak with the latter. Greetings and salutations, judicious readers. You'll catch on to my odd vernacular eventually; don't fret. ...Anyway, the first GSA meeting of this year is going to be the 29th of September. I determined this with Mrs. Church at some time last week. We decided it would not be a good idea to start the meetings off on the first Wednesday for a couple of reasons: 1.) It's just awkward for people and there's not enough time to organize anything. 2.) The following Wednesday is not available for Mrs. Church, evidently due to some meeting or another thing along those lines (?)that prevents her from overseeing our activities in her room. Because of this, her and I felt that it would be best if there were consistent meetings from the start rather than a week skipped right at the beginning. Furthermore, I also spoke to Kayla Drozd about this scheduled first meeting. She told me that she would only be able to stay for a few minutes but it seems she has since then broken her leg so perhaps that has changed. There's an extremely annoying girl in my French class that expressed interest in the GSA last year, but apparently she is not able to stay after school--I don't know why, perhaps it is for the best, however. Other than that, I don't have any promising initiates. Or any unpromising ones, either. I guess I will have to heavily depend on Kayla for recruitment, I have the charisma of a week dead corpse. :/ Dennis Kucinich's support of equal rights and civil rights for the GLBT community is unsurpassed by any presidential candidate. Indeed, he entered Congress in the mid-'90s after defeating a Republican incumbent by confronting and overcoming GOP "appeals to anti-gay bigotry," in the words of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review. The incumbent had sought to make an issue of Kucinich's support for gay rights and support from Barney Frank. Today, Congressman Kucinich proudly endorses a comprehensive non-discrimination policy, including non-discrimination based on gender identity. His overriding philosophy is that same sex couples and opposite sex couples should be equal in the eyes of the law, including in marriage. All benefits and legal entitlements available to heterosexual couples should be available to homosexual couples. Kucinich goes further than supporting civil unions for same-sex couples at the state level; he believes that, much like the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s, federal law should protect civil unions, and that no state has a right to abridge basic rights to privacy. He would support the introduction of federal civil union legislation if the courts do not recognize this intrinsic right. He supports equal treatment of same-sex couples under Social Security survivor benefits and spousal benefits. He supports equal adoption rights regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Ultimately, he believes gays should be allowed to marry, as a matter of "equality and justice and fairness," as he told the Boston Globe (4/26/03). He supports domestic partner benefits to same-sex partners of employees, such as health insurance coverage and hospital visitation rights. He supports comprehensive sex education and prevention efforts aimed at stemming the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. As President, Dennis Kucinich would end the ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces. TRANSGENDERED PERSONS Under a Kucinich Administration, transgendered persons will have the full protection of all legal rights, including the right to obtain a passport, and will have full access to comprehensive health coverage. When the American Family Association posted an online poll last month asking its constituents their position on gay marriage, it thought it was engaging in a straightforward exercise. The conservative organization supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, and it planned to forward to Congress the results of the poll, which it expected would support its position, as evidence of Americans' opposition to gay marriage. But the AFA never counted on the power of the Internet. And once the URL to the poll escaped its intended audience, everything went haywire. As of Jan. 19, 60 percent of respondents -- more than 508,000 voters -- said, "I favor legalization of homosexual marriage." With an additional 7.89 percent -- or 66,732 voters -- replying, "I favor a 'civil union' with the full benefits of marriage except for the name," the AFA's chosen position, "I oppose legalization of homosexual marriage and 'civil unions,'" was being defeated by a 2-1 ratio. "We're very concerned that the traditional state of marriage is under threat in our country by homosexual activists," said AFA representative Buddy Smith. "It just so happens that homosexual activist groups around the country got a hold of the poll -- it was forwarded to them -- and they decided to have a little fun, and turn their organizations around the country (onto) the poll to try to cause it to represent something other than what we wanted it to. And so far, they succeeded with that." Of course, no such poll can be said to represent an accurate picture of popular opinion. But, clearly, the AFA had hoped Congress would take the numbers it planned to produce as exactly that kind of evidence. Now, Smith says, his organization has had to abandon its goal of taking the poll to Capitol Hill. Check out the rest from Wired News at http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,128 GSA Senior Students, Just wanted to let you know that PFLAG is pleased to announce the inauguration of its National Scholarship Programs on January 15, 2004. The National Scholarships Program consists of nine scholarships of $2500 and fourteen scholarships of $1000 funded by the Palmer B. Carson Trust (a PFLAG bequest) and The Dow Chemical company. The scholarships are for high school graduating seniors entering higher education in the fall of 2004. Palmer B. Carson-PFLAG scholarships are restricted to self-identified LGBT students and The Dow Chemical Company-PFLAG scholarships are available to self-identified LGBT students and to students who are supportive of, or involved with, the LGBT community. After January 15, 2004, students may download the application material from <http://www.pflag.org/>www.pflag.org. The deadline for completing applications is March 15, 2004. Just wanted all you senior GSA club member, who are college bound, to be aware of this scholarship opportunity. When: Thursday, January 22, 2004 7:30 p.m. Where: Flanagan Chapel Cost: Free (Ticket Required) About: In October 1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21 year-old son to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate. Their ordeal moved thousands of people around the world to attend vigils and rallies in Matthew's honor. Determined to prevent their son's fate from befalling others, Judy and Dennis established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew's legacy by embracing the just causes he had championed. Speaking from a mother's perspective, Judy Shepard has made the prevention of hate crimes the focus of her life's work. Judy is determined to use her grief over her son's death to make a difference. She speaks to her audiences about what they can do as individuals and communities to make their schools and communities safer for everyone regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Contact: Diana Wiener or Robbie Fung SOFA wiener@lclark.edu or rfung@lclark.edu Diana at 768-7139 or Robbie at 768-7122 GSA Kids, I have not forgotten about you, I've just been a bit side tracked with the holidays, vacationing and then a snow/ice storm. Hope you all had a great and extra extended winter break from school. I was planning on working on our second meeting today, but let my folder of information at my work office. So, I decided to at least send out this initial brief message about my thoughts for a February meeting. I have arranged for a room at the church again on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, from 6-8pm. The room we used before was already booked, so they put us in a much nicer room call the Fireplace Room. It's located at the far end of the parking lot. I need to check and see if we can have food in that room, because if we can't, then we may have to change the date or eat our goodies in the hallway. I have some information about setting up a web site, so you can connected with one another. I'm going to run it by PFLAG Board on January 28th and see if they will fund the cost. The cost our website volunteer outlined to me are: 1) domain name and registration ($70 for two years), 2) website hosting (generally $20 or so per month) and website design service. Currently PFLAG has a volunteer who does this for us. Could any of you provide the web design service? Other PFLAG Chapters throughout the State have inquired about doing similar networking with GSA's in their areas and then linking you together State wide by use of the website. You can tell me your thoughts on that at the next meeting. I was wondering if you would like me to invite a member from GLSEN to come and speak on the educational "lunchbox" that I briefly showed to you at the last meeting? I think this would be a great tool for you to have access to for planning club activities and educational interventions within your schools. Message me back on your thought about having a BRIEF presentation on the "lunchbox." I will bring the list of the books and videos in our library, so you know what resources are available. I would appreciate if you could bring your wish list of helpful resources that you need. Also, maybe start thinking about marching as a unified group in the Portland Pride Parade. I think the GLBT community would be so inspired to see a group of youth from the local high schools. Pride takes place after school is out, it is always on the weekend of Father's Day. Again, I know PFLAG would pay your entrance fee. These are just thoughts, as I expressed before, what develops from this group is truly by your direction. Save the date of Wednesday, February 11th. Work to find at least 2-3 members from your GSA to attend. It would be good to have members from your GSA attend who are promising leaders for the coming years. I'll await to hear back from you, Ginny THE OREGON QUEER YOUTH CONFERENCE Getting past the stereotypes, from gutter punks to Republicans. Who: All youth under 23 who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and those who care about them. We will focus on youth under 18/high school students, with some workshops relevant to older youth/college students. We will make every effort to accommodate special needs for any youth who want to attend. Adult allies are welcome to attend and give their support through volunteering, leading youth-empowering workshops, and learning to work better with youth. What: OQYC is a conference for us to get together with GLBTQ youth and allies from all over Oregon to talk about what we are doing, what we want to do, and how we can get there. This is about making our schools safer and our communities more accepting. This is about youth supporting youth to make things better for everyone. When: Saturday, January 31, 2004. Registration at 9:00am. Workshops 9:30am-6:30pm. Lunch provided. Evening fun event TBA.. Where: Catlin Gabel School, 8825 SW Barnes Road, Portland, Oregon. Why: Because we rock! And where else can you meet over 100 other GLBTQ youth? Hi Matt, How are things going for you? I just thought of you, because I checked in a book that I thought you might enjoy: All I Want for Christmas, a book of a few novellas by and about gay men. Looks like fun. It's filed in new books right now, "fiction--All." Seems like it should be in the short story section, but the spine says fiction, so find it there! Are you missing Zoey? Staying in touch with her through her travels? Just went to a het marriage at Darcelle's, last night. I know this person who is doing a major documentary on Darcelle's, and she decided after 15 years with a guy to get married for some financial benefit to the two of them. Her partner is retiring...probably health insurance. Anyway she's doing the documentary on Darcelle. Darcelle is an ordained minister, and said he'd marry them only if they and their best man/maid of honor all cross dressed! So they did, and they invited about 100 people to dress up, too. We went, and I dressed as though I got caught in the crossing. i couldn't quite go as a femme. I had jeans and cowboy boots, but a long velvet skirt...and a very bright 70s kind of shirt, with rainbow suspenders, and a velvet tophat. Annie dressed as a 70s radical lesbian and she protested marriage--carried a big sign with "marriage is a Capitalist plot," "sisters unite" "a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle," and she leafletted the wedding. THe betrothed loved it. It was fun, there were a few lipsinkers, and great free food from Alexis and free booze! Take care, Jan |
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