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January 12, 2005

GLSEN Phoenix hosts first monthly Teachers; Lounge |
Last Friday, January 7th, LGBTQ and allied teachers and school staff from across the valley (over 25 of you!) joined together for the inaugural Teachers’ Lounge. Despite the noise of the espresso machine, we had a great time – thanks to our facilitator, who then organized participants to enjoy the arts and food downtown. Next Teachers' Lounge: Friday, February 4th (First Fridays, between 5-7pm at Fair Trade Café, NW corner of Central and Roosevelt, in Central Phoenix) – bring a colleague and a resource (e.g. website, idea, organization, etc…) you’d like to share.

GLSEN Phoenix distributes Out Far Film Tix |
Are you a K-12 student interested in attending the LGBTQ Youth Film Session on Saturday afternoon, February 5th? Are you a sponsor of a Gay/Straight Alliance or LGBTQ support group? GLSEN Phoenix in collaboration with PFLAG-Phoenix and 1N10 wants you to enjoy the movies! Send your name and contact information, including school you attend or work in, to info@glsenphoenix.org and we will distribute the tickets we have evenly across the Valley. A limited number will be available for purchase the day of the festival.

GLSEN Phoenix NEXT MEETING – JANUARY 19 |
Our monthly meeting held the third Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8pm at the NCCJ office, 99 East Virginia Ave, Suite 150, in Central Phoenix, just south of Thomas and east of Central. ALL ARE WELCOME

GLSEN Phoenix TRAININGS |
This month we train volunteers and staff of Real Life, Real Talk (peer sexual health education program); Phoenix Public Libraries; and middle and high school counselors. Invite GLSEN Phoenix to conduct a workshop – 30 minutes to 3 days (!!) for students, teachers, school staff, parents, youth-serving non-profit organization. info@glsenphoenix.org

GLSEN Phoenix BRIDGES PROJECT orientation |
College and university LGBTQ organization members & GSA members students interested in working with high school GSAs – orientation and training, Sat Jan 29th 9:30-1:30pm Please contact info@glsenphoenix.org to confirm your application and participation.

South Mountain CC GLBSU sponsor Laramie Project – Jan 20-23 |
Back by audience demand! During last year's inaugural season, The Bright Angel Players partnered with South Mountain Community College to produce The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theatre Project. This was the first production in the new performing arts facility, and it was a big hit with the community. At the invitation of SMCC's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Straight Union, the production returns to SMCC's stage this year under the direction of Julie Holston, a theatre faculty member at SMCC, with most of
the original cast members from last year's show.

This powerful drama chronicles the life of the town of Laramie, Wyoming, during the year following the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a college student at the University of Wyoming. Shepard was lured from a popular Laramie college hangout by two men, and later robbed, beaten, and left to die tied to a buck fence on the outskirts of town. It was determined that Shepard was the target of this hate crime because he was gay.

New York-based playwright Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half following the murder. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town in an attempt to reach a greater understanding of how and why this horrific event occurred. The experimental theatre company ultimately shaped the material they gathered into a theatrical collage that gives voice to the citizens of Laramie.

January 20, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30pm; January 22 and 23 at 1:30pm. Admission $10 adults and $8 for students/staff/senior citizens. SMCC Studio Theatre, 7050 S. 24th Street, Phoenix (24th St and Baseline). For more information, contact Leonard Montez at 602/487-3308 or smccglbsu@yahoo.com Proceeds benefit GLBSU.

ASU WELCOMES new LGBTQ & Ally Student Coordinator |
Jessica Pettitt has just joined the ASU Multicultural Student Center staff as a Student Success Coordinator and will be working with the LGBTQ all ally student communities and gender/sexuality issues. Please help welcome Jessica to the community by attending COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS HAPPY HOUR, January 21, 6-9pm at The Water Hole, 8830 North 43rd Avenue (SW corner 43rd and OLVE/DUNLAP), 623/937-3139. Contact Jessica to introduce yourself or your organization and/or to RSVP jpettett@asu.edu or 480/965-4067

No Name-Calling Week 2005 IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! |
The second annual No Name-Calling Week will take place January 24-28, 2005. No Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an ongoing dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities. The project is targeted at grades five through eight—years when the problem of name-calling is particularly acute—but the concept can be easily adapted by students and educators at other grade levels. Hundreds of schools across the country participated in No Name-Calling Week 2004, and more are expected to join in this year’s effort. The No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest for Students, which encourages students to share their experiences of and feelings about verbal bullying through artwork, writing, and music, has drawn over 1600 entries from 38 states! Look out for a Special Organizer next week detailing the winners and prizes. For more information about No Name-Calling Week, and for ideas to help you plan activities for your classroom or school, visit www.nonamecallingweek.org

HOW TO ENDORSE THE DAY OF SILENCE 2005 |
As you know, the Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA), is a student-led day of action where those who support making anti-LGBT bias unacceptable in schools take a day-long vow of silence to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment - in effect the silencing - experienced by LGBT students and their allies. Across the country last year, an estimated 450,000 students in over 3,000 K-12 schools and hundreds of colleges took part in the Day of Silence.

With your organization's support, that number can increase significantly when the Day of Silence takes place on April 13, 2005. Your organization's support and endorsement of the Day of Silence will help more student organizers and allies use the Day of Silence to create safer schools for LGBT students and improve the lives of all people.

In GLSEN's efforts to have students across the nation organizing around this 4th Day Of Action, and have allies supporting students, we are asking GLSEN Chapters and other organizations to endorse this year's Day of Silence. Please visit the Day of Silence website to find out about how you can be an endorser!

No-Name Calling Week Contest Winners Announced |
Dear No Name-Calling Week Participants:

We are extremely excited to announce the winners of this year's No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest for Students! This year we received over 1,600 entries from 36 states across the country. Many were powerful and unique, so picking the winners was a very difficult task-so difficult, in fact, that we have added Runners-Up and Honorable Mention prizes in order to recognize more of the incredible students who submitted work! The submissions we received ranged in medium from poetry to videos to personal essays to recorded songs; there was even a board game created by a student! Entrants ranged in age from 8 to 14, demonstrating that name-calling is a problem that students of all ages have plenty to say about. The criteria used to determine the winners were depth of feeling about the topic, eloquence and style, originality, and the ability for the work to reach other youth. As we said, selecting three winners from so many amazing entries was no easy feat, but we felt that these entries truly stood out from the rest:

3rd Place Prize Winner: Pablo León-Luna from Ann Arbor Open School, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his original song, "Spender." Pablo will receive a set of books from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (approximate retail value: $150) and a $50 award.

2nd Place Prize Winner: Jessica Carrillo from Belvedere Middle School, in Los Angeles, California, for her illustrated story, "Name-Calling Hurts." Jessica will receive a set of books from Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (approximate retail value: $150) and a $100 award.

Grand Prize Winner: Sue Anna Yeh from First Colony Middle School, in Sugar Land, Texas, for her untitled poem. Sue Anna will receive a school visit during No Name-Calling Week (January 24-28, 2005) from James Howe, popular author of The Misfits, Bunnicula, and The Watcher, (approximate value: $2,500) and a $150 award.

All three winners will also receive a No Name-Calling Week Resource Kit for their school (including curriculum guide, video, signed copy of The Misfits, posters and stickers; approximate retail value: $130).

We received many excellent pieces this year that are deserving of recognition. Because of this, we have added three Runners-Up prizes. The winners will receive $25 awards, as well as signed copies of The Misfits. The three Runners-Up are: Sophie Wang from Willets Road School in Roslyn Heights, NY-poem Keith Woods, Jackie Woods, and Julia Santee from Becker Middle School in Becker, MN-song Rachel Lemashov from Bucks County Country Day in Levittown, PA-essay.

Additionally, twenty other entries were particularly memorable among the 1,600+ entries we received and are receiving Honorable Mention awards. The Honorable Mention awardees will also receive signed copies of The Misfits. The twenty Honorable Mention winners are:

Kaitlyn Andren from Becker Middle School in Becker, MN-song James Brown and Andrew Hewitt from Cohoes Middle School in Cohoes, NY-board game Daisy Cheong from Norco Intermediate in Norco, CA-art Jonah Coe-Sharff from Greenville Middle School in Greenville, NY-art Lauren Cohen from Willets Road School in Roslyn Heights, NY-poem Stephen Colantonio from Willow Grove Middle School in Thiells, NY-essay Tori Erikson from Hollifield Station School in Ellicott City, MD-story Corey L. Faucet from St. Anthony School in Renton, WA-poem and art Jamie Fisher from Pine Ridge Middle School in Naples, FL-poem Janie Fort from Sampson G. Smith School in Somerset, NJ-art Julianna Frenette from Bethlehem Elementary School in Bethlehem, CT-poem Zackary Gelpey from Landmark School in Prides Crossing, MA-art Earl Graves from Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua, NY-essay Lovdeep Kaar from Avenel Middle School in Avenel, NJ-story Keri Suzanne Kaus from Norco Intermediate in Norco, CA-art Kevin Lu from St. Cecilia School in Broussard, LA-art Ekta Patel from Avenel Middle School in Avenel, NJ-story Kody Steele and Jake Johnson from Caledonia Middle School in Caledonia, MN-song DJ Tialavea from West Jordan Middle School in West Jordan, UT-poems and essay Kathy Tse from Hauppauge Middle School in Hauppauge, NY-story

Congratulations to all of the winners, and THANK YOU to everybody else who participated. We were extremely moved by all the entries, and we hope you participate in the contest again next year!
Sincerely,
Brooke Wiese
Education Director

State House passes gay rights bill |


State House passes gay rights bill
January 12, 2005
By Dave McKinney and Ben Fischer
Sun-Times Springfield Bureau

SPRINGFIELD -- Gays and lesbians won a long, hard-fought victory Tuesday after the Illinois House passed and sent to Gov. Blagojevich anti-discrimination legislation that had languished at the Statehouse for more than a decade.

Blagojevich signaled plans to quickly sign the bill amid objections from religious groups concerned it might be interpreted in a way that would force them, for example, to hire gay or lesbian teachers in religious schools against church doctrine.

On their final day of business before a new lineup of lawmakers is sworn in today, the Democratic-led General Assembly also carved up part of suburbia to allow more women and minority judges to be elected and moved to put extra cash in the pockets of locked-out union members.

The day's biggest development, however, was passage of the gay-rights measure, which passed the House by a 66-51 count. Sixty votes were required to move the bill to the governor's desk.

'It's simple justice'

"I think this is, for me personally, one of my life's accomplishments that I put at the very top of the list," said Rep. Larry McKeon (D-Chicago), the Legislature's only openly gay member and the bill's chief House sponsor.

"It's simple justice, simple dignity, nothing about special rights and all those other issues. And I'm just grateful and I'm glad that I could play a small role in getting this legislation passed," McKeon said as he held back tears.

The measure will add the term "sexual orientation" to the state Human Rights Act, which explicitly will prohibit discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the workplace, at banks, in the real estate market and anywhere else public accommodations are offered, such as restaurants and hotels.

No specific church exemption

Landlords of owner-occupied buildings with five or fewer units and small businesses employing fewer than 15 workers are exempt from the change. Religious institutions aren't given a pass, though current state law allows them to show preference to their own faith when making decisions on hiring or housing.

Zachary Wichmann, associate director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, said his group is worried by the lack of a specific church exemption in the legislation pertaining to gays and lesbians.
"We were told as this went along we didn't have to worry, that we were protected under the Human Rights Act. But we thought we needed a specific protection in this bill. We're real worried about how this can be interpreted by the Human Rights Department and the courts," Wichmann said.

Sen. Carol Ronen (D-Chicago), one of the prime architects of the legislation, said churches and religious groups need to be held to the same anti-discrimination standards as the rest of society.
"If that is their goal, to discriminate against gay people, this law wouldn't allow them to do that. But I don't believe that's what the Catholic Church wants or stands for. I don't believe this law will impact their being able to carry out their mission and do the work they need to do," she said.

Even though Cook County and a host of Illinois municipalities have similar anti-discrimination ordinances, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals outside those areas lacked discrimination safeguards under state law and the state and federal constitutions, activists said.

"This truly is a landmark day in Illinois," Blagojevich said in a prepared statement. "This legislation sends a clear message that we will not allow our citizens to be discriminated against."
Despite assurances to the contrary, opponents worried the bill would open the door to gay marriages, which are outlawed in Illinois, or enable registered sex offenders to invoke the law to obtain housing. Critics also said it might allow cross-dressers to secure jobs as public schoolteachers.

"The problem with this legislation is ... it gives one segment of our society more say in housing and discrimination than the average citizen has, and that bothers me," said Rep. Terry Parke (R-Hoffman Estates), who voted against the bill.

Meanwhile, the House also sent Blagojevich legislation designed to carve up eight northern Illinois counties, including Kane, Will, Lake and McHenry, into new judicial districts so more minorities and women can be elected to the bench. Republicans, who tended to control the judiciaries in those respective counties, called the Democratic maneuver a power grab but lacked enough votes to stop it.

The Democratic-led Senate also passed and sent to Blagojevich legislation that would authorize locked-out union members involved in contract disputes to get unemployment insurance benefits for the first time. Republicans labeled the initiative as anti-business and predicted it would drive jobs out of Illinois.

Thank You Tucson, and Thank You Fred Phelps |
Thank you to the over 600(!) LGBT and Allied people who sent emails and stopped by Wingspan on Monday, January 10th to express appreciation for Rincon/University High's production of the 'Laramie Project.' By signing the card at Wingspan and sending emails of support, we peacefully made visible our collective strength as a community.

For many, Monday was their first visit to Wingspan, including one older, straight member of a local Christian congregation, as reported by her reverend: "I shared during the preaching moment a few details about Rev. Phelps on Sunday. One of our older members was so upset by this idea of spreading hate in the name of God; she made arrangements to make sure she was at Wingspan between 7 and 8am. She had never been to Wingspan, and felt it had been long enough. As we drove away from Wingspan, she said, 'What a delightful experience and what wonderful people!' "

Wingspan staff also had an excellent experience at the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) room at Rincon University High School (RUHS): "We sat and talked with the GSA sponsor and head of the counseling department about how things have and haven't changed in the schools, and what the needs are, both for education of students and staff, and about how we could set up some trainings for the football team at RUHS*(!!!!), who've been harassing the girls basketball team and calling them "dykes", and how Wingspan staff could also do training for ALL the counseling departments at TUSD! It was a great conversation, and we made new contacts of the TUSD administration!"

Many people expressed their appreciation by email, including: "I support Wingspan's efforts to rid our community of visiting hate-mongers such as Fred Phelps and I commend Rincon/University High School for the courage to put on 'The Laramie Project.' I'm proud that Wingspan is a part of my community. For the record, I am straight, married, and I vote!"

Many emails were sent in by RUHS alum, such as: "I am a graduate of UHS and a straight supporter of LGBT issues. I want to offer my support and thanks to the people of RHS/UHS and hope they continue to push for equality and tolerance."

Tucsonans who lived in Topeka, Kansas offered their thoughts about Phelps and our community's response: "We spent the last 18 months in Topeka, Kansas-home to Mr. Phelps and his hateful organization. We were both shocked and appalled to see random hate protests against the LGBT community at churches, retail locations and various special events. While many Topeka residents have come to ignore such displays, we were at a loss at what we could do to make a difference. Fred Phelps is a savvy lawyer, known to litigate to submission (and poverty) those who might oppose his views. Responding in like fashion with hateful speech, while at times satisfying, only fuels their hate protests. What we could do, and did, was to support the organizations finding themselves at the end of a Phelps hate protest. We fully support Wingspan's decision to hold an away protest, supporting the rights of University/Rincon students, yet avoiding possible violence as Phelps makes his way to the Tucson community."

The profound sentiments of appreciation go on and on and on.

Thank you to the many allied community organizations that encouraged their constituents to stop by Wingspan and sign the card, including Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona and Derechos Humanos. Thank you to the many amazing Wingspan volunteers and staff who woke up *very* early Monday to set up at Wingspan, and be available for students at the school. Thank you to TUSD administration and Tucson Police Department who invited Wingspan on behalf of the LGBT community to be at the table. Thank you to the students, who developed and wore 'no hate' stickers at school on Monday, and to their teachers who work hard every day. Thank you for to the play cast for sharing your passion and talents, and to the sold-out audiences who attended the shows. Thanks to those of you who thoughtfully and constructively expressed your disappointment with Wingspan not organizing a counter-protest at the school.

Thanks to all the straight allies who offered your support on Monday-we hope it is just the beginning of a wonderful relationship! Most social movements get moving when people who are not of the oppressed group join the struggle (i.e. when white abolitionists spoke out against slavery, when men spoke up for women's suffrage). More than ever, the LGBT community needs our straight allies to not only "come out" as supportive, but to get actively involved in the LGBT community. When LGBT people speak out for our civil rights, we are easily dismissed. But when our straight allies speak out and speak to one another, people listen. Straight allies--you have a lot of power. We welcome our straight allies at Wingspan, and would love to have you as a volunteer (for more info, email volunteer@wingspan.org).

And finally, thank you Fred Phelps.

Thank you for not coming to Tucson, though we were ready for you and will be ready for you the next time you threaten to come.

Thank you for helping Wingspan and Rincon University High mobilize our community against hate. Because of you, hundreds of people who never had heard of Wingspan before have come through our doors and been added to our E-news list. Because of you, the students know they live in an engaged, caring community. Because of you, members of the LGBT community, school administrators, law enforcement, students and clergy-groups that have not historically worked together, were partnered in support of one another. No doubt these newly-forged relationships will continue and strengthen because of you.

Fred Phelps, we knew our community was strong before you sent your hateful press release, but yesterday we powerfully displayed our collective strength. More than ever, we are ready as a community to not only mobilize against hate, but mobilize FOR positive, social change.

Let's keep the momentum going, Southern Arizona! We look forward to seeing you at one of the events below.