Higher Education LGBT
Articles Digest #126
#1
The New Hampshire, May 6, 2003
University of New Hampshire, Memorial Union Room 156, Durham NH, 03824
(Fax: 603-862-1920) (E-Mail: tnh.editor@unh.edu )
( http://www.tnh.unh.edu )
http://www.tnh.unh.edu/News/2760774.html
TRANSGENDER RESOURCE GROUP HOLDS FIRST MEETING [AT UNIVERSITY OF NEW
HAMPSHIRE]
By Morgan Keefe, TNH Reporter
NH TREE, (New Hampshire Transgender
Resources for Education and
Empowerment), directed by Joelle Ruby Ryan, had its first annual conference
at the MUB last weekend. The program is a start-up non-profit
organization
that aims to further gender freedom and social transformation. The
conference, also known as the Spring Summit, will take place every April at
UNH. It provides a socializing opportunity for those who are
transgendered
or are close to someone who is. It consisted of 12 different workshops
that
focused on diversity and social justice. The events that took place
included showings of documentaries, a Gender Jam (poetry readings), a dance
and a drag king show. There were also catered meals provided.
The summit
attracted 100 participants from all over New England. Some
participants
were students at UNH or community members.
Bob Coffey, the gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender coordinator,
in the office of Multicultural Student Affairs in the MUB, said, "I
thought
the conference was a success. I think that the University has a
commitment
to make all people have a place to come and to be a success. It
provided
the opportunity for people to learn more about a really important
community."
Ryan, a transgendered person herself,
has been speaking out about
being transgendered for over 10 years now. She defines the term
transgender
as a range of behaviors, expressions and identifications that challenge the
pervasive bipolar (male and female) gender system in any given culture.
Ryan has been an activist in fighting for more awareness about gender issues
and how society uses male and female to categorize people. NH TREE has
been
established to help with this awareness and to provide support to those who
have had experiences with transgender and lacked a place to feel comfortable
talking about it.
"Our goal is to further gender
diversity in the granite state and
beyond through education, activism, advocacy and artistic and cultural
endeavors. We seek to support cross-dressers, transgenders,
transsexuals
and the drag and intersex communities as well as our significant others,
friends, families and allies (SOFFAs)," said Ryan. "I am
very comfortable
speaking here and elsewhere about gender diversity. Over the years I
have
spoken to thousands in classes, social service agencies, community groups,
grassroots organizations, etc. My main mission is to show that
transgender
people exist and that we are a very diverse group of people. We come
from
every race, class and profession; we are male-to-female and female-to-male
and we are different in terms of how we identify our gender identity and
sexual orientation."
Ryan's comfort level with speaking is
of no surprise considering she
was a professor of English at UNH. She also graduated from UNH and
felt
that the school was a good place to hold the NH TREE conference because
there are not any other programs like TREE in the area and the University
provides the equipment needed to make the conference a success.
#2
Gay Financial Network, May 6, 2003
http://www.gfn.com/news/story.phtml?sid=13614
SURVEY: AMERICANS SUPPORT SUPREME COURT OVERTURNING SODOMY LAWS
By GFN.com News
Seventy-four percent of American adults
surveyed last month favor the
U.S. Supreme Court overturning state laws that criminalize private,
consenting sexual relations between same-sex couples, yet allows that same
private conduct to occur between opposite-sex couples.
The new online survey by Witeck-Combs
Communications and Harris
Interactive also reveals that Americans almost equally oppose laws
regulating consenting sexual relations that occur in the private homes of
opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Nearly nine out of 10 Americans (87
percent) oppose state laws regulating private, sexual relations that are
applied to opposite-sex married adult couples and almost as many (82
percent) oppose such laws that are applied to same-sex adult couples in a
domestic partnership.
#3
Oregon Daily Emerald, May 6, 2003
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
(Fax: 541-346-5821 ) (E-Mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu )
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/05/06/3eb7ca0b8224a
GUEST COMMENTARY [at University of Oregon]: SAME-SEX MARRIAGES
STRETCH BACK 1,000 YEARS
Thank you so much for your wonderful
editorial on Sen. Rick Santorum
("Santorum goes beyond gay slurs; he's lost hold of reality," ODE,
April
29). As a 73-year-old gay male "widower," having lost my
"spouse" of 34
years, David, four years ago, I appreciate your words of wisdom.
May I bring to your attention and that
of your readers to two books
that I hope will enlighten all who read them. The first is
"Biological
Exuberance" by Bruce Bagemihl, which details the results of 10 years
research into sexual orientation in the wild.
Bagemihl found more than 450 species
with homosexual, bisexual and
transgender members. In his review of the book, printed in the Ottawa
Citizen, Ian MacLeod writes, "The list of homosexual creatures,
according to
author and biologist Bruce Bagemihl, would fill Noah's Ark: apes and
monkeys, dolphins and whales, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and woodpeckers.
Lesbian gulls mated for life raising chicks together. Male manatees
splashing around in group orgies."
Homosexual animals, Bagemihl's research
found, don't experience the
harassment or violence of human homosexuals. Bagemihl writes,
"Where
individuals engaging in homosexual activity do attract attention, it is
usually out of simple curiosity or else because other animals want to
participate."
The other book is "Same Sex Unions
In Premodern Europe" by John
Boswell. Boswell, the A. Whitney Griswold professor of history at Yale
University, researched the archives of the Vatican, Paris, St. Petersburg
(Russia), Istanbul and the Sinai for 12 years and found records of same-sex
unions performed by the early Orthodox and Western Christian churches for
more than 1,000 years. His book has, for its dust cover, a picture of
a
seventh century icon showing the marriage of Saints Bacchus and Serge with
Christ as the "best man." This icon is in the Kiev, Ukraine,
Museum of
Eastern and Western Art.
The saints are Roman soldiers and
lovers, who were martyred for their
belief in Christianity. Their love became the standard which all
marrying
couples were admonished to simulate. Nor was Boswell the only one to
find
these same-sex marriage rites. In his review of the book in the Irish
Times
of August 11,1998, the writer and historian Jim Duffy writes, "Nor is
(Boswell) the first to make such a discovery. The Dominican Jacques
Goar
(1601-1653) includes such ceremonies in a printed collection of Greek prayer
books." He also states, "At St. John Lateran in Rome
(traditionally the
Pope's parish church) in 1578 as many as 13 couples were 'married' at Mass
with the apparent cooperation of the local clergy, 'taking Communion
together, using the same nuptial Scripture, after which they slept and ate
together,' according to a contemporary report."
There is a group of scientists who
believe that homosexuality has a
large role to play in evolution. So you see, homosexuality is natural
and
normal, and same-sex marriage was a done deal for more than 1,000 years.
. Gilbert S. Williams lives in Florida.
#4
Durham Herald-Sun, May 6, 2003
2828 Pickett Road, Durham, NC 27705
(Fax: 919-419-6878 ) (E-Mail: letters@heraldsun.com )
( http://www.heraldsun.com )
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-349407.html
DUKE TRIES TO BE MORE ACCEPTING OF GAYS
By Hunter Lewis, The Herald-Sun, hlewis@heraldsun.com
DURHAM - Gay?
For at least 1,800 Duke University
students, that's fine by them.
About a month ago around a dinner
table, 10 students, both straight
and gay, decided to change the perception that Duke was a homophobic campus.
The perception stemmed in part from The Princeton Review's ranking Duke one
of the country's most gay-unfriendly campuses a few years back.
Anti-gay graffiti has also been spotted
on the East Campus Bridge.
And in late 2000, debate over whether to allow same-sex unions in Duke
Chapel spilled out into The Chronicle, Duke's student daily newspaper.
Some
students and professors decried homosexuality and same-sex unions in the
letters section. Most, however, supported the idea. The chapel
now allows
the unions.
Duke has a Center for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Life; a
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance and a fledgling gay, lesbian and bisexual
studies curriculum.
Still, the perception lingered, the
students around that dinner table
said. So they decided to create a T-shirt that reads: "Gay? Fine
by me."
The students collected about $7,200
from several different student
groups and campus departments, printed the shirts and passed them out for
free in the weeks leading up to exams.
"We're not saying it's terrific or
terrible [to be gay]," said
graduate student Leila Nesson, who helped pass out the shirts.
"We're
saying, 'You can do what you wanna do. It's really none of my business.'
The ultimate goal is to make it as comfortable to be gay on campus as
straight on campus."
The T-shirt giveaway far exceeded the
designers' expectations. After
the initial printing of 500, the students printed several more batches.
Now
at 1,800, the students plan to hand out more shirts once students return for
the fall semester. In the meantime, other campuses in the region have
expressed interest.
Junior Lucas Schaefer, who helped come
up with the idea, said the
T-shirt dispelled the notion that Duke was homophobic.
"The T-shirt proves that we're
changing that perception on campus,"
Schaefer said.
But some question whether or not the
homosexual community needs approval.
"I support the homosexual
community," said sophomore Louisa Watkins,
who has worn the shirt. "But the T-shirt implies that it needs to
be fine
by me. I don't want it to come across that [homosexuals] need my
approval."
Schaefer said he understood the
argument.
"In the long term, we should live
in a society where we don't need
the shirts," he said. "But at this point, I think we do.
I just tend to
think that there will be less homophobia if more people come out.
"How do we make an environment
conducive on campus for people to come
out [of the closet]?" he continued. "By letting students,
employees,
professors or community members know there will be people to support you if
you decide to [come out]."
Andre Feit, an undergraduate, wore a
purple version of the shirt
Thursday in the student union. She said her friends in the lesbian,
gay,
bisexual and transgender community appreciated the support the T-shirts
simply.
"This campus could use [the
affirmation]," she said.
#5
South Dakota State University Collegian, April 29, 2003
Box 2815, Brookings SD 57007
(Fax: 605-688-6165 ) (E-Mail: wcol@sdsumus.sdstate.edu )
LETTER: REJECTING HETEROSEXISM [AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY]
This letter is in response to Mr.
Olson's letter of coming out as a
heterosexist that appeared in the April 8 edition of the Collegian.
Mr.
Olson's letter includes several points of misinformation that should be
corrected.
The declaration of identifying as a
heterosexist is hopefully an
incorrect one. The passage used to define heterosexism excludes an
important component of its definition. Heterosexism also includes
discriminating through the use of a majority's (in this case, the
heterosexual community) power. To be blunt, that type of behavior is
uncivilized.
Some individuals repress homosexual
inclinations by chastising
homosexuality. The line of reasoning using the bestiality, incest and
polygamy examples refers to the entire group, which is not the basis that
the quotation from the Collegian uses. The "fact" remains
true, but it does
not refer to all homophobes.
Homosexuality, whether or not one
labels it as a choice or an
inherent trait, is NOT something guaranteed and protected by "our great
nation." Most states do not have laws protecting homosexuals
against hate
crimes, few states have laws protecting the most basic employment rights and
no states have laws fully guaranteeing equivalent marriage rights.
Even with this great inequity in our
nation, some of the most
influential people in U.S. history were members of the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. Susan B. Anthony, J. Edgar
Hoover and Tennessee Williams are among them. Their great successes
stemmed
from their many individual gifts, one of which includes this membership.
Lastly, and most importantly, the
choice not to "associate" with
homosexuals because of moral disagreement with their "lifestyle"
is
ridiculous. That would be similar to avoiding friendships with
Lutherans,
vegetarians or fraternity members because one morally disagrees with their
choice of lifestyle. Please do not make the choice not to associate
with
someone based on that. Worrying about someone's ability to be an
honest
friend is challenging enough.
I hope all members of the SDSU and
Brookings community, please make
an active effort to embrace the similarities and differences of the LGBT
community.
If one chooses to avoid, attack, or
deny it, a person will miss out
on a lot of wonderful people.
- Scott Gessford, Communication Studies and Theatre graduate student,
Brookings
#6
The Missoulian, May 7, 2003
Box 8029, Missoula, MT, 59801
(Fax: 406-523-5221 ) (E-Mail: newsdesk@missoulian.com )
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2003/05/07/news/local/znews03.txt
ANTI-GAY CHURCH MAY BE TOO BUSY TO PROTEST UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PLAY
By Ginny Merriam of the Missoulian
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church
may be too busy to visit
Missoula on May 10 and 11 to picket the University of Montana production of
the play "The Laramie Project."
Graduation season is a busy time of
year for the anti-gay church,
Shirley Phelps-Roper, the church's attorney, said by phone from the church's
office in Topeka, Kan., on Monday. About 60 church members travel the
country picketing and protesting at universities that they say have agendas
that are pro-gay. In spring, picketing commencement exercises means constant
travel, Phelps-Roper said.
"We're traveling two or three
trips deep per weekend right now," she
said. "Things have kind of ramped up, and we're traveling quite a
bit."
Westboro Baptist Church and its leader,
the Rev. Fred W. Phelps,
operates a Web site, godhatesfags.com, in which it asserts that all gay
people and their supporters will go to hell. Its members picketed in
Missoula near the University of Montana in October 2001, calling UM a
"cesspool of violent, vile, lawless, degenerate fag/dyke vermin."
In April, the church announced in a
press release that it would
picket at UM on May 10 and 11, the last day of the UM production of
"The
Laramie Project" and a Sunday picket of diversity-inclusive churches.
The
play was inspired by the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay man studying in
Laramie, Wyo., who was beaten and killed four years ago. Playwright
Moises
Kaufman includes the character of Phelps, who with his church picketed
Shepard's funeral.
Missoula police Capt. Jim Lemke and UM
director of public safety Ken
Willett have been planning for the picket to make sure it is peaceful.
"He and I had been working
diligently to make sure their visit was
safe and quiet," Willett said.
Lemke telephoned the church Friday to
confirm the picket, and
Phelps-Roper told him then that the protesters may not come. They
always
notify law enforcement before they come, he said.
"They actually stick to a
timetable," Lemke said. "They don't like
to surprise anybody."
Phelps-Roper said Monday the traveling
picketers are regrouping from
trips to Pittsburgh and Fayetteville, N.C., and will decide on a Missoula
visit later in the week.
Members of the UM Lambda Alliance, the
UM student gay and lesbian
group, will carry on with a planned candlelight vigil and celebration on the
mall in front of the Adams Center with a human chain of people wearing
rainbow T-shirts holding hands from the Law School to the field house during
the picket.
"We plan to have our own
celebration of diversity," said Kris Monson,
Lambda special events director.
On Saturday, the last night of the
play, Lambda will hold a
candlelight vigil after the production.
One of the best ways the public can
support diversity and free speech
is to attend the play, said Lambda president Ernest Hergert.
"We're encouraging them to sell
out every performance," he said.
"That's the best way."
The events will be called "Love
All, Hate None: Blocking Hate in Our
Communities."
Volunteers interested in helping with
the events can call Lambda at
243-5922 or e-mail umlambda@hotmail.com.
. Reporter Ginny Merriam can be reached
at 523-5251 or at
gmerriam@missoulian.com
#7
Editor & Publisher, May 7, 2003
11 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011-4234
(Fax: 212-929-1894)
( http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ephome/news/newshtm )
http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/features_columns/article_display
.jsp?vnu_content_id=1882536
Reporter's Digital How-To
SEXUAL DIVERSITY ENCYCLOPEDIA
SITE PROVIDES COVERAGE OF GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER ISSUES
By Charles Bowen
In the lifetime of any middle-age
reporter or editor, we have seen
news coverage of homosexuality go from non-coverage to hyper-coverage to the
curious sort of don't-ask-don't-tell reporting of today.
Like most of our readers, we
journalists lost our shyness a decade
ago when it comes to discussing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
issues. After all, we spent much of the 1990s cultivating a cool
political
correctness about tolerance.
But as is often the case, in the
pursuit of diversity, we've
sometimes settled for simply diverting our gaze. Few heterosexuals
have
devoted much time to actually learning about gay culture, content instead
merely to raise the peaceful flag of live-and-let-live.
Journalists can't do that, of course.
Proper news coverage requires
background research. And when the subject of your story revolves
around
homosexuality, the newsroom's library might not help much.
Fortunately, the Web has got you
covered. A resource called Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Encyclopedia is the kind of serious
reference work for which editors and reporters are always searching.
The
site enables you to search by keyword, or to move through one of a number of
thematic sections, such as literature or the arts. Each section
contains an
alphabetical subject guide and a popular topics section.
Of particular interest is a Spotlight
section that features current
topics of interest. At this writing, for instance, Spotlight contained
a
long essay on lesbian photography before Stonewall. Another feature
covered
Jewish-American gay and lesbian literature over the past century.
The site also has a lively, monitored
discussion area, featuring
commentaries on literature, a suggestion box and feedback on technical
issues related to the site. Finally, the site has a list of all
contributors to the project, with links to each of their entries.
To examine the resource online, visit
http://www.glbtq.com, where a
navigation bar along the left side has links to its pages devoted to arts,
literature and discussion boards. Each entry in the Arts and
Literature
sections of the encyclopedia have alphabetical and topical indexes to aid
navigation and research.
The encyclopedia's Literature and Arts
Departments feature more than
one million words in more than 900 entries. Entries are accompanied by
hundreds of illustrations and photographic images that showcase the lives
and contributions of thousands of people who have influenced society through
literature and the arts, including film, dance, fashion and sports.
Also in the left column is a search
box. To use it, enter a word or
phrase in the text entry box, select either Encyclopedia or Discussion as
your target for the search and click the Go button. Searches are not
case
sensitive. The engine searches for every word entered in the box.
Messages on the discussion board of the
site can be read by all
visitors, but only members may post notes. Membership in the site is
free
and the signup form is reached at the bottom of the left column on any page
in the site.
Other considerations for using GLBTQ in
your writing and editing:
1. Founders of the site are
University of Michigan-Dearborn
professors emeritus Claude J. Summers and Ted-Larry Pebworth.
2. Watch for expansion of the
site. Developers say the encyclopedia
will grow to include departments that explore the many contributions made in
history and the social sciences, as well as health and science.
3. More than 260 artists,
academics, independent scholars and
practicing professionals have contributed signed entries to the GLBTQ
encyclopedia. Contributors range from Shaun Cole, curator of designs
at the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London; to Edward Sullivan, chair of New York
University's Department of Fine Arts; to Carla Williams, Blues aficionado
and Santa Fe-based photographer.
. Charles Bowen (charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com)
writes columns,
articles, and books from West Virginia, and is host of the daily Internet
News syndicated radio show at http://www.netnewstoday.com. His Web
site is
http://www.bowenbooks.com.
#8
The Capital Times, May 7, 2003
Box 8060, Madison, WI, 53708
(Fax: 608-252-6445 ) (E-Mail: tctvoice@captimes.madison.com )
( http://www.madison.com/ )
http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/stories/48355.php
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON TO OFFER LGBT STUDIES PROGRAM
By Aaron Nathans
This fall, the University of
Wisconsin-Madison will start offering an
undergraduate academic certificate program in lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender studies.
The 15-credit program will cut across
departments and allow students
to take courses in areas like women's studies, sociology and social work.
The 15-credit program will be housed in the women's studies program office.
The program will require no new money,
but will mean "a little more
sweat equity in women's studies," said Joe Elder, a professor of
sociology
who is chairman of the certificate committee.
Students who are graduating in December
will be the first batch
eligible to receive the certificate. It would not appear on students'
diplomas, but a notation of the certificate would be made on their
transcripts, Elder said.
Numerous academic disciplines have
courses in sexuality, including
law, medicine and history, said Mariamne Whatley, chairwoman of the women's
studies program. She will serve as certificate adviser.
LGBT studies, according to a university
release, "investigates and
theorizes on the concept, practice and history of sexuality as an element of
social organization."
#9
The Western Front, May 6, 2003
Western Washington University
College Hall 110, Bellingham, WA 98225-9100
(E-Mail: wfront@cc.wwu.edu ) ( http://www.westernfrontonline.com )
http://www.westernfrontonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/05/06/3eb85ec89a9
b3
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS LEADERS RESPOND TO PASTOR'S LECTURE [AT WESTERN WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY]
by Ian Alexander
Despite his expectations, Lutheran
campus Pastor Chris Berry said he
has not received any negative comments concerning his discussion three weeks
ago in which he said biblical references condemning homosexuality resulted
from incorrect translations of the Bible. Berry said the people who
have
talked to him since the discussion have had only positive feedback.
"Both gay and straight people have
talked to me, and everyone has
been very supportive," he said.
Discussions of homosexuality and
religion, such as Berry's "Combating
Bible Thumpers," have always caused debate.
"In the past, people have said,
'who do you think you are?' or 'how
dare you,'" Berry said. "The fact that I've spent 20 years
researching
these texts seems to be negated."
Berry said he was invited to give the
same lecture in some of the
residence halls in coming weeks.
According to the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, the book that the
Catholic Church publishes as its official position "Sacred Scripture,
which
presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always
declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are
contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of
life.
They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.
Under no circumstances can they be approved."
Interim Catholic campus minister A.J.
Boyd said homosexual
orientation and activity are two different things.
"Orientation itself is not morally
wrong, but any sexual activity not
open to procreation is always condemned," he said.
Boyd said he finds the issue of
incorrect translations of the Bible
fascinating.
"Any translation is an
interpretation," Boyd said. "You can walk
into Barnes and Noble and find lots of different English translations."
Boyd also said pastors help counsel
those who are struggling with
their identity.
"There is a particular challenge
for the struggle with identity as
both Christians, especially Catholics, and homosexuals," he said.
"We also
counsel non-homosexual people to have a more charitable and Christian view
of those facing the challenge of being homosexual."
Boyd said any discrimination against
people due to sexual orientation
is unacceptable.
According to the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, traditional
Judaism views homosexuality as an abomination as it is referred to in
Leviticus 18. Reform Jews perceive traditional views of homosexuality
as
outdated and have not made distinctions between homosexual and heterosexual
relationships, according to an article written by Rabbi Don Rossoff on the
U.A.H.C. Web site.
Western senior and Hillel group
administrative coordinator Jason
Kaltenbacher said Bible mistranslation is a problem. He also said Jews
are
encouraged to read the Bible in Hebrew to get a direct translation.
"If you pick up a (New
International Version) or King James Bible,
the same paragraph will be translated differently," he said.
"That's even
different from the Hebrew translation."
Kaltenbacher said homosexuality is
perceived within the Conservative,
Reform and Orthodox Jewish communities as a private matter rather than a
public one, but someone would not be ostracized because they were
homosexual.
"No one gets stoned, and they're
not frowned upon," he said. "In
fact, they're embraced."
Kaltenbacher said some synagogues in
Seattle have gay Rabbis, and
openly gay Conservative Jews have been well accepted within their community.
Berry said, however, that a lot of
churches have forgotten Christ's
command to love all.
"Unfortunately, Michael Savage,
Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura have
become the theologians of our time," he said. "The church
has allowed these
talk shows and the religious right to co-op the teachings of value and
morality."
#10
The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 8, 2003
1255 23rd St. N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20037
Phone: 202-466-1000, fax: (202) 452-1033
E-mail: opinion@chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/05/2003050802n.htm
Campuses Said to Be Hostile Environments for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgender Students
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students face a hostile environment
on campuses, even at colleges with strong support groups, according to a
report released this week by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The group surveyed more than 1,600 students, faculty members, and
administrators identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender on 14
campuses. Most of the colleges involved in the survey had campus centers for
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.
More than one-third of the respondents said they have experienced harassment
within the past year. Twenty percent of those said they feared for their
safety because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, and 51
percent said they sometimes conceal their sexual identity to avoid
intimidation.
Other colleges were also asked to participate, but those without strong
support systems for gay students declined, said Sean Cahill, director of the
task force's policy institute. "You need an ally on each campus to make
[the survey] happen," he said.
The report on the survey offers several suggestions for steps that colleges
can take to prevent harassment. Among them: provide training sessions for
campus police officers on gay issues and on handling hate crimes; create
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender alumni groups; include discussions
of gender identity and sexual orientation in student-orientation programs;
and provide single-stall, gender-neutral bathrooms.
"A lot of people are coming to campuses and are sort of figuring out
their sexual orientation," said Mr. Cahill. "That's a very
critical age, and it's really important that the university provide
resources and services so that those students can get the support they
need."
The report, titled "Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgender People: A National Perspective," is available on the
organization's Web site, at http://www.ngltf.org/library/index.cfm. It can
be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free.
#11
Daily Aztec, May 7, 2003
PSFA 361, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-9114
(E-Mail: daleters@mail.sdsu.edu ) ( http://www.dailyaztec.com )
Alter Ego
HOMOSEXUALITY IS WEIRD, DAMNABLE
By Church Lady (aka Rebecca Martin)
Nearly one month ago, I wrote a column
about homosexuals and how they
deserve tolerance and respect. A week later, I received a letter from
Victory
Christian Fellowship Campus Director Gino Mingo advising me to have a
talk with my pastor. Well, I took his advice, and after speaking with
Rev.
Lovejoy, I realized that homosexuality is indeed deviant and unnatural.
The Bible specifically states that
homosexuality is immoral. Romans
1:26-27 reads: "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
Even
their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the
same way
the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with
lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and
received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
This passage
is proof positive that homosexuality is unnatural, and therefore evil.
We
can read these two verses and know God hates homosexuality without
considering any other factors.
It is not important to read the text
surrounding the verse - we can
absorb God's intended message through reading these few sentences alone, out
of the context of the chapter. When we Christians open the Bible, read
a
sentence and close it back up again, it's as if God is speaking to us.
Studying the Bible in order to better understand its message is completely
unnecessary. You don't have to study the Bible to understand it
because God
is holy and he wouldn't write something that was difficult to understand.
It is also not relevant whether these
words - having been translated
a few thousand times - are the true representation of the original Greek
text. The Bible is God's holy word and therefore it will mystically
remain
true to its original message - even after thousands of translations.
Also, contrary to what rabbis and
scholars believe, the Bible is not
a collection of allegories meant to be life lessons. It is the breath
of
God; it's his divine word and we must do exactly what it tells us to.
Those
who state that we shouldn't take the Bible literally are the spawn of the
devil. We must always do everything the Bible says, even when it
doesn't
make sense in the context of our current society.
Above all, we must never take under
consideration the prejudices of
the writers of the text. The idea that man might have taken God's
original
message and put it into his own words - changing the meaning of the text in
the process - is blasphemous. Every word in the Bible came straight
out of
God's lips and onto the page. Anyone who thinks otherwise shall burn
in
hell for all eternity.
Some argue that God has no place in
U.S. law. These hell-bound
individuals state that our country's citizens aren't all Christians, and
that by implementing Christian laws into a non-Christian society, the
government is oppressing a minority by forcing them to live by a book they
do not agree with. These people have the gall to say that our
country's
current separation between church and state was created to protect them from
discrimination and oppression.
Well, isn't that special. Hmm, I
wonder who could have come up with
the idea to take God out of our government? Oh, I don't know - could
it be
Satan?
Heathens! God shall smite thee
with his almighty power.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to
come off as unmerciful. After
all, our dear president is compassionate and I strive to be more like Mr.
Bush every day. The way I figure it, this little problem of joining
church
and state can be solved rather easily. All that has to happen is for
everyone to convert to Christianity. Then there won't be any problem
enforcing God's laws in the courts, and as an added bonus, everyone can go
to heaven. Those who engage in sodomy in their bedrooms (or heaven
knows
where else) will be arrested by police officers and put in prison.
Praise
the Lord.
This solution should work for everyone.
However, if there are still
some reading this column who disagree with my point of view, I'll leave you
with a thought that should convince you of the truth: If God had
intended
men to have sex with other men, he would have created Adam and Steve - not
Adam and Eve.
. Rebecca Martin is a journalism junior
and assistant opinion editor
for The Daily Aztec. This column does not necessarily reflect the
opinion
of The Daily Aztec or Rebecca Martin.
#12
Central Maine Morning Sentinel, May 8, 2003
http://www.centralmaine.com/news/stories/030508jennifer.shtml
COLBY COLLEGE PROFESSOR AT PEACE AFTER GENDER CHANGE
By Amy Calder, Staff Writer
WATERVILLE - For 13 years, James Finney
Boylan taught his creative
writing students at Colby College to believe in their dreams and have the
courage to be themselves.
But it was not until last year that
Boylan heeded his own words and
took a drastic step that would change his life forever.
Boylan, 43, became a woman.
After many years of living with the
painful awareness that he was a
female in a male body, he underwent a sex change.
He became Jennifer Finney Boylan and
moved from one difficult life to
another, but with a certain measure of relief.
"I feel totally at peace,"
Boylan, now 44, said Wednesday. "I feel
like somebody who has gotten out of jail after 40 years for something she
didn't do - that I've been pardoned by the governor."
Explaining to others about what it
means to change genders is not
easy, and there are bound to be those who will not understand, Boylan said.
"The most important thing to know
about being transgendered is, it's
not a lifestyle and it's not a choice," Boylan said. "It's a
fact, like
having blue eyes or green eyes. No amount of wishing it weren't so, or
prayer or love will make it not the case."
Tall, willowy and with long blonde hair
and a quick smile, Boylan on
Tuesday appeared on Oprah Winfrey's television show, where she talked about
her book, "She Isn't There." The book, being published by
Doubleday, has a
release date of July 27.
"It's a memoir," Boylan said
Wednesday. "It contains an afterword by
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo (a former Colby professor).
It
has been selected as an alternate selection of the Book of the Month Club
and will have a forward by Newsweek critic Anna Quindlan."
"The book tells the story about
what it means to be transgendered.
It attempts to show that this is primarily a medical problem. It's not
like
being gay or lesbian. It is something people are born with."
On the show, Winfrey asked Boylan
questions about her life with a
woman named "Grace," whom, as a man, Boylan married in 1988.
That year, the
couple moved to Maine and had two children, now 7 and 9.
Boylan told Winfrey that while she and
Grace live together, they no
longer live as husband and wife. They are friends, who refer to each
another as a partner, rather than a spouse. She said her children now
call
her "Maddy," rather than "Daddy."
The show included footage of Boylan and
Grace with their children at
their home, located 20 minutes from Waterville and Augusta (Boylan requested
the town not be made public), as well as at a local restaurant. It
also
included clips of Boylan at Colby, where she is co-chair of the English
Department and teaches some American literature in addition to creative
writing and fiction writing.
The author of seven novels, including
"Getting In," and a collection
of short stories, Boylan is a respected member of the faculty, who is
well-liked by students and colleagues, say those who know her.
"Jenny is a highly-valued member
of the faculty, is co-chair of the
English Department, and won the Charles Bassett Senior Class Award in
2000,"
said college spokesman Stephen B. Collins. "It's the senior class
recognizing their favorite professor, and Jenny got it, which is an
indication of how she is valued in the classroom."
Colby senior Hi'ilei Dye, 21, is taking
an advanced fiction workshop
with Boylan and recently took screenwriting with her as well.
Dye said Boylan's reputation as an
excellent teacher prompted her to
take the classes, and her expectations were more than met.
"She's hysterical and intelligent
and critical," Dye said. "She's
just so personable. Having her as a teacher in class made my writing
so
much better because I felt so comfortable with her."
Dye said that students who had heard
about Boylan's sex change were
interested in her situation.
"Of course, at first, everyone was
pretty curious to check out the
transgendered teacher," she said. "I had heard about it
before the change."
Dye said during the first couple of
days of class, she found herself
looking at Boylan - at her build, and the way she dressed - but that
curiosity ultimately disappeared, and she rarely thought about it.
She said Boylan at one point invited
students to ask her questions
about her gender change - to get the situation out in the open - and then it
was not discussed again.
"That is very professional,"
Dye said. "She definitely makes it
clear that we are in class to learn."
Jackson Duke, also 21 and a senior
majoring in English, said he met
Boylan, but has not had her in class. Students in general found
Boylan's
gender change interesting, but not controversial.
"There could have been potential
for a lot of fallout, but there
really isn't any," he said. "Everybody seems to take it in
stride and I
think everybody's pretty supportive of her."
Boylan, a full professor, talks about
Colby students and colleagues
with respect and warmth.
"My students have said to me, 'If
Jenny Boylan can do this, we can do
anything,'" she said.
More than 40,000 people have undergone
gender changes, according to
Boylan. She considers the details of her own surgery, which was
conducted
in Wisconsin, a private matter.
"Being transgendered is not the
most important thing about me. It's
about being a good teacher, being a good writer, being a good parent, being
a good friend. Being transgendered is irrelevant. It's a matter
of soul.
It's not about clothes. It's about being female."
Boylan steers away from questions about
her partner, saying only that
changing genders is a difficult thing for a family, and that they have done
the best they can.
There are other topics she hesitates to
approach, such as whether she
is attracted to males or females.
"I think I'm not going to comment
on that," she said.
But, asked if she has any regrets,
Boylan answers with a clear and
strong voice.
"I regret that our lives are not
only our own lives. We are
connected to so many other people. I regret any pain that my
transition
caused for the people that I love. For myself, I'm joyful and grateful
and
celebratory."
Boylan, who grew up in Pennsylvania,
said her mother has been
wonderful throughout her transition.
"My mother, who is conservative
and Republican and very religious,
simply said to me, 'Love will prevail,'" she said.
People Boylan has talked to understand
that her gender change is not
about sexual orientation, but about identity. They have not passed
judgment, she said.
"I think everyone understands
identity. People understand it takes
courage to do hard things. Everyone has been compassionate and
dignified."
"I've been very moved by the
goodness of the people of central Maine
and I've seen that the people of Maine are every bit as sophisticated,
intelligent and loving as people anywhere else on the planet," she
said.
Boylan, who wrote about her life in a
story in GQ magazine, is
scheduled to do an extensive book tour, and will appear on the Today Show.
. Amy Calder: 861-9247;
acalder@centralmaine.com
#13
Oregon Daily Emerald, May 9, 2003
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
(Fax: 541-346-5821 ) (E-Mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu )
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/05/09/3ebbd279c91a9
GUEST COMMENTARY: HOMOSEXUAL MEN SHOULD HIDE THEIR DISGUSTING ACTS
Vincent Martorano
Being a conservative on this campus is
a difficult chore. Attending
classes where liberal ideology is practically forced down your throat -
while any attempt at voicing a conservative opinion is oppressed at all
costs - is quite the task. Then you have individuals such as sociology
instructor Chuck Hunt who stretch the truth beyond belief, and it's sad to
see impressionable college students soak up this leftist propaganda.
Before coming to Eugene, I was fully aware that
this university was a
liberal campus, but I'm a fairly tolerant guy and figured I'd be able to put
up with the various environmental, pro-choice, forced diversity, hatred of
anything remotely associated with America causes that were sure to be
presented as part of our supposed "balanced education."
However, there is
one prominent issue on this campus that simply drives me nuts.
On more than one occasion I've been
walking to class and have been
subjected to an absolutely disturbing display of two homosexual men making
out. To me, witnessing this is offensive, and I fail to understand how
anyone can openly be proud of such a lifestyle. I do not base my
position
on any sort of religious belief, but I do obtain a sense of moral decency
that provides me with the knowledge that homosexual behavior is wrong.
I've had people argue with me on this
topic, saying that I'm
narrow-minded and should somehow be more accepting with my views, but who
has any right to tell me, or anyone for that matter, what should or should
not be accepted in society. I apologize to any of you liberals out
there
who are shocked to hear that there are indeed individuals such as myself who
harbor such views, but you do not necessarily always have to believe such
things simply because it is politically correct to do so.
I'll admit I'm uncompromising when it
comes to this issue, but I am
not one of those people who thinks I have some sort of authority to preach
about what is right and wrong, and to make things clear - I do not flat out
hate gay individuals. I do, however, openly oppose the gay community
as a
whole, and I am not afraid to say it.
Despite its existence throughout
history, I believe that
homosexuality is a disgrace to society and just because it has existed for a
long time does not make it right. I long for the days when
homosexuality
was viewed by society as an illness, and gays opted to remain in the closet.
Today, it seems like there's a gay
pride parade every other day, and
all of a sudden gay individuals are actually proud of their queer lifestyle,
which by definition is strange and odd.
Now, I know some of you would like to
label me as a homophobe, but I
personally am completely comfortable with my sexuality and understand the
correctness in preferring the opposite sex.
Look, I have no problem with gay
individuals, as long as they stay in
the closet and refrain from using the idea of political correctness as a
ploy to tell me that I should be more accepting of a lifestyle in which I
find absolutely disgusting.
. Vincent Martorano is a freshman
political science major.
#14
New York Times, May 9, 2003
229 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10036
(Fax: 212-556-3622 ) (E-Mail: letters@nytimes.com )
( http://www.nytimes.com )
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/opinion/09KRIS.html
NO TIME TO GET SQUEAMISH
By Nicholas D. Kristof
Most AIDS scientists are terrified
these days. They describe witch
hunts by neo-Puritans in and out of the Bush administration, and many are so
nervous that in e-mail and research abstracts they avoid using words like
"gays," "homosexuals," "anal sex" or "sex
workers."
So scientists at the National
Institutes of Health and elsewhere are
devising their own secret code. I won't give it away, but one term
stands
for "gay" or "homosexual," another for "anal
sex" and so on.
"I would recommend avoiding all
electronic communication to any
N.I.H. office," one scientist warned in one of many e-mail notes
buzzing
among AIDS researchers. "Phone communication does not appear
tapped at this
time. Even so, I am advising staff to speak 'in code' unless an N.I.H.
staff member indicates you can speak freely. In short, assume you are
living in Stalinist Russia when communicating with the United States
government."
As my Times colleague Erica Goode noted
in breaking the story last
month, researchers have been told by N.I.H. project officers to avoid
"sensitive language" in grant applications. A University of
California
researcher, for example, was told to "cleanse" the abstract of his
grant
proposal of words like "gay," "homosexual" and
"transgender."
Since his research was on H.I.V. in gay
men, this was a challenge.
How can scholars investigate how AIDS spreads without using words that make
the religious right blush?
Perhaps this seems like an obscure
issue. It's not: the fundamental
question is whether elements of the Bush administration are politicizing
science, using budgets, advisory committees and the fear of embarrassment to
chill the way science is conducted in America.
Particularly in the case of AIDS, which
kills more people in two
hours than SARS has killed in total, vast numbers of human lives are at
stake. In America alone, 12,000 people die annually of AIDS. The
difference between solid scientific research and pseudoscience will be
measured in millions of lives saved.
"We need science-based H.I.V.
prevention, not politically or
ideologically driven policies," said David Harvey of the AIDS Alliance
for
Children, Youth and Families. "H.I.V. and AIDS are an
uncomfortable topic
for many people because of issues related to gay sex and IV drug use.
We
can't shy away, though."
Some of the upheaval in the research
community may be a paranoid
overreaction among scientists, who tend to be liberal and secular. The
Bush
administration itself seems divided about how to deal with AIDS. Some
officials have denounced condoms, for example, and want to promote only
abstinence.
But Mr. Bush himself is fighting for
his $15 billion AIDS initiative,
an outstanding effort that sensibly relies on condoms as well as abstinence.
Probably no initiative of Mr. Bush's will save so many lives or make so much
difference in Africa and Asia as his AIDS effort.
Domestically, the administration
announced a new strategy last month
for fighting H.I.V., moving the focus from community outreach to more
testing and treatment (particularly of expectant mothers). One can
quibble
about the new strategy, but it's a credible, serious effort, and since new
H.I.V. infections in the U.S. have stubbornly remained at 40,000 annually,
the new approach is reasonable.
One reason for the new strategy is that
conservatives have had fits
about past community outreach efforts. A recent letter from a
Congressional
subcommittee thundered about the use of federal money to finance "great
sex
workshops, pointers on where to have anonymous sex in public places,
masturbation instructions, 'fisting' forums and tips of how to negotiate sex
with prostitutes."
Hmm. Defenders say that many
at-risk men don't attend meetings on
safe sex, so the only way to save their lives is to lure them to picnics or,
yes, sex workshops. Still, the efficacy is unclear, and most Americans
are
unlikely to regard tax dollars as well spent when used to finance gay sex
workshops. If President Bush makes a serious effort to combat AIDS
using
other approaches, like testing, that's fair.
The bottom line, though, is that Mr.
Bush must make it clear that he
is on the side of scientists, not the witch burners. He can't stay on
the
fence. Too many Americans have already died of AIDS to allow promising
fields of research to wither because some Americans get the willies when
they see terms like "anal sex."
#15
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2003
900 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63101
(Fax: 314-340-3139 ) (E-Mail: SiteEditor@stltoday.com )
(http://www.stltoday.com/ )
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/5BFA9C045A1D4A0D86256
D2100692128?OpenDocument&Headline=Gephardt+says+his+daughter+is+a+lesbian
GEPHARDT SAYS DAUGHTER IS LESBIAN, WILL PLAY ROLE IN CAMPAIGN
By Deirdre Shesgreen, Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Rep. Richard Gephardt's
daughter Chrissy, a lesbian,
will be helping the congressman to try to secure support from the gay
community as he campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"She's going to be active in the
campaign, and she'll go talk to gay
and lesbian groups and all kinds of groups," Gephardt said in an
interview
Thursday on CNBC's Capital Report.
Gephardt said Chrissy, a 30-year-old
social worker, would not just be
focusing on the gay community, but would help his campaign on a broad array
of issues, including health care and poverty.
"She's worried about welfare
programs for poor people that she deals
with every day," Gephardt said. Chrissy believes in "a lot
of the same
things I do and is going to be a big and important part of the
campaign."
Gephardt's announcement came as a
surprise to some. He has not
mentioned Chrissy's sexual orientation in previous campaign appearances and
his aides have not drawn attention to the matter until now.
Gephardt's campaign website, in a
section about his family, does make
a brief reference to Chrissy's partner, Amy, who is also included in a
family photo on the site. The two live together in Washington, where
Chrissy works with survivors of trauma and abuse at a mental health agency.
Amy is also a social worker.
Those quiet references drew little
notice, but the campaign is now
moving to put Gephardt's daughter in the spotlight. Gephardt and
Chrissy
plan to do an exclusive interview with People magazine, according to Erik
Smith, a campaign spokesman.
Gephardt's decision to talk publicly
about Chrissy and to give her a
high-profile role in the campaign stands in contrast to the role played by
Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, in the 2000
presidential race.
Although Mary Cheney worked for her
father in the 2000 campaign, she
took a largely behind-the-scenes role and her parents refused to talk
publicly about her sexual orientation.
The Bush administration has strongly
opposed any kind of gay unions.
Gephardt and most of the other
Democratic presidential candidates
support such unions, which are a step short of gay marriage but which give
gays and lesbians legal recognition of their relationships.
#16
Oxford Student, 8 May 2003
28 Little Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX1 2HU England
(E-Mail: editors@oxfordstudent.com ) ( http://www.oxfordstudent.com )
http://www.oxfordstudent.com/2003-05-08/news/10
PROUD OF PRIDE [AT OXFORD]
By James Murray
The first British Gay Pride event of
2003 came to Oxford last
Saturday. It was also the first ever Pride event in our ancient city's
history.
Organisers declared the celebration,
which was attended by over 2,000
people on the Oxpens field near the Ice Rink, a huge success.
The event was attended by not just by
gay people, but also by gay
friendly individuals and families, with kids taking advantage of the bouncy
castle slide.
Some attending the event were put off
by the village fete atmosphere
of the event, perhaps expecting a London-style Mardi Gras. However
Mark
Whittaker, the Chair of the Committee that organized the event, praised the
range of people who attended.
He said he was "delighted by the
number of people that turned out to
support the event and impressed to see large numbers of families and
children, showing that Pride really was a day of fun and celebration for the
whole community".
Despite low levels of policing, the day
passed off without a hitch or
homophobic incident. Police were present, however, hoping to promote
their
new initiative to crack down on homophobic crime. The new proposals
aim to
improve relations between the police and the gay community, whilst
encouraging victims of homophobic crime to report incidents against them.
Part of the work includes 'third-party reporting' to make it easier for
victims to come forward. Thus the incident will still be reported to
the
police but the victim does not need to have direct contact with officers
unless they wish to.
#17
Kansas State Collegian, May 9, 2003
Kedzie 116, Manhattan, KS, 66506
(Fax: 913-532-6456 ) (E-Mail: letters@spub.ksu.edu )
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/stories/050903/new_gradprotest.shtml
COUNTER-PROTESTERS WILL OFFER OPPOSITION TO ANTI-GAY PICKETERS [AT
KANSAS STATE]
By James Hurla, Kansas State Collegian
Coalition for Community Action members
want to ensure their message is heard.
To accomplish this, they will be
silent.
"A Date With Hate" is an
annual demonstration at K-State's graduation
designed as a counter-protest against Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist
Church's anti-gay protests.
The protests generally are outside the
entrance to Bramlage Coliseum,
said Becky McQuilliam, media relations officer for the coalition and junior
in social work.
McQuilliam said she was not aware of
any confrontations between the
two sides, but there is a barrier between the opposing protesters.
Silence is an important aspect of the
counter-protesters' message,
McQuilliam said.
Instead of chanting or speaking, the
coalition will stand silently
with placards containing messages that portray love and acceptance,
McQuilliam said.
Phelps and members of his Topeka church
often hold upside-down
American flags and signs with messages such as "God hates fags"
and "Thank
God for Sept. 11."
This is the third year for the Date
with Hate, McQuilliam said.
"It's important, not just for
K-State students, but for the entire
community to say this is not acceptable," she said.
According to the Westboro Baptist
Church Web site, the church's
mission is to use the Bible to convince others that homosexuality is a
"soul-damning, nation-destroying notion."
McQuilliam said she first became
involved with the coalition because
some of her classmates in the social work curriculum encouraged her to join.
This year's demonstration will be her second.
"I reached a point in my life when
I decided it was time to take a
stand," she said. "I don't want to let others decide for
me."
By holding signs and participating in
the silent protest, McQuilliam
said she and the other protesters will show passersby that they do not have
to accept Phelps' message.
"People may think that's how
Manhattan feels," she said. "It's vital
that we show them it is not our viewpoint."
Phelps and his anti-gay protesters
practice demonstrations primarily
in Topeka, but according to their Web site, the group will travel for
protests at the graduations of University of Kansas Law School, Blue Valley
North High School in Kansas City, Mo., and Free State High School in
Lawrence.
The Date With Hate is practiced only
once each year during K-State's
graduation, McQuilliam said, because the counter-protest is difficult to
plan.
"We're happy to have the
opportunity to have our message heard," she
said. "It's always exciting when you see someone take a stand
against hate."