We Are Michigan : Your Alternative News & Information Resource

Privatizing and Profiteering
The Deepening college loan scandal is a classic case of what can happen when government uses private companies as middlemen to carry out public goals. Lately, investigations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, US Senator Edward Kennedy, and others have revealed a number of problems. The private lending industry adds nothing of value and takes no real risk, since loan repayment is guaranteed by the government. It simply skims off exorbitant profit at taxpayer expense — and then adds further costs of marketing and bribing college officials. According to government figures tabulated by US News & World Report, the direct loan program does better than break even, while the private loan program costs taxpayers $12.80 for every $100 borrowed. Most of those extra costs go for company profits. If all reduced-rate loans had been made through the direct loan program, Kennedy reports, we would have saved $30 billion since 1994, the year Congress revised and expanded the federal program.

Is the Scene of the Crime the Cause of the Crime?
Schoolyard massacres are rebellions against oppressive and bullying environments by students who can't take it anymore. Another rampage massacre, this time the worst ever. Which means another fake attempt at trying to understand this uniquely American crime -- these interminable rage killing sprees in our workplaces and our schoolyards. What makes the Virginia Tech massacre more horrifying isn't just the body count but the reaction of the living: The official fake soul-searching is more idiotic than ever. It is difficult to deal with the possibility that other factors may have led to the massacre, factors that are still too painful and close to us to consider. For example, how was this nerdy South Korean immigrant treated at his suburban high school and at Virginia Tech? What is the campus life like? What was it about Virginia Tech that made it the setting for the first student-on-student college massacre? And why were there copycat threats at campuses across Middle America over the following days? [Editor: Read the next story below for more insight on this concern.]

Hate crime victims need your help!
Legislation that would add protections for GLBT citizens to existing hate crimes legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. A vote is expected this week, National Crime Victims' Rights Week. We need you to help in efforts to pass this important legislation. The Matthew Shepard Act, also known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, would finally recognize anti-gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender violence for what it is - a hate crime. Just as important, this bill recognizes that sexual minorities both need and deserve the same protections as other minorities. Please take a moment today to write to our two U.S. Senators and to your U.S. Representative and urge them to support The Matthew Shepard Act.

ACLU Sues Southern California School District to Stop Unequal Treatment of Gay and Lesbian Students
LOS ANGELES -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, an Orange County high school senior, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network filed a lawsuit today against the Garden Grove Unified School District in an effort to stop discrimination and harassment of gay and lesbian students on campus. Charlene Nguon filed suit with her mother after Santiago High School Principal Ben Wolf told her that either she or her girlfriend had to leave the high school at the end of her junior year for a neighboring school, Bolsa Grande. Nguon, 17, is a straight-A student ranked in the top five percent of her class, and had no prior record of discipline. She is enrolled in a number of advanced placement and honors classes and was a candidate for the National Honor Society until the offer was rescinded because of discipline, including one weeklong suspension, for hugging her girlfriend on campus.

Gay legal group attacks U.S. school policy
Gay and lesbian student groups should have as much access to the public schools as the Boy Scouts -- that's what Lambda Legal is arguing in a challenge to a new U.S. policy.

Parents Live In Closets Too
"It was just over two years ago that I first opened the doors of my closet. That small ray of light and whiff of fresh air felt wonderful! It was safe to talk to a trusted friend ... I doubt that I'll be fully out of the closet. I have no need to be. Each time that door opens an inch, I feel better ..."

What is PFLAG About
"Parents start defending gay children" by Deb Price, The Detroit News.

The Rainbow Mom
Lorraine Hampton talks about her recent MLK service she attended in Detroit with Keynote speaker Hester Wheeler, Excutive Director NAACP-Detroit and David Tseng, Executive Director PFLAG and promotes the upcoming Michigan Circle.

Pflag Jackson Meetings
February’s meeting will be Erin and Jennifer Adriel, the founders of Soulforce: Detroit

In Appreciation
Michael Gibson-Faith from AFSC, Prison City Bears, and those who have been willing to participate in Michigan Circle.

PFLAG Family Reunion Honors Dr. King
"Keynote speaker at the PFLAG event will be Hester Wheeler, executive director of the NAACP Detroit. Joining him will be the Rev. Darlene Franklin and choir of the Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church....."

Gay Students Seek Acceptance
"Interaction with students such as Heather Findley and Sara Holy of East Lansing High School and Diane Dennerll of Jackson High School could give Bryans just the type of information he needs....In Jackson, Dennerll said, the opposition wasn't as much from students, as from parents and religious leaders who thought a GSA was an inappropriate extra-curricular activity ..." Lansing State Journal, January 26, 2003

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Architect Favors Ending Gay Ban
"Northwestern University Professor Charles Moskos, the primary author of the current U.S. Policy on gay and lesbian soldiers, said this week that he supports allowing known gays to serve in the military if the nation reinstates the draft ..."

Prospect Of War Exposes Hypocrisy Of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"The government's war-time waffling on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military is a self-serving, hypocritical one that, s we edge closer and closer to armed conflict, grows ever more insulting and demeaning to gay and lesbian military personnel. It alone should be reason enough not to serve ..."

Queer Anti-War Sentiment Grows – NGLTF Signs Onto Statement Opposing U.S. Attack On Iraq.
"The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) joined a coalition of progressive groups that oppose a U.S. War in Iraq when it endorsed a statement from the.....We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction ..."

Freedom Illustrated: The Art Of Civil Liberties
"In some cities cartoonists have been fired or lost freelance jobs because of cartoons critical of U.S. policy or for using "wrong" metaphors ..." A look at their work

MSU Exhibit Fundraiser
"Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945" Exhibit to be from 11/01/03 to 02/27/04.

Queers Against The War
"Join us Feb 8th in Ann Arbor for a regional peace gathering ... AFSC along with the Triangle Foundation are organizing a queer specific contingency to march in this gathering."

GLAAD's Announcing Equality Project
Listing of newspapers jumps from 150 newpapers to 181 that publish Same Sex Union Announcements. 11 states impacted by Newspaper Chain enacts pro-gay announcement policy. Michigan still remains at 4 newspapers.

Maryland Governor Pressures Newspapers To Publish Same-Sex Unions.
Gov. Parris Glendening, who evoked the memory of his brother when he fought for a state gay rights law two years ago, has personally asked three newspapers to publish notices of same-sex commitment ceremonies alongside wedding

Stitches In Time
"Michigan project Save Stories of HIV-Positive Women by Rhomylly B Forbes. In 1999, The Midwest AIDS Prevention Project (MAPP) of Ferndale, Michigan announced a new creative program: STITCHES: A Doll Project....."

Bug Chasers
"The men who long to be HIV+" Special thanks to Triangle Foundation

Abstinence-Only Education
"The vast majority of American parents support comprehensive sex education...... According to a recent study....Given the choice only 1% to 5% of parents remove their children from comprehensive sex education courses....."

Michigan PWA Task Force
"If you would like ot know you are helping to create policies procedures and strategies that will influence statewide service and prevention delivery.....

Solutions
"Are you a person who is dealing with a family member or loved one who is HIV+ or has AIDS?...."

Auditions, Auditions, Auditions
Michigan Shakespear Festival Announces Auditions for 2003 Season. - King Lear & The Tamig of the Shrew.....

Deb Price
The first openly gay columnist to write on gay issues for a major metropolitan daily newspaper. One of her recent articles is: "Parents start defending gay children"

Bullying, Slurs are Rampant, Nationwide Survey Finds
At a time when bullying and teasing in schools is a growing concern for educators and parents, a new study finds that students who are gay or thought to be gay are most likely to be targets -- even more than children who are overweight or have disabilities.

Lesbian teen sues school district for bias
A 15-year-old high school student is suing her former Banning, Calif., school district for civil rights violations after she was removed from a gym class by a teacher because she is a lesbian.

'Gay bashing' is most common bullying in schools
Gay slurs have become the insult of choice among school bullies, spit so indiscriminately at gay or straight students that half the teens in a new nationwide survey said they hear these taunts at least once a day.

Homophobic Bullying Rampant In Schools Health Group Says
Bullying and other harassment towards gay teens and teens who are perceived to be gay is widespread in America's schools and communities, according to a new survey of teens sponsored by the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), the nation's oldest and largest mental health organization.

Start Your Own Youth Crime Watch School
Encourage students to become active in keeping their communities safe. Youth Crime Watch supports a variety of student-led violence prevention programs, from bus safety to conflict resolution.

Student Pledge Against Gun Violence
October 17th is designated a "Day of National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence". Print pledges against gun violence for students to sign (including one for younger students) and consider activities other schools have used to promote gun violence prevention.

Michigan first-grader fatally shot by classmate
A 6-year-old girl was shot to death in her classroom Tuesday by a first-grade classmate with a stolen handgun, authorities said. Kayla Rolland died at 10:29 a.m. of a single gunshot wound to the chest after being rushed to Hurley Medical Center by Emergency Medical Service workers, who said she was in cardiac arrest. The suspected shooter was a 6-year-old boy who pulled a handgun from his pants pocket and fired one shot.

Boy, 13, doesn't know why he shot classmates
A 13-year-old boy firing a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun wounded four classmates at their rural Oklahoma middle school before being subdued and taken into custody.

Are U.S Schools Safe?
Students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, used the term "new normal" when discussing their state of mind in the wake of the hellish violence that shattered their lives on April 20, 1999. The shootings aroused concerns about school safety and gun control, fears that were still very real for many Americans.

Facts About Violence Among Youth and Violence in Schools
CDC, and the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice, and the National School Safety Center have examined homicides and suicides associated with schools and identified common features of school-related violent deaths. The study examined events occurring to and from school, as well as on both public or private school property, or while someone was on the way or going to an official school-sponsored event. The original study published in 1996 yielded these findings.

Settlement Affirms Students' Right to Be Free of Harassment
In what plaintiffs' attorneys call the first settlement in the country to recognize the constitutional right of gay students to be protected from harassment in public schools, a former Reno, Nev., student who sued school officials will receive $451,000. The settlement sends a message to other districts nationwide that they must "stop gay-bashing."

Every child deserves safe place to learn
When he was a ninth grader, Nathan Triplett was hit in the back of the head by a book with such force that he was knocked unconscious.

Finding the Right Campus
Organizations representing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender high school students have specific suggestions on what those students should look for in choosing colleges. Most of the information should be available from colleges' student-activities centers, counseling offices, gay-lesbian campus organizations, and alumni organizations, the groups say.

Colleges Increasingly Look
Gay and lesbian high school students have become an increasingly coveted pool of applicants for liberal-arts schools and larger universities alike, counselors and admissions officials say.

NEA Adopts Policies on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification
Students and education employees who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered currently are subjected to pervasive discrimination and harassment that is too often accepted and condoned by society at large. NEA speaks out.

NEA to push for safer school policies
"People have a right to go to a classroom or work environment that's free of harassment, and that doesn't always describe U.S. schools." "It's about creating a safe place for students to learn and school employees to thrive." Kotterman chaired the NEA's Task Force on Sexual Orientation, which recently studied gay harassment in schools.

Parents want schools to be gay-friendly
The first national survey zeroing in on how the parents of school-age children think schools should deal with gay issues reveals a heart-warming level of support for gay kid. the vast majority now support the push to make growing up gay easier for school children.

"Out At School," December 2001
The 2001 National School Climate Survey, shows that almost 70% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students admit to feeling threatened in school. 83% of whom say they have been verbally attacked, and 42% have experienced physical harassment based on their sexual orientation. Survey respondents say supportive faculty and gay-straight student groups have helped create a safer climate in their schools. This article highlights five high schools around the U.S. that have instituted programs or hosted events to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students.

Out At School
Students say their feelings of security and belonging increase with the presence of a supportive faculty, and a number of schools have mandated in-service tolerance training for teachers. What’s more, many students, gay and straight, have decided they’re not going to put up with intolerance either.

Ruling favors gay displays in schools
Plymouth-Canton schools violated freedoms
Displays about homosexuality may soon return two years after administrators sparked a firestorm by ordering their removal.

Utah Spends $250,000 Against Gay Student Groups
A long, expensive court battle against student-run groups intended to support gay youth and their friends has ended for the state of Utah, which spent a quarter million dollars defending a Salt Lake City school board ban.

Anti-gay bias is being replaced by fairness
Most Americans have figured out that you can't have an intelligent discussion with people who hate.

A lesson in harassment
This is the best of times and worst of times — a season of progressive and reactionary thinking, of compassionate and mean-spirited feelings. Ultimately, only you can tip the balance for our common good.

Group's aim is safe, welcoming schools for all students
A gay student skips gym class because his teacher refuses to intervene during his daily episodes of verbal abuse from classmates. In the cafeteria, a lesbian student is ridiculed about being gay as she walks through the lunch line, then is tripped as she makes her way to a lunch table.

American Psychological Resources for GLBT Students
In 2002, the American Psychological Association's Healthy Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students Project (HLGBSP) begins a new and exciting phase of our project. The HLGBSP, in collaboration with six major school counseling, health and mental health associations, will present training events at ten professional conferences. Here is a list of planned trainings during the first six months of 2002. For more information, please visit the HLGBSP website at www.apa.org/ed/hlgb.html

Make gays feel safe, valued at school
When Brother Adrian devoted one day of biology class to human sexuality, he probably had no idea how profoundly he was affecting one of the ninth-graders at his Catholic boys' school ...

Stopping bullies in the hallways
The subject of school bullies has been earmarked as a growing concern

Gay Straight Alliances 101
A Gay Straight Alliance, commonly known as a GSA is an extracurricular club most often found at the high school level. Initiated and run by students and led by a faculty or staff advisor, legally, a GSA is treated the same as a school sports or hobby club.

U.S. students hold mostly pro-gay views -- survey
U.S. high school seniors hold more liberal views on gay issues than the rest of the country's adult population read this article

Schools Often Ignore Harassment of Gay Students
Armed with a report that concludes harassment of gay students is a pervasive problem in public schools, the two national teachers' unions and a gay-rights group are urging the U.S. Department of Education to step up its enforcement of laws aimed at such abuse. read this article

Make gays feel safe, valued at school
Slowly, life has begun to improve for gay teens read this article

State requires schools to stop bullying
In an unprecedented move, the Michigan Board of Education adopted an anti-bullying policy read this article

State requires new bully policies
A first-of-its-kind state policy requiring local school districts to stop students from bully behavior has been adopted by the Michigan Board of Education. read this article

Bastions of bigotry
Schoolyard bullying is probably as old as schools themselves. But are epithets and physical abuse directed at gay and lesbian students intrinsically more harmful than yelling "pizza face" at a kid with acne? read this article

Coming Around to Coming Out
During his junior year in high school, Eric Martz told his parents he was gay. He had expected it to go well, but his parents ignored his revelation and considered it just another in a string of adolescent changes. They wanted him to try to date girls rather than join a gay youth group. read this article

A Lesson in Cruelty: Anti-Gay Slurs Common at School
"That's soooo gay." "Faggot." Or "lesbo." For all the outcry over harassment of gays following the murder of college student Matthew Shepard two years ago, anti-gay insults are still the slang of choice among children and teenagers, according to teachers, counselors and youths themselves. read this article

Hatred in the Hallways
Gay teenagers are often subjected to so much bullying in U.S. schools that they do not receive an adequate education. The toll on their emotional and physical health can result in dropping out of school or suicide. A new report from Human Rights Watch finds that the treatment of gay students in American public schools constitutes a human rights issue. Hatred in the Hallways: Discrimination and Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in U.S. Public Schools is based on interviews with more than 250 students, teachers and parents in seven states. Human Rights Watch calls for immediate action by school districts, the states, and federal government to end these abuses. read this article

Lawsuits Touch Off Debate Over Paddling in Schools
Laid out on the kitchen table, the snapshots of 10- year-old Megan Cahanin make a grim . Tcollagehey are not of her sweet face, but of her bare behind. read this article

Christian Conservatives Take Their Antigay Campaign to the Schools
To most of the 700 people at the recent conservative Christian conference on homosexuality in youth, same-sex sex is a sin, plain and simple. "Satan has counterfeited sexuality," emcee John Paulk told the crowd read this article

Teachers gain new strategies
Inside the High School library Wednesday were assembled a curious mix of people with labels -- some lesbians; a transvestite or two, a politician, a homeless, illiterate person and a television evangelist. read this article

Growing Up Gay
When he started grade school, Nic already knew that he was different from the other kids in his class. By the time he was 10, he knew what the difference meant. read this article

Gay youth should be protected, panel says Students often face violence, harassment and discrimination, state superintendent of public instruction says
Schools need to make campuses safer for gay students by training teachers, adding counselors and mentioning gays and lesbians in appropriate classroom lessons, a state panel says. read this article

Gay student protections urged State task force says schools need changes
To shield gay students from harassment, a state task force has recommended that educators strengthen anti-discrimination training for teachers while incorporating positive images of homosexuals into classroom lessons. read this article

Suicide & Homosexual Teens : What Can Biology Teachers Do To Help?
...My parents refuse to accept me. Their religion comes before me. I feel like they don't care about how I feel. It really gets lonely. My parents have told me if I live this lifestyle they would rather be dead. They told me that they wish that I was never born. I've run away several times, I've used drugs to satisfy my needs for love, but the drugs became overwhelming. I really need someone to talk to. read this article

Anti-harassment laws make safer schools (Letter)
There is a lack of civility and respect for others, especially those, who some would say, are different. Pervasive name calling and bullying in our schools is rampant. Most of the recent school shootings had these elements and just this month in Elmira, a persistently taunted and bullied male student brought guns and bombs to his school. read this article

Schools can be safe and tolerant
A recent federal appellate court decision struck down the anti-harassment policy of the State College Area School District. That policy that prohibited harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, among other things. My organization, the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, knows the significance of the school district's important effort to stop harassment. The youth we serve are a generation under siege in the nation's public schools. The anti-gay and gender-based harassment and violence they suffer is increasingly documented, and it is heartbreaking. read this article

Anti-gay harassment a problem for students
Our son is bright and loving and compassionate. He also happens to be gay. From the moment that he confided this truth to a so-called friend in eighth grade, the ostracism, stares and verbal/physical abuse were unrelenting. School became a war zone for him. As a conscientious but unaware parent, I made him enter that war zone on a daily basis. ... Few teens cry to their parents when they are being harassed. read this article

Anti-gay discrimination is safety issue for schools
As pediatricians dedicated to caring for teen-agers and young adults in our community, we strongly support the Madison School Board's decision to hire a full-time educator for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. read this article

Anti-Homophobia Curriculum
A religious leader and a parent called Santa Fe Public Schools this week to say the district's new Anti-Homophobia, Prejudice-Reduction curriculum goes too far. read this article

Our Voice
Last fall, Jackson High School got a controversial addition to its roster of student clubs - the Gay Straight Alliance. Members of the community soon were taking sides, debating whether this an appropriate club for a public high school. Many will continue to disagree on that point, but at least the debate has been illuminating. read this article

Schools Move to Ensure Equality
A California county puts teeth into a state anti-bias law; a Texas lawmaker tries to protect gay students and parents from discrimination; Madison teachers' partners get to keep their benefits. read this article

Gays added to policy at Heuvelton Schools
The Heuvelton Central School District Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to add the words "sexual orientation" to its anti-discrimination policy amid both opposition and support from the community. read this article

Schools may hire staffer to combat anti-gay bias
A Madison School Board committee on Monday will consider a plan to hire a person to combat discrimination against gay and lesbian students and families in the district. read this article

ACLU Sues Rural California School for Anti-Gay Climate; Case Highlights National Epidemic in Rural Schools
Breaking new ground in the ongoing struggle against anti-gay harassment and violence in rural schools nationwide, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed an expanded federal lawsuit against a school district in California's Central Valley, seeking to eliminate a hostile, homophobic climate and enact systematic school reform. read this article

School boards: Ensure safety of all kids
Public education turned an exciting page with the start of the new school year: More and more school boards are learning that protecting students from anti-gay violence and harassment is part of their jobs. read this article

In Other Words
“Faggot!” “Queer!” The words I hear as I exit the gas station. Six adolescents scream the words as two adults stand idle, smirking at the actions, smirking at my intimidation. read this article

Gay students say schools should help fight prejudice
Nearly 40 percent of teenagers polled last year by Who's Who Among American High School Students said they are biased against homosexuals. That was a higher percentage than students who admitted being prejudiced against any racial, ethnic or religious group. read this article

SSN Action Alert
George W. Bush campaigned as a "compassionate conservative," who is a "uniter, not a divider," who wants to "leave no child behind." Now, as President-elect, he has the opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to unity and compassion by appointing a Secretary of Education who will use the position to advocate for protections and progress for LGBT youth in U.S. schools. read this article

Schools Step Up Effort to Protect Gay Students Rights: High court decision on liability casts a new light on the problem of harassment.
Faced with a recent Supreme Court decision holding schools liable for student harassment of classmates, educators across the country are taking steps to protect gay and lesbian students and to prevent costly lawsuits. Lawyers are advising superintendents about their legal responsibilities, school board members are reviewing their policies and principals are training teachers on how to react to harassment against gays. read this article

Somerset schools settle harassment suit by student
Somerset school officials have settled a lawsuit with a student who claimed they failed to protect him from harassment by students who thought he was gay, attorneys said. read this article

Lonely Gay Teen Seeking Same
In the summer of 1999, when he was 15, a youth I will refer to by only his first name, Jeffrey, finally admitted to himself that he was gay. This discovery had been coming on for some time; he had noticed that he felt no attraction to girls . . . read this article

Bullied Child, 10, Bash-Murdered
The Nigerian boy, new to Britain, didn't even know at first what the other boys were calling him, but just days later he was stabbed to death on the way home from school. read this article

Putting the "S" in GSA
As a straight, white male with no definitive religious beliefs, life has been relatively calm in my closed, private-school world in New York City. Yet with the coming of high school also came the school's gay-straight alliance into my life. read this article

Teens admit prejudice toward gays
A national survey shows many top-achieving teens admit being biased against gays yet believe gays should be allowed to marry and assume important leadership roles. read this article

The doubt of coming out
Eighteen-year-old Mike Gregg has an honest face. Dark brown and piercing, with intense depth, his eyes are searching, springing to life with vigor as he speaks. Words come easily to the articulate sophomore from Cincinnati. read this article

Jackson Teens Under Attack by Religious Extremists
In an outrageously hostile act, Gary Glenn and his militant Christian organization, the American Family Association, have swayed a local religious radical to commandeer local teens at Jackson High to start an "opposition group" to the schools' Gay/Straight Alliance, or GSA. read this article

Gay student was afraid to discuss his sexuality
Jim Marshall says being a gay student at Jackson High School before the Gay-Straight Alliance was both lonely and scary. read this article

Gay, straight teens gather at lock-in
What do you get when you lock 50 gay and straight students in a high school for over 36 hours? read this article

Speech by M'Lynn Hartwell before the Traverse City, City Commission
Hi… My name is M'Lynn Hartwell. I am here tonight as a Board member of the Triangle Foundation, the Board Chair of GLSEN (a national organization for educators), and a member of the Wellness Networks Board of Trustees.

Hate Crimes Report to the Traverse City, City Commission
It was my pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you last night. Understanding the dynamics and unfortunate ramifications of bias motivated hate crime is very important to me. I have personally experienced, through others, the consequences of misguided hate. I have also learned that there is much we can do to help.

School Boards: Ensure Safety of all Kids
Public education turned an exciting page with the start of the new school year: More and more school boards are learning that protecting students from anti-gay violence and harassment is part of their jobs.

Where to find help for harassed students
Students who believe they are being harassed have a wide range of options, from support groups to legal action. At the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network in New York, communications director Jim Anderson advises students who are being harassed to seek out someone they can trust. That person may be a parent, a youth service organization worker, or an advisor at a hotline, Mr. Anderson says. Once a student has an ally, he or she can start figuring out how to approach the school.

A letter from Mom
I don't think about it much -- that my 10-year-son may be gay. If he is, it doesn't matter. My heart will not miss one beat of love for him. I wouldn't consider it some sort of divine test, any more so than if his hair were light brown instead of glowing red. But I would worry about his being attacked. America's penchant for violence reaches out in many directions, including toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Last year, 1,965 people nationwide reported being the victims of anti-LGBT incidents, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

How to Start A Gay Straight Alliance at Your School
A Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) is a student-run club, typically in a high school, which provides a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation, and work to end homophobia. Many GSAs function as a support group and provide safety and confidentiality to students who are struggling with their identity as gay, lesbian, bisexual,transgender, or questioning.

Gay Straight Alliance Resources
These resources have been developed to help GSAs be more active and successful. They cover a wide range of topics, from setting up your GSA's leadership to addressing issues of diversity in your GSA.

Teens carry diversity to another level with 'Safe Place' for gays or straights
They've watched movies about diversity, handed out red ribbons to promote AIDS awareness and decorated their school with colorful buttons and banners that say, "Love Rules at Henry Foss High School." But the main reason this small group of students gathers weekly is to talk openly about being a teenager who's gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, transgender, questioning or curious.

Gay Teachers Under Fire
As efforts to protect gay youth gain traction nationwide, right-wing groups are training their sights on teachers and those who speak out on lesbian and gay issues.

Texas Right Wing Activists Censor Your School's Books
When Mel and Norma Gabler appointed themselves as the keepers of school textbook morality, they also effectively became the censors of the textbooks in your local schools.
That's because Texas purchases a significant percentage of textbooks and sales to their school system(s) is necessary for profit. The Gablers screened content of the proposed texts to be used in Texas schools for adherence to far right religious principles such as creationism, male domination, and other ultra-conservative, anti-woman beliefs. When the Texas Textbook Committee accepts some of their objections and refuses to purchase already printed texts, the companies suffer devastating losses.
Therefor, to prevent being black-listed in Texas, some (most!) textbook companies censor IN ADVANCE along the ultra-right religious lines in attempts to stay on the approved list for Texas classroom use. In one year the Gablers filed more than 550 PAGES of protests on Texas textbooks.
The pre-publication censoring has become self-perpetuating so the even with "watchdogs" like the Gablers, chances are strong that the texts your children are using are in keeping with the ultra-right conservatives of Texas that portray women as helpless, dependent, and obedient.

Teens, sexuality and compassion
Though more than three million lesbian and gay teen-agers live in the United States, their diverse voices are often excluded. Indeed, the statistics are chilling: Because they live in a culture that is homophobic, young lesbian and gay people experience alarming levels of physical and verbal abuse, emotional isolation, parental rejection, depression, homelessness, dropout risk, and suicide. One way to provide hope for these at-risk youngsters is to share compassionate books that deal honestly with the very issues with which they are grappling. These books will also help heterosexual teens understand and support their lesbian and gay peers.

Gay teen, parents file harassment suit: Claim for $10M says Shenendehowa officials ignored abuse
A former Shenendehowa High School student who claims he was taunted and harassed because he is gay, and then suspended from school when he confronted his tormentors, is suing the school district and board of education. His parents, Peter and Donna Kehrig, are seeking $10 million in damages in the lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court

Attorney General Wants To Join Teen's Lawsuit Against Pleasant Hill
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno has filed a motion seeking to join a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former Pleasant Hill High School student who alleges he was harassed because people thought he was gay.

$900,000 Settlement for Gay Man Abused in School
Just hours after a federal jury in Wisconsin found 3 school administrators liable for "intentional discrimination" based on sexual orientation and gender in failing to intervene during years of homophobic violence and harassment by other students against open gay Jamie Nabozny, an out-of-court settlement agreement was reached awarding Nabozny $900,000 in damages plus a possible $62,000 for medical costs.

"Ex-Gay" Defector Reveals Cracks in the Ex-Gay Mininstries
A high-profile "ex-gay" spokesperson, Wade Richards, came out in an interview with the Advocate magazine this week, once again damaging the already shaky credibility of the "ex-gay" ministries and "reparative" therapists who say they can make gay people into heterosexuals through prayer and treatment.

School Policy Bars Anti-gay Slurs
Students or staff in Saratoga Springs schools who are gay, or even perceived to be gay, will be protected from harassment under a policy unanimously approved by the school board on Tuesday night.

Intolerance Is The Real Threat
It was the last place I expected to find yet another reason to drive a stake through the heart of the OCA's resurrected Measure 9. We were sitting in an urgent care waiting room. It was late on a Sunday night. Most doctor's offices had been closed for two days. The room was packed and the wait was long. The not-so-patient patients ranged from feverish tots in jammies - parents holding cool washcloths to their flushed faces - to weekend warriors in softball uniforms holding ice bags on injured limbs.

Teacher pact's same-sex benefits are 1st in state
The Ann Arbor school district will soon become the first in the state and one of the few in the nation to offer health benefits to live-in gay or lesbian partners of teachers.

Ban on gays threatens Scouts' ties in Broward
Broward County education leaders are reconsidering their longtime partnership with the South Florida Boy Scouts because the group excludes gays -- a review that could sever relations between dozens of troops and their neighborhood schools.

Spa City schools revise sex harassment policy
The city school district Board of Education amended its sexual harassment policy on Tuesday to include harassment against gay and lesbian students or students perceived to be gay or lesbian.

Expanded Federal Hate Crime Law Urged
A coalition of civil rights groups and politicians called Wednesday for expanding the federal hate crime law to cover homosexuals, women and the disabled.

Lesbian teacher can go ahead with harass suit
A lesbian teacher who said she had been harassed and denied a promotion by her Southern California district because of her sexual orientation will get her day in court.

Parents Charged In Beating of Gay Son
A 17-year-old Bronx youth who announced to his family he was gay last February was recovering yesterday from a severe beating - allegedly inflicted by his parents.

Title IX Guidelines Released
David Buckel of Lambda Explains Implications of the federal statute that bars anti-gay harassment in schools.

Over the years, many students have called and e-mailed the ACLU, asking us to help them make their schools safer places for LGBT students. We have put together the following practical tools for students and teachers who are working to change their schools, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to get your hands on them. Below are brief descriptions of these resources, linked to their full text (if available). We can also send you free copies of our resources if you call the ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project at 212.549.2627 or email us at lgbthiv@aclu.org.

One way to make schools safe is to adopt nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies. These policies can send a strong message to students and faculty that all students should be treated fairly regardless of sexual orientation.

Many students who are working with school leaders to adopt safe schools policies need examples of these policies. ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project Director Matt Coles wrote an anti-harassment model policy and a nondiscrimination model policy that can be presented to school board members and school administrators.

Addressed to principals, administrators, and school board members, this letter uses federal court cases and statistics about the experiences of LGBT students to explain to schools why they have a legal responsibility to keep their schools safe. It makes the case for the adoption of nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies as one way of combating anti-gay harassment.

This guide to protecting LGBT students from harassment and discrimination presents a series of questions that school teachers, board members, and principals might ask when faced with the proposition that they enact safe schools policies. The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) wrote the questions based on their expertise with educators' concerns, and we wrote the answers based on our own knowledge of the legal matters. This brochure can also be used, along with the letter (above), to help students convince their schools to adopt these policies.

Another common way that people have worked to make schools safe is by creating Gay/Straight Alliances (extra-curricular schools clubs). GSA's offer students a place where they can feel safe to talk about sexuality and help promote understanding of diversity within their schools.

Written by Staff Attorney Jennifer Middleton, this is a general outline of the legal responsibility that schools have to treat gay/straight alliances the same way they treat other non-curricular clubs. The letter can be presented to schools teachers and administrators by students working to win recognition of GSA's in their own schools.

This question and answer guide provides information on what GSA's are, what they do, and how schools must treat them. It equips students who are trying to create GSAs with concise answers to the questions that school officials often ask. The guide was written by the ACLU and GLSEN.

This publication is a more in-depth look at the legal responsibilities of schools to treat Gay/Straight Alliances equally. It is a joint publication of the ACLU, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights

LGBT youth often want to be able to have the same experience as their heterosexual peers. This can mean wanting to go on dates, especially to big school events like the prom.

This one-page information sheet gives students the background on a very important federal court decision that says it is illegal for schools to forbid students from bringing same-sex dates to school dances. It has proved useful for students across the country who have been forced to fight these unfair bans.

When Wendy Weaver came out to one of her students outside of class time at her high school in Utah, her school fired her. We took her case, and a federal judge later ruled that schools cannot discriminate against lesbian and gay teachers and also that schools cannot prevent teachers from being openly gay in their life outside the classroom. This publication outlines this important victory and offers LGBT teachers other information about their rights.

The ACLU has been fighting for civil rights and civil liberties for all people for over 80 years, this includes not just LGBT people, but also students in general.

This newspaper-style publication provides information about a wide range of legal issues in schools, including free expression, privacy rights, reproductive health, religious freedom, and sexual orientation, race and sex-based discrimination.