Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Dinah 2011: Day One
After fourteen hours of being airborne and being not so airborne in the longest layover ever at LAX, I finally touched down in Palm Springs at 7:30 PT last night and raced over to the comedy show at the Riviera, which was already in progress. 90 degrees, clear skies, palms trees lining the streets.
?2 a.m. Satusfaction? by Inspired Enigma
As she tossed in her sheets, she became tangled in her loosely fitting shirt and frustrated from the abnormal warmth of her room – she quickly slid out of it Continue reading →
Victory for Lakeland Students as Gay-Straight Alliance Allowed to Form
Kathleen High School Students and ACLU Advocated for Club to Fight Anti-LGBT Bullying
April 29, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
LAKELAND, FL ? A group of students at Kathleen High School in Lakeland, Florida have been informed after months of delay that school administrators will allow them to establish a Gay-Straight Alliance student club at the school. The students had reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida for assistance in getting the club recognized.
Rory Teal and Brenna Pelland, two seventeen-year-old 11th graders at Kathleen High School had been working for months to establish the GSA in order to confront bullying and promote tolerance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students at Kathleen High School, having first contacted administrators about the club in November 2012.
?We are really excited that the GSA is going to be allowed to start creating a safe space where students can be themselves,? stated Pelland. ?We want our school to be a place where people are respected for who they are, and the GSA is going to help a lot with that.?
?The bullying situation made focusing on academics really hard for a lot of people," stated Teal. ?We?re glad we don?t have to wait until next year for the club to help students feel comfortable at school.?
GSAs are student organizations made up of LGBT students and their straight allies that advocate for an end to bullying, harassment, and discrimination against all students.
The students contacted the ACLU of Florida, who sent a letter to Polk County School Board Superintendent Dr. John A. Stewart regarding the importance of GSAs in creating a safe and welcoming learning environment for students and the school?s legal obligation to allow the club to form. A week later, in a meeting after school on Friday, April 26th, Teal and Pelland were informed by the Kathleen High School principal that the GSA would be allowed to meet.
?This is a victory for all students at Kathleen High School,? stated ACLU of Florida staff attorney Daniel Tilley. ?We?re glad that school administrators have recognized that Rory and Brenna have a right to form their club and that there will be no further delay for the GSA to begin its work to benefit all of the students of Kathleen High School, just as GSAs do in thousands of schools across the country.?
The ACLU has been involved in multiple successful federal court cases upholding students? rights to form GSAs at public schools, including several in Florida. In 2008, the ACLU won a case on behalf of a GSA in which the Okeechobee County School Board paid $326,000 in attorneys? fees to the ACLU. In 2012, the ACLU reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the School Board for Marion County, in which the judge ordered the school to officially recognize the Vanguard High School GSA. And in January 2013, the ACLU succeeded without a lawsuit in helping the students at Booker T. Washington High School in Escambia County form a GSA after students? initial efforts were rebuffed by school administrators. The ACLU of Florida is also currently working with Bayli Silberstein, an 8th-grader in Lake County, Florida to establish a GSA to make her school safer in the face of ongoing opposition and resistance from the school board.
?We are always pleased when administrators recognize the right of students to establish a GSA rather than create needless controversy by delaying and denying students their rights,? continued Tilley. ?The students, parents, faculty, and administrators at Kathleen High School will soon realize what a benefit it is to the school community to have a group of dedicated students like Rory and Brenna working to make their school a safer and more welcoming place.?
A copy of the letter sent by the ACLU to the superintendent is available here.
April 29, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
LAKELAND, FL ? A group of students at Kathleen High School in Lakeland, Florida have been informed after months of delay that school administrators will allow them to establish a Gay-Straight Alliance student club at the school. The students had reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida for assistance in getting the club recognized.
Rory Teal and Brenna Pelland, two seventeen-year-old 11th graders at Kathleen High School had been working for months to establish the GSA in order to confront bullying and promote tolerance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students at Kathleen High School, having first contacted administrators about the club in November 2012.
?We are really excited that the GSA is going to be allowed to start creating a safe space where students can be themselves,? stated Pelland. ?We want our school to be a place where people are respected for who they are, and the GSA is going to help a lot with that.?
?The bullying situation made focusing on academics really hard for a lot of people," stated Teal. ?We?re glad we don?t have to wait until next year for the club to help students feel comfortable at school.?
GSAs are student organizations made up of LGBT students and their straight allies that advocate for an end to bullying, harassment, and discrimination against all students.
The students contacted the ACLU of Florida, who sent a letter to Polk County School Board Superintendent Dr. John A. Stewart regarding the importance of GSAs in creating a safe and welcoming learning environment for students and the school?s legal obligation to allow the club to form. A week later, in a meeting after school on Friday, April 26th, Teal and Pelland were informed by the Kathleen High School principal that the GSA would be allowed to meet.
?This is a victory for all students at Kathleen High School,? stated ACLU of Florida staff attorney Daniel Tilley. ?We?re glad that school administrators have recognized that Rory and Brenna have a right to form their club and that there will be no further delay for the GSA to begin its work to benefit all of the students of Kathleen High School, just as GSAs do in thousands of schools across the country.?
The ACLU has been involved in multiple successful federal court cases upholding students? rights to form GSAs at public schools, including several in Florida. In 2008, the ACLU won a case on behalf of a GSA in which the Okeechobee County School Board paid $326,000 in attorneys? fees to the ACLU. In 2012, the ACLU reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the School Board for Marion County, in which the judge ordered the school to officially recognize the Vanguard High School GSA. And in January 2013, the ACLU succeeded without a lawsuit in helping the students at Booker T. Washington High School in Escambia County form a GSA after students? initial efforts were rebuffed by school administrators. The ACLU of Florida is also currently working with Bayli Silberstein, an 8th-grader in Lake County, Florida to establish a GSA to make her school safer in the face of ongoing opposition and resistance from the school board.
?We are always pleased when administrators recognize the right of students to establish a GSA rather than create needless controversy by delaying and denying students their rights,? continued Tilley. ?The students, parents, faculty, and administrators at Kathleen High School will soon realize what a benefit it is to the school community to have a group of dedicated students like Rory and Brenna working to make their school a safer and more welcoming place.?
A copy of the letter sent by the ACLU to the superintendent is available here.
(68) EAT ME
Due to the high volume of requests we’ve posted this recent material that didn’t turn into a show, so here are some lazy laying around the house�recordings�from the portable. March was our 3rd anniversary, thank you very much to those who have donated, and/or purchased apparel, and for tuning in and hanging out with us. [...]
FEAST OF FUN!!
Hello and thanks for visiting my semi retired blog. Since April I have been blogging and podcasting on my SNAZZY NEW WEBSITE. Granted I do need to increase my output over there but I just hooked up my wii to … Continue reading →
Puerto Vallarta Holds its First Gay Pride May 24-26
As it's rapidly evolved into one of North America's premier GLBT resort destinations, the Mexican Riviera city of Puerto Vallarta has been developing more and more events and celebrations that cater both to visitors and the growing number of gay residents who now live full- or part-time in this historic, picturesque beach community about 200 miles west of Guadalajara. The newest event, the region's very first Puerto Vallarta Gay Pride, will take place over three days in late May - the dates are May 24 to 26, 2013....Read Full Post
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Gay-Cierge helps LGBTs put hours back in their days
If you find yourself muttering under your breath about there not being enough hours in the day, you're just the kind of person Tennyson Mun wants to help.
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