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Sunday, 6 October 2013 – 5:19 PM | Comments Off on A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Bent Alaska’s blog will continue in hiatus indefinitely; but the Bent Alaska Facebook Group on Facebook is thriving — join us! A long-overdue update from Bent Alaska’s editor.

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E. Ross is the founder of Bent Alaska.

Santaland responds to anti-gay incident

Tuesday, 15 June 2010 – 10:07 PM | One Comment
Santaland responds to anti-gay incident
Bent recently posted about a gay male couple that was kicked out of Santaland RV Park near Fairbanks by a manager who seems to have a problem with gays. Below is Santaland’s response. They do not acknowledge or apologize for the “misunderstanding,” like Denny’s did earlier this year, and the reply is not signed by an individual, so no one is taking personal responsibility for this.
However, they do state that they “welcome everyone to our park, regardless of sexual orientation or any other factor.” They know the LGBT community will not accept anti-gay prejudice from businesses, and they are not likely to allow it to happen again at Santaland – which is the main goal of bringing the incident to light.
Here is their response. If the gay couple replies, that will also be posted.
Dear Sir,
I appreciate your invitation to respond to the allegation that we evicted a guest of Santaland RV Park based on sexual orientation.
With regard to this particular incident, there were a number of things that were considered when we made our decision to ask this guest to leave our park. For privacy reasons I will not go into these factors, but I can assure you that sexual orientation was never even considered in the course of our decision to evict the guest, and certainly never came up in our discussions with this particular guest.
We have had tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of happy guests through our park over the years. We have always, and will continue to welcome everyone to our park, regardless of sexual orientation or any other factor.
Sincerely,
Santaland RV Park
Where Santa Spends His Summers!
125 St. Nicholas Drive, North Pole, AK 99705
1.907.488.9123 / Toll Free 1.888.488.9123
www.SantalandRV.com / info@SantalandRV.com
Meanwhile, below the original Santaland post are comments from someone who thinks Santa is God. Anonymous said…

Praise his name! Its time we take HIS campgrounds back.

God has campgrounds?? And does this poor guy really think Santa is the Savior? No wonder he’s confused about gays.

Juneau adds Film Night to Pride Picnic and Hike

Monday, 14 June 2010 – 10:38 PM | Comments Off on Juneau adds Film Night to Pride Picnic and Hike
Juneau adds Film Night to Pride Picnic and Hike
Juneau’s Pride events for June and July include a new LGBT Film Night benefit for Alaskans Together featuring the award-wining film Out in the Silence, along with a Pride Picnic at Skater’s Cabin, a hike at West Glacier, a drag show benefit for Four A’s, and local events for HIV Testing Week.

The First Annual Alaskans Together for Equality LGBT Film Fun-Raiser is on Thursday, June 17 at the Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater, 171 Shattuck Way. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the film schedule is below. Come for one segment or stay for the whole evening. Finger foods and refreshments will be available. Bring your checkbook and cash for the donation baskets. Membership in Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. is available at all levels, from $10 up.
LGBT Film Fun-Raiser Schedule – June 17
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Dramatic Narrative Shorts
Coming to Terms – College student deals with coming out by phone
The Manual – Sent to psychiatric institution as a boy, Sonny tries to help niece avoid similar treatment
The Call – Lesbian women interact with their sperm donor
Two Encounters – Hidden cameras reveal difference in treatment of blacks and whites in gay bars
7:15 – 8:15 p.m. Main Feature
Out in the Silence – Challenges of coming out and living in small towns and rural America
The film will be followed by an optional discussion in a breakout room led by Juneau Assembly member Jonathan Anderson
8:30 – 9:30 p.m. Humor & Love Shorts
Hi Maya – Mature women strike up relationship in hair salon
Float – Male love in the Bahamas
Hummer – Dinner party brings surprises for women participants
For further information or to help with the event, email Kelli or Marsha.
Watch the trailer for Out in the Silence:

Juneau’s other LGBT events for June and July include the Mendenhall hike, the Pride Picnic, the Friday social, a drag show fundraiser for Four A’s, and free testing during National HIV Testing Week.
Mendenhall Journey: June 19, 2010. Meet at 9:30 AM at the trail head of West Glacier Trail. Round trip is 5-6 hours, distance is 3.4 miles one-way, bring a lunch and water to drink, trail mix would also be wise, good footwear is mandatory. The hike departs promptly at 10 AM. Do not be late! Access directions: take Montana Creek Road from the Mendenhall Loop road, and follow the signs to the campground. Go past the campground entrance, and Skater’s cabin to the parking area at the end of the road. This trail is rated “more difficult” by the Juneau hiking trail guide. There is some rock scrambling/climbing involved to reach the ice caves.
Annual Pride Picnic with SEAGLA and PFLAG: July 17, 2010 at Skater’s Cabin from 4-8PM. Please plan to be there. Bring a salad and whatever you would like to drink, glass is not allowed. Firewood might be good depending on weather. Volunteers are requested to help with set up, breakdown, music, and a BBQ grill. SEAGLA will provide paper plates, cups and plastic ware that we already have. Also we will provide some burgers both meat and non-meat as well as hot dogs, and soft drinks. But if you can bring a salad or bake some cookies or a cake that would be great.
Friday Social: June 18, June 25, 2010. Each Friday after work from 6-8 PM, community members and their friends, both men and women are invited to get together. Drop by the Jaded Lounge in the Goldbelt Hotel, downtown Juneau to unwind from the work week. If you are over 21, you are invited to join us. Please try it out this Friday, or another Friday in the future. Come on out, and make a new friend today! Visit SEAGLA for future locations.
Drag Queen and King show: July 9, 2010 at the Rendezvous Bar. Marguerite the recently appointed Duchess of Juneau is planning a local Drag Queen and King show and recycled flogger making party as a fundraiser for Four A’s, at the Rendezvous Bar on Friday July 9th, and she’s looking for help. Donations of time, supplies, ideas and funds are welcome. Please email Marguerite.
National HIV Testing Week is an annual campaign coordinated by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage people of all ages to “Take the Test, Take Control.” National HIV Testing Week is June 21-27, 2010. The Four A’s will be providing free testing (Oral Swab, results in 20 minutes) at closed and public locations for the whole week in Juneau. The public locations:
Tuesday, June 22: 7-10 p.m. at Rendezvous
Wednesday, June: 23 11-4 p.m. at Blaze and 4-8 p.m. at Four A’s
Thursday, June 24: 8:30 a.m.– 3:30 p.m. Free blood draws at Juneau Public Health (no appointment necessary) and 8-11 p.m. at Alaskan Bar
Friday, June 25: 4-8 p.m. at Four A’s
Free HIV Testing also available at Four A’s (174 S Franklin Street, #207/Above Heritage Coffee) during business hours, call 586-6089 for an appointment.

"City of Borders" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride

Sunday, 13 June 2010 – 7:05 AM | Comments Off on "City of Borders" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
"City of Borders" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
The Bear Tooth is hosting a GLBT Mini-Fest for Anchorage Pride Week with three movies: City of Borders (an Israeli documentary), The Big Gay Musical (a romantic date movie) – both showing on Monday June 21 – and the 1994 classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert showing Thursday June 24.
City of Borders: Monday, June 21 at 5:30 PM, tickets $3
In the heart of Jerusalem stands an unusual symbol of unity that defies generations of segregation, violence and prejudice: a gay bar called Shushan. City of Borders goes inside this vibrant underground sanctuary on the East/West border of the Holy City, where people of opposing nationalities, religions and sexual orientations create a community among people typically viewed as each other’s “enemy.” The documentary follows the daily lives of the five Israeli and Palestinian patrons as they navigate the minefield of politics, religion and discrimination to live and love openly. In observing the lives of the bar regulars, City of Borders explores the bond forged when people from warring worlds embrace what everyone shares in common – the right to be accepted and belong – rather than be defined, or limited by the differences that tear them apart. (Israel, US 2009, not rated)

The other two trailers will be posted separately. For more information, visit the Anchorage Pride Mini GLBT Film Festival, and see the full Pride Week schedule at Alaska Pride 2010.

"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride

Saturday, 12 June 2010 – 2:16 PM | Comments Off on "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
The Bear Tooth is hosting a GLBT Mini-Fest for Anchorage Pride Week with three movies: City of Borders (an Israeli documentary), The Big Gay Musical (a romantic date movie) – both showing on Monday June 21 – and the 1994 classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert showing Thursday June 24.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Thursday, June 24 at 10 PM, tickets $3
This is the tale of two drag queens and a transsexual who embark on a road trip to a remote resort town in the Australian desert on a bus christened Priscilla. When Anthony “Tick”/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) is invited to perform in Alice Springs, he recruits flamboyant young stud Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce) and the legendary, refined Bernadette (Terence Stamp) to join him. Mitzi, however, fails to disclose one important fact to his friends: his wife is the one who invited them to Alice Springs.
With one big secret about to be revealed and another one up his sleeve, Mitzi is a little stressed. With long hours on the road ahead of them, the trio lip-synchs campy songs on the bus, creates fabulous costumes, and meets a multitude of colorful characters along the way. They party with friendly aborigines, are confronted by judgmental townspeople who are averse to drag queens, and meet Bob (Bill Hunter), a warmhearted mechanic and drag fan who joins them for the last leg of their trip when their bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Fantastic costumes and fabulous makeup abound, and fine performances are delivered all around. But perhaps most important are the implicit messages that families come in all forms, that friends can make a family, and that love really knows no boundaries.
It’s the Australian film that blitzed overseas box offices. It caused a near riot at the Cannes Film Festival. It won an Academy Award®. It’s fun, daring, over-the-top and unforgettable. It’s a road movie with attitude and the occasional frock. (Australia 1994, Rated R)

The other two trailers will be posted separately. For more information, visit the Anchorage Pride Mini GLBT Film Festival, and see the full Pride Week schedule at Alaska Pride 2010.

"The Big Gay Musical" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride

Saturday, 12 June 2010 – 5:14 AM | Comments Off on "The Big Gay Musical" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
"The Big Gay Musical" at Mini Film Fest for Anchorage Pride
The Bear Tooth is hosting a GLBT Mini-Fest for Anchorage Pride Week with three movies: City of Borders (an Israeli documentary), The Big Gay Musical (a romantic date movie) – both showing on Monday June 21 – and the 1994 classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert showing Thursday June 24.

The Big Gay Musical: Monday, June 21 at 7:45 PM, tickets $3
Paul and Eddie have just begun previews for the new Off-Broadway musical “Adam and Steve Just the Way God Made ‘Em.” Their lives strangely mirror the characters they are playing. Paul is looking for the perfect man and Eddie is dealing with how his sexuality and faith can mix. After yet another disastrous dating experience, Paul has an epiphany. He is done dating and just wants to be a slut like the sexy chorus boys that share his dressing room. Eddie has to tell his parents that he’s gay and is starring in a show that calls the bible the “Breeder’s Informational Book of Living Examples”. Eddie comes out to his family and Paul goes on Manhunt. Eddie’s parents are destroyed by the news and Paul can’t even have a good one-night stand. But after musical numbers with scantly clad tap dancing angels, a retelling of Genesis, tele-evangelists, a camp that attempts to turn gay kids straight, and a bunch of showtunes, everyone realizes that life gets better once they accept who they really are. And they are just the way God made ’em. (US 2009, not rated)

The other two trailers will be posted separately. For more information, visit the Anchorage Pride Mini GLBT Film Festival, and see the full Pride Week schedule at Alaska Pride 2010.

I’m from Alaska: True LGBT Stories

Friday, 11 June 2010 – 11:26 AM | Comments Off on I’m from Alaska: True LGBT Stories
I’m from Alaska: True LGBT Stories
The “I’m From Driftwood” project collects and shares true LGBT stories from all over the world, based on the towns where people were raised, and they’re starting a 50 state tour this year. They only have two stories from Alaska, both by gay men, one from Eagle River (posted below) and one from Juneau. The guy who wrote “I’m From Juneau, AK” now lives in Texas, but he came out in Alaska:
I had my first [coming out] conversation twenty-nine years ago, driving my friend, Trent, back from a high school dance in downtown Juneau to his house near mine in the Valley:
“I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid it could hurt our friendship, and I don’t want it to. It’s hard to talk about, and I’ve been avoiding telling you, but I want to.”
“Okay.”
“I’m gay.”
“Okay. It’s no big deal. Just slow down!” Apparently, my nervousness had caused me to tense up and clamp down, including clamping my foot down on the gas pedal.
“Well,” I thought afterward, “that went a lot better than I feared.”
The Driftwood team is still planning and fundraising for the 50-State Story Tour. They expect to fly to Alaska in November 2010.
There are gay stories from every corner of the Earth and I think they should be told. But why? What does it mean??
To the gay teens struggling to come out and deal with their sexuality, who to this day still attempt suicide 4 times more than straight kids, it says “you are not alone.” Other people have dealt with similar situations, families, communities and churches, and have overcome and are now living happy lives. It can happen for you, too. It gets soooo much better, I promise. Hang in there, kiddo.
And to the people who don’t support equal rights, it says we’re not all that different after all. We all have stories and problems and loves and lives just like everyone else. So maybe we should all be treated like everyone else, too.
The other Alaska story, “I’m From Eagle River, AK” by John Ashton, is about the anti-gay hostility he feels and the importance of coming out:
“Mom, I have something I need to tell you.” I said, trying to find the words. “I don’t know how to tell you this, so I will just put it out there. I am gay.”
There are some things in my life that I never considered that I would be sharing with my mother, or any of my family for that matter. I never saw my preference in a love partner as anyone’s business but mine. The climate of hostility that still surrounds the issue of gay and lesbian people only secured the thought in my mind. All of that changed last year.
In January of 2009 a good friend of mine, Chris, passed away from complications with the HIV virus. I took his death hard, but in a way it helped me more than I knew at the time. The whole time that I knew Chris he pushed me to talk with my family about being gay. He told me that the closet put so much stress on me that I wasn’t even able to see yet. When he passed away I was finally able to see what he meant.
For over a month I was not able to discuss with anyone that a close friend of mine had just died. I was not able to cry about it. I was not able to deal with the feelings that his death brought up in me. Instead these feelings were only allowed to fester and grow inside of me until I could not bear it anymore.
I called my mom one morning. “Mom, we need to talk. Would it be alright if I came over tonight?”
“I would love to talk with you, John.” She said. “Come over when I get home from work.”
Even with the now obvious stress that keeping quiet was putting on me, I almost backed down. I almost chose to remain silent. The level of hostility that still remains in society around the issue of gay and lesbian people scared me enough that I was not sure how my own mother would take this news.
“Mom, I have something I need to tell you. I don’t know how to tell you this, so I will just put it out there. I am gay.”
“I am not shocked.” my mother said.
“Is that all?” I asked, ready for any response.
“John, I still love you. I am not shocked by this. If you are going to choose to explore this path, I will support you. There may come a time when things change for you. You don’t really know who you are until you are a bit older.” she said.
I had a mixture of feelings. Mostly overwhelming joy, though. There was a subtle hint of annoyance, but joy overpowered this. She still loved me. These were the words I was hoping to hear for longer than I realized.
“What made you want to tell me this now?” She asked me.
I explained to her that I had a friend that had died recently, and that having to hide this part of me meant having to hide my pain in relation to him.
The conversation went long into the night. There were a lot of happy tears mixed with some sad ones. When the conversation drew to a close my mom offered these last words.
“John, I want you to be happy. If this is what will make you happy I will support you. If you bring someone home, though, be sure it is someone I would approve of, male or female.”
In the months since this I have had similar conversations with the other members of my family. I look back on the last 9 years that I spent hiding with a lot of regret. I somehow allowed other people’s fear and misunderstanding of gay and lesbian people to damage and restrain my relationships with my family. I spent nearly a decade hiding from myself. Now I will spend the next decade, and longer, working to ensure that the next generation will not have to hide from themselves, or anyone else.
I leave you with the words of the author Dr. Seuss. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
According to the guidelines, the “I’m From Driftwood” stories are based on the town and state you were raised in (not the town you live in now). 300-word stories are best, and make it a story, not an essay, a social commentary, or a rant. Try to write about something other than your coming out story. Keep it clean, this is a for-all-ages site.
Contribute a written story (guidelines and submission form HERE), set up a video interview (examples), or be a featured artist with IFD.

Alaska pays for Parnell’s date with Colorado homophobes

Thursday, 10 June 2010 – 4:41 PM | 2 Comments
Alaska pays for Parnell’s date with Colorado homophobes

Gov. Sean Parnell traveled out of state this week at the request of anti-gay, anti-choice Focus on the Family to discuss their theories on domestic violence, foster care and adoption — and Alaska paid for his trip, according to two reports in the Alaska Dispatch. FotF pushes dangerous pray-away-the-gay methods, opposes any recognition of same-sex relationships, and called children raised by gay parents “human guinea pigs.”

Parnell left Anchorage Monday afternoon to travel to Colorado, where he had been invited by Focus on the Family leadership, according to spokeswoman Sharon Leighow. Although the invitation was extended by Focus on the Family, the trip was paid for by the state, and Parnell was accompanied by a state aide. Leighow said she didn’t know yet how much the trip cost.

“Focus on the Family shared many good ideas that the governor could utilize in Alaska,” Leighow said. “That was the purpose of the trip.” (We didn’t ask Leighow whether the governor has received similar invitations from, say, PFLAG or the Colorado Springs Pride Center.)

Leighow said she didn’t know whether the organization identified particular areas of interest when it invited Parnell to Colorado, but was able to say that the governor traded ideas about domestic violence, foster care and adoption with Focus on the Family CEO Jim Daly and other senior staff. Focus on the Family and its political arm, CitizenLink, are active in the anti-abortion movement, but Leighow said as far as she knew, the issue of abortion was not discussed at the meeting.

FotF’s ideas about domestic violence, foster care and adoption do not include anything positive for LGBT families. In an article against same-sex families, FotF’s Glenn Stanton drew dire conclusions from a few studies on kids in heterosexual step-parent families, declared that all same-sex families are comparable to heterosexual step-parent families, and wrote that children of same-sex parents may be at higher risk for abuse because non-biological parents have no real connection to their children.

So, we must ask, “Is it wise to enter the same-sex family experiment with a generation of children so we can learn how it will turn out?” Is it ethical to turn thousands of children into human guinea pigs? The answer must be a resounding “no.”

The hate watch site Good As You wrote last week:

Focus on the Family dedicates much time to keeping same-sex couples away from adoption, foster care, and a whole host of protections that strengthen LGBT families. And of course they work every day to deny a fair shake to gay kids and/or the kids of gay parents… [They] talk only about the kind of “strong family environment” that’s defined by evangelism and heterosexuality.

Is Parnell planning an election campaign based on taking away adoption and foster care rights from same sex parents?

ACTION: Anchorage Mayor appoints homophobe to school commission during LGBT Pride Month – Contact the Assembly

Wednesday, 9 June 2010 – 12:36 AM | 3 Comments
ACTION: Anchorage Mayor appoints homophobe to school commission during LGBT Pride Month – Contact the Assembly

UPDATE: The Assembly heard our concerns and voted on June 22 to postpone Bronson’s appointment indefinitely! Happy Pride Week to all.

* * *

What was he thinking?! Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan appointed rabidly anti-gay Dave Bronson, founder and president of the Alaska Family Council and long time member of Anchorage Baptist Temple, to sit on the School Budget Advisory Commission – and he tried to sneak Bronson through the Assembly confirmation vote at last night’s meeting, while progressive Assembly member and PrideFest 2010 grand marshal Elvi Gray-Jackson is out of town.

Bronson is the guy who threatened then-Assembly Chair Debbie Ossiander last summer, saying the AFC would blame her personally for the failure to stop the gays if Ordinance 64 passed. He even highlights his anti-gay activities in his resume, reaching back to his role in the 1994 repeal of the previous equal rights ordinance to show why he thinks he should be on the School Budget Commission.

As for his finance background – none. His education degree – zip. His kids’ experience with the Anchorage school district – nope, they were home schooled. What are his qualifications? According to the resume he submitted for the school position, he leads a bible ministry, is a retired pilot, and has spent the past two decades being a professional homophobe.

Last night, the Assembly voted 6-4 to postpone the confirmation vote until their next meeting, on Tuesday June 22, when all members will be present. Yes, that’s right, they might confirm this hater four days before Alaska’s PrideFest!

Please contact the Assembly today and oppose Bronson’s appointment: wwmas@muni.org for the whole Assembly, and HERE for the list of assembly email addresses and phone numbers.

Also contact Mayor Sullivan and ask that he withdraw the appointment: mayor@muni.org and (907) 343-7100.

* * *

Addendum, 6 Feb 2011: The resume submitted Bronson submitted for the position is no longer available on the Municipality of Anchorage website. However, a post at The Mudflats from 8 Jun 2010 lists the “qualifications” he presented in his resume:

  • Member of the Anchorage Baptist Temple since 1992
  • Founding board member and current Chairman of the Board of the Alaska Family Council
  • Volunteer Coordinator for the Repeal of the Homosexual Ordinance, Municipality of Anchorage 1994
  • Officer District 30, Republican Party of Alaska
  • Leader AWANA Children’s Bible Ministry
  • With Alaska Family Council helped lead the effort against MOA O-64 [the 2009 Anchorage equal rights ordinance]
  • With Alaska Family Action, helped lead Alaskans for Parental Rights parental notification petition drive

Safe space or “brain drain” at University of Alaska?

Tuesday, 8 June 2010 – 5:02 AM | Comments Off on Safe space or “brain drain” at University of Alaska?
Safe space or “brain drain” at University of Alaska?

Did you know that the University of Alaska is the only state university system in America that does not have sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy? All of the other 49 state university systems include sexual orientation as a protected group, and almost half include gender identity and/or expression in their non-discrimination policies.<

At Thursday’s meeting in Anchorage, students Tristan (UAF), Mark (UAA) and Lauren (Juneau) mentioned this fact when they asked the UA Regents to add sexual orientation to the university system’s policy. UA students have been making this request at almost every public Regents meeting for over a year. Pat Gamble, the new UA President, met them in the lobby.

“I’ve got a Board in there who are basically my bosses,” joked Gamble, “and if I’m to influence them in any way, I need to know more about this. We should set up a meeting so I can learn more.”

The Regents said earlier this year that they would take up the students’ request during 2010. Hopefully, they will and Gamble will be a supportive influence.

Meanwhile, the students have done their homework by collecting facts on university non-discrimination policies around the country and incidents of LGBT discrimination at UA campuses, and have honed their speech-writing skills. By asking politely at meeting after meeting, they show their determination to do what needs to be done. They rock!

To show you just how they rock, two of the presentations given at the meeting are posted below. Here is the testimony that Tristan gave at the Board of Regents meeting:

Hello! As you know, my name is Tristan Walsh. I am here representing in part the University of Alaska Fairbanks Gay-Straight Alliance. We are here to renew our offer of co-operation and partnership with the Board of Regents in updating the University of Alaska Non-discrimination policy.

As you all know, the policy currently lacks language protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students, staff and faculty. As I brought to your attention last meeting, the University of Alaska is the only statewide university system to not have these protections in their non-discrimination policy. All other 49 statewide university systems include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. I have emailed a compilation of these non-discrimination policies to you to provide easy access. For the University of Alaska to not have this simple addendum is a severe drawback to a state that has to fight brain drain and increased challenges in recruiting talented staff, faculty, athletes, and students.

The language that we seek to change is to include the phrase “sexual orientation”. In defining the term, we strongly propose that the term encompass the additional phrases of gender identity and gender expression. Transgender students and staff are often the ones who face the most persecution or misanthropy in the workplace and school. The UA system already has transgender students, and they face difficulties daily on our campuses. Again, I would express our dedication in helping to outline these terms and what exactly it entails for the university. Frankly, it means making our university competitive with outside university systems when it comes to recruiting staff and students. Almost half of the outside state university systems also include gender identity and/or expression in their language.

On our end, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Gay-Straight Alliance has been doing our own work to make the university a safer place. Called the Safe Space training program, we are seeking to create tools for staff, faculty and students to address issues faced by LGBT students and staff. Working with the Department of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity, as well as the Women’s Center, it seeks to equip an educational institution with the tools it needs to understand and communicate with its LGBT students: the issues and circumstances such as coming out, dealing with homophobia in the residence halls or workplace, and providing the ability to deal constructively with an LGBT student population that will likely only increase at the university.

This brings me full circle to the subject of the non-discrimination policy. This will be a capstone measure for the policies already being created by efforts such as the Safe Space program. We’d really love for you guys, or just one or two of you, next time you’re in Fairbanks, please drop in. The door is always open and we’d love to show you how the program works and how people are trained and what effect it can have. Their work can only go so far if they are not helped by the Board of Regents in official university policy.

In closing, I would like to highlight that these proposed changes are in fact not that radical. They in fact would be aligning university policies that already exist, and updating the university’s policies to the same standards found in the secondary school districts. In closing, I’d like to cite a particular policy it will agree with:

“The University of Alaska inspires learning, and advances and disseminates knowledge through teaching, research, and public service, emphasizing the North and its diverse peoples”.

So I’d really like you to come by some time at UAF or UAA or UAS and see how truly diverse this university really is, and why that’s worth protecting. Thank you and have a good day.

And here is Lauren’s testimony to the UA Regents:

Hello, my name is Lauren Tibbitts and I am an incoming freshman for UAF; I am representing both the Juneau Gay-Straight Alliance chapters and, in part, the UAF GSA club, in the effort to amend the Non-Discrimination policy.

While making my list of colleges to attend this coming year, I had, at first, wanted to attend UAA. This way I could remain close to my family and it was cheaper than attending a school out of state. It would also be ideal for my involvement in many social causes, including the Gay-Straight Alliance and other gay-rights and equality groups, as I am well-acquainted with many members of the diverse LGBT community in our state.
I had applied, unaware that Alaska is the only state whose university system does not cover sexual orientation in their Non-Discrimination policy. After learning this fact I immediately looked elsewhere for my post-secondary education; I was willing to pay more money to attend a school that would not make me compromise my morals just to save on tuition costs and other expenses. I spent hundreds of dollars to apply to five other schools that did include sexual orientation, at the very least, in their own discrimination policies before I heard of the campaign the UAF GSA was leading to amend the policy.

As I learned more about what the UAF chapter had been doing, my Juneau GSA chapter decided to get involved, hosting events and writing about the lack of equal protection in our state on our networking sites, local newspapers, talking to whomever would listen. In the end I had personally gathered a pledge from almost one hundred students who decided they will not attend a University of Alaska school if the policy is not amended. Using only the projected tuition figures for this coming school year, that is a sum of almost $535,900 that the university system would not be getting because of a lack of protection for the LGBT students attending at the different campuses.

It is very important that the policy is amended to include sexual orientation, and that the term cover both gender identity and gender expression as well; in fact, I’m not the only one it is important to. I am here today because of the gracious businesses and individuals in Juneau who donated to my fund to come here in order to give this testimony.

In the coming school year I will be serving as the UAF GSA chapter president and am committed to seeing the amendment pass and cooperating with the Board of Regents to find language that would adequately provide protection for all students. I am not the only one with a vested interest in seeing the amendment go through, either. At your February meeting you heard the emotional testimony from a UAF student, Karen, whose roommate made her life a living hell because of her orientation, and whose RA was either uninterested, because of a lack of impetus to quickly resolve the situation, or unequipped to deal with the situation due to the absence of sufficient support from the overseeing Board of Regents. Either way, it was a horrendous experience for Karen, who is but one student attending the university.

When a student applies and is accepted to a university, there is a level of trust given by them to the university–trust in that their new home will protect them from people who would do them harm, trust that they will be safe there. Karen trusted the university to help her in her hour of need but she fell through the cracks; her RA simply told her to ‘talk things out’, as if either party could have convinced the other of their point of view and resolve the situation that way. Unless you declare equal protection to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, we will never know the true numbers of harassment cases on the campus regarding these three things. We will never fully enable the students to thrive while in the university because we do not give them the assurance that they are and will be safe from emotional, verbal, and physical harm.
Students will look at applying to schools the way I did–choosing, if at all possible, to go to a university that does include sexual orientation at the very least in their non-discrimination policy over one that does not. If people do not want to come here, of course you will not be able to attract the highest caliber of students, faculty and staff. No one wants to be at a university that is sub-par, and with the 49 other state-wide university systems whose policies cover orientation, students have a veritable buffet of choices to choose from. How can we expect to convince them to attend our state’s schools if they have better options?

New LGBT Caucus Named in honor of Dan Carter-Incontro

Monday, 7 June 2010 – 4:46 AM | Comments Off on New LGBT Caucus Named in honor of Dan Carter-Incontro
New LGBT Caucus Named in honor of Dan Carter-Incontro

The LGBT Democratic Caucus has officially been named after the late Dan Carter-Incontro, Alaska’s first openly gay delegate to the Democratic Convention, with the endorsement of Dan’s husband, Al Carter-Incontro. Dan passed away on April 18.

The next meeting of the LGBT Dan Carter-Incontro Democratic Caucus is on Monday, June 7 from 6-8 p.m. at ADP Headquarters, 2602 Fairbanks Street in Anchorage.

They are currently working on a candidate questionnaire and a candidate forum, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday June 22 with the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. If you want to help with the forum and become involved in electing Democratic candidates who support LGBT issues, please attend the meeting.

Also, they are looking for Democrats to march in the PrideFest parade in downtown Anchorage on June 26. The party has applied for and been granted a slot in Alaska PrideFest “2010: A Pride Odyssey”. If you can participate, please call Bert Mead, Interim Chairperson, at 694-7528. Staging for the parade begins at 10 am and the parade starts at 11 am.

The caucus wants to involve more people statewide and is setting up conference calling ability for statewide participation, but they don’t have the arrangements completed for that yet. Stay tuned.

“Exciting things are happening in the Democratic Party and we want our caucus to be a part of the change we seek in our state legislature,” said Mead.