Saturday, 17 April 2010 – 11:52 AM
| Comments Off on Student Leader wins Internship, asks for support
Felix Rivera, president of the gay-straight alliance at Alaska Pacific University, has been accepted to an intensive summer program at the Institute on Political Journalism in Washington, DC. The two month internship will teach him valuable news writing skills that he will bring back to use in Alaska. He is asking for help to cover the costs of food and expenses during the program.
“I am very much looking forward to DC, and also looking for more financial help,” writes Felix. “It turns out that I didn’t raise as much as I expected. Housing is provided – well, I’m paying for it. Money for food and other expenses would be great. I believe my parents are pitching in the plane ticket.” He’s leaving for DC on June 6.
The
IPJ internship at Georgetown University selects undergraduate journalism students from around the country to attend classes in economics, ethics and leadership, and to serve in internships with major news organizations. Participants also attend regular briefings at The U.S. House of Representatives, the World Bank and The State Department.
Felix has a passion for social justice issues and was awarded the Hartman Writing Prize. He is active at APU and in the Anchorage community:
As a student at Alaska Pacific University, I have the unique opportunity to develop my skills as a leader, mostly because there are so few of us. At the school, I take on the roles of APU Editor (the campus newspaper), ASAPU Sophomore Representative (the student government), president of Spectrum (the GSA and diversity club on campus) and treasurer and secretary of Newman Club (the Catholic-based club on campus).
As you can see, this encompasses many different positions and responsibilities. One of the biggest strengths I can bring is the power of religious dialogue, as I am an active Catholic in the community, volunteering with CSS and Brother Francis from time to time.
In the community, I also serve various roles. As an employee of the Anchorage Youth Symphony, I have various connections with the musical world of Anchorage. As an intern at the Anchorage Daily News, I can represent the larger issues of the GLBT community in the media. I also volunteer in the GLBT community, representing Spectrum at the GLBT Alliance, serving on the Sponsorships Committee, volunteering for the Youth Drop-ins at the GLCCA, and working to start a subset of the GLBT Alliance focused on the issues of youth, which I am very excited to do!
Congratulations to Felix on the internship! Please support this current and future community leader. If you have donations, questions, or would like to know more about Felix and the internship,
please email him.
Thursday, 15 April 2010 – 10:19 PM
| Comments Off on Day of Silence events in Alaska
Shh! Friday April 16 is
Day of Silence, when students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. At the end of DoS, Alaska students Break the Silence in Anchorage at the Pride Prom, in Fairbanks with a group scream and Drag Show, and in Juneau at an after-party with the Juneau Pride Chorus.
Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in national Day of Silence to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior. Founded in 1996, DoS has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
DoS occurs during Prom season, and same sex prom dates have been in the news more than usual this year. Some gay and lesbian teens in Alaska go to their school prom with a same sex date, but most don’t. They would rather go to an LGBTA prom where they don’t have to worry about the kind of anti-gay bullying that Day of Silence highlights. In Anchorage, students break the silence of DoS with the annual Pride Prom.
Break the Silence in Anchorage on Friday at Pride Prom, a hate free dance for ages 14-19. The theme is Gender Bender, but dress up formal or semi-formal however you want. $6 at the door, 6-11 PM at Kincaid Park Chalet.
Break the Silence in Fairbanks at 5pm in the quad in front of the UAF Wood Center for a Break the Silence scream, then gather in the Alumni Office Lounge for food, music, and friends. A Breaking the Silence Drag Show is on Saturday at the Hes Rec in the MBS complex, and the ICOAA’s Duchess Dixie will be performing. [Note: The UAF Gay-Straight Alliance
won a Diversity Enrichment Award last weekend. Congratulations!]
Break the Silence in Juneau at a DoS after-party in the Juneau-Douglas High School commons from 4-5:15 p.m. with a special guest performance by the Juneau Pride Chorus! Friends and family members are welcome to attend.
Day of Silence is a positive educational experience, but the bigots are in full attack mode. A
fake medical group sent anti-gay propaganda to schools around the country to stop DoS. Faux News riled up the tea party protesters by claiming that DoS was wasting tax payer money, although school funds are not spent. Several anti-gay groups tell parents to keep their teens out of school on Day of Silence because they might
hear see that many of their peers oppose their anti-gay bigotry. (They’re often the kids who need to see it the most.) On the Monday following DoS, these kids are told to preach at school the dangerous lie that gay kids should be ashamed of themselves and should pray-away-the-gay, or at least pretend to be straight. And, no, they are not silent about pushing an anti-gay religious agenda in the public schools.
If you are participating in DoS, check the
Day of Silence blog for information and resources like the DoS cards, Your Rights during Day of Silence, 8 Tips for Facing Opposition, Tips for the Last-Minute Organizer, and Four Truths about the Day of Silence.
What are you going to do to break the silence around anti-LGBT bullying and harassment?
Wednesday, 14 April 2010 – 8:34 PM
| Comments Off on Gay-Straight Alliance wins UAF Diversity Award
The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student group at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks won a Diversity Enrichment Award and $100 at the SOAR awards ceremony on Saturday. The GSA is leading the effort to add gays to the UA non-discrimination policy, participates in the annual Day of Silence against anti-LGBT bullying, and raised awareness about the controversial ex-gays when a workshop was held on campus.
The Diversity Enrichment Award is one of seven awards given to UAF student organizations and focuses on positive social change through community education:
Diversity Enrichment Award: To recognize a student organization that has demonstrated a significant commitment to enhance diversity on campus through efforts to promote a campus climate that respects and appreciates individual and cultural differences. Groups will be evaluated primarily on their educational outreach efforts. Groups can address any of the following elements of diversity: culture, race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, age, and economic status.
The UAF Gay-Straight Alliance has shown a strong commitment to promoting campus diversity through educational outreach. Their leadership on campus issues effecting gay and lesbian students, staff and faculty has benefitted UAF, the UA system and the wider community. They are an excellent choice for the Diversity Enrichment Award.
The Gay-Straight Alliance participates in Day of Silence each April to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.
Last year, the GSA wrote stories and poems on a Silence Memorial and held a candle-lighting assembly in Cornerstone Park. They broke their silence with a screening of
The Times of Harvey Milk and a discussion of GLBTQ issues on campus.
This year, Day of Silence is on Friday April 16. The students will be silent during the day, meet at 5 p.m. by the Wood Center for a Break the Silence yell, then gather in the Alumni Office Lounge for food and music. A
Breaking the Silence Drag Show is on Saturday.
At the beginning of the school year, the UAF students and staff were
confronted with a large banner advertising a pray-away-the-gay speaker with offensive and controversial claims. The GSA supported his right to speak, but were concerned that the huge banner created a negative school climate for LGBT people and our friends. They contacted Chancellor Rogers,
made a colorful banner advertising the GSA meetings and hung it next to the anti-gay banner, organized a peaceful sit-down protest, tabled with materials from reliable sources when deacon Delgado spoke, and even attended his first speech to hear and respectfully discuss the presentation.
The GSA turned this difficult event into an opportunity to raise awareness and spark a dialogue with the Chancellor, the Regents and the UAF community. In return, they received an outpouring of support from the campus. GSA president Jessica Angelette summed up the experience:
“The GSA not only had people stopping by the meetings after the whole thing, but it was so amazing to see how much support we were getting on campus… For those who were once worried about how the campus feels about GSA being on campus, that week the speaker was here showed us our campus’ true colors. The support we recieved was a happy and welcomed surprise. I have never been more proud to be a part of this campus then that week.”
The Regents decided in January that they will deal with the GSA’s request during this year. Regardless of the outcome, the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance is educating the Regents on why this policy change is essential for protecting diversity at the University of Alaska.
Congratulations to the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance for winning the Diversity Enrichment Award!
Sunday, 11 April 2010 – 5:43 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Round-up 4/11/20
This week’s LGBT news roundup from
Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Portugal, EuroNews, April 9, 2010
Washington, Associated Press, April 9, 2010
California, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2010
Advocate, April 5, 2010
Manila, Philippines, Google News, April 8, 2010
Dillon, Colorado, Advocate, April 7, 2010
Radar Online, March 12, 2010
San Francisco, SF Gate, April 6, 2010
Advocate, April 7, 2010
Iowa, Advocate, April 9, 2010
Smolesnsk, Russia, TowerRoad, April 10, 2010
Russia, Gay Today, April 10, 2010
Ontario, Canada, Univ. of Guelph, March 29, 2010
Bronx, NY, Gay City News, April 8, 2010
Saturday, 10 April 2010 – 3:23 PM
| Comments Off on Soldotna art show celebrates LGBT progress on the Peninsula
Art Works gallery in Soldotna is hosting “Celebrate” this month, an Alaska art show honoring the progress made by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “It’s social commentary. It’s making people think,” said gallery owner Zirrus VanDevere, adding that it’s time for the Peninsula to start talking about these issues.
VanDevere
told the Peninsula Clarion that the strong tension in Alaska between the live-and-let-live attitude and those who oppose ‘alternative lifestyles’ prevents many people from coming out:
“It’s something we should be talking about on the Kenai Peninsula,” she said. “We are isolated, in a way, but we are part of the whole world. If we don’t address this issue we are going to be left behind.”
She said the show “could easily be a rant” but she wanted it to “be positive about the changes that are occurring.”
VanDevere, who identifies herself as bisexual, will be displaying one of her own abstract paintings with a caption about being how and who you are.
Other local artists who will be displayed include Donna Steele, Theresa Napolitano and Joe Kashi, along with Anchorage artists like Shelia Wyne.
Kiana Johnson, a senior at Skyview High School, said she wanted to be a part of the show to demonstrate support for gay and transgender people on the Peninsula.
“I have a lot of friends who are gay,” she said. “I thought it was a cool opportunity to show my art and a cool opportunity for people to gain acceptance throughout the community.”
Her painting is an abstract representation of figures and a tree. She said she was trying to depict a separation between the bland figures and their surroundings that she says signifies our misconceptions of people, based on what we think they should be.
“Having a show like this really shows how far we’ve come as a community,” said Sierra McKenzie Ball, a 2008 graduate of Soldotna High School who currently lives in Seattle.
Her two acrylic paintings, “Bound,” and “What are we made of,” are of people’s faces, she said, and a reflection on herself and her own bisexuality.
Having younger artists like Johnson and Ball display their work in “Celebrate” is something VanDevere is especially passionate about.
“The youth becoming adults now are way more open-minded.”
“Celebrate” runs through the end of April at Art Works in Soldotna. An expanded version will open later at Out North’s gallery in Anchorage.
Thursday, 8 April 2010 – 3:51 PM
| Comments Off on Anchorage waits for outcome of Midtown race
As often happens in Alaska, the final results of Tuesday’s election are not yet known. In a nail-biter assembly race for the midtown seat, Dick Traini has a 3% lead over Andy Clary, who
compared gays to drunks and cheaters. A
ballot mix-up that was resolved on Wednesday narrowed Traini’s lead to 147 votes, and the remaining absentee and questioned ballots won’t be counted until next Friday.
For the east Anchorage seat, Paul Honeman has a 6% lead over conservative Adam Trombley. Matt Claman lost the west side to Ernie Hall by more than the number of questioned ballots. Honeman and Hall are moderates compared to the previous assembly members, but both support our community.
Debbie Ossiander and Jennifer Johnston were re-elected to the assembly as expected. Keli Booher earned a respectable 34% of the south side vote against Johnston.
If Honeman and Traini hold their leads, the new Assembly will be Honeman, Traini, Hall, Ossiander, Johnston, Drummond, Gray-Jackson, Flynn, Guttierez, Birch and Starr. That appears to be four conservatives, four progressives and three moderates.
In the school board races, incumbent Jeannie Mackie won Seat B, but James LaBelle and Tommy O’Malley split the progressive vote for Seat A, allowing ultra-conservative Don Smith to win. LaBelle received over 23% of the vote and O’Malley had over 26%, for a total of almost 50% of the vote going to the progressive candidates. Smith got only 41%. He is a far right conservative serving where the majority wanted a progressive. That could make his position harder to defend next time.
Smith is the only fringe member on the school board. The religious conservatives have tried repeatedly to push a far right church-based agenda into the public schools. When O’Malley entered the race after LaBelle, he opened the door for a split vote and Smith’s win.
The land swap and the bonds passed, except for public transportation.
A big THANK YOU to those who voted! Every vote counts.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010 – 4:57 AM
| Comments Off on RAW 2010 Short Story Winners
Radical Arts for Women is pleased to announce the winners of the 4th annual RAW short story contest.
“We received entries from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna and Ketchikan. We had science fiction and down-to-earth tales, stories about jail and about rural Alaska.”
“Next year we will change the name of the contest to the Nicole Blizzard Short Story Contest. Nicole Blizzard was a local lesbian writer and editor who passed away in December. She created, published and edited the local LGBT literary journal Naked Ptarmigan (which also publishes the winner of the RAW short story contest), and last year Nicole published her first collection of short stories. We are pleased to rename the contest in honor of her.”
The Winners for 2010
Grand prize and winner of $500 – “Mail Plane” by Emily Sousa
2nd place and winner of $300 – “Itch” by Mel Green
3rd place and winner of $100 – “The Remaking of Audrey Lang” by CN McLaughlin
Honorable mention – “219s” by Amy Whinston
Honorable mention – “Gone, Fishing” by Audrey Fearnside
The winners were announced during the annual women’s performance Celebration of Change. A scene from the grand prize story “Mail Plane” was read during Celebration, and the full story is now posted on RAW’s web site. Mel posted her 2nd place winning lesbian love story “Itch” on her blog Henkimaa.
Andy Clary is the son of Anchorage Baptist Temple’s Glenn Clary. But he doesn’t want us to judge him as an assembly candidate based on his ties to Jerry Prevo or his enthusiasm for Mayor Sullivan. He wants to be judged by his own words, and by his current church. So what is ChangePoint’s stand on gays? Pastor Dan Jarrell wrote on Feb 22:
“God doesn’t hate people who are homosexual; he hates what homosexuality does to people.”
WTF? That’s twisted. Jarrell also calls us “pernicious,” which means destructive in a sneaky way:
“Perhaps the most pernicious behavior of gay and lesbian activists is their effort to indoctrinate children and encourage the promulgation of their alternative lifestyle…”
And what about Clary? During last summer’s battle for the jobs and housing ordinance, he was a staff writer for the anti-ordinance Alaska Standard and he wrote:
“Now, before I go any further, let me say that I am opposed to the ordinance myself, but for very different reasons. You see, I am a committed follower of Christ, and although I believe homosexuality is not a lifestyle that Christ approves of, I see it no differently than other sins such as alcoholism or adultery. Why do we Christians lash out against one sin so differently than we do any other? We need to be reaching these people not tearing them down.”
“These people”? He might have more success in reaching out to “these people” if he didn’t compare our loving families to chronic drunks and cheaters.
“What if some simply have not found answers to the tough questions they have? For instance, why is it that some people struggle with homosexual tendencies their whole life and others do not? It is the same as alcoholism. Some people are predisposed to certain types of behavior…”
Many gays and lesbians are comfortable with our natural and God-given sexuality. What we struggle against is the stigma of being different and the anti-gay prejudice of people like Clary.
“Finally, to answer the question, “Should you legislate morality?”, clearly the answer is again, no. It cannot be done, nor should it be done.”
The religious right often tries to legislate morality, as long as it’s their own moral interpretations that get promoted. Does he really mean that we shouldn’t have laws against murder and rape?
Clary told the Anchorage Press that he grew up in Prevo’s church where his father is assistant pastor:
“I have my own beliefs and I don’t agree with my father on everything. Yes, I grew up at that church; I do not attend there now. People will just have to judge me on myself.”
So he agrees with his father on most things, including his opposition to gay rights, but not on everything. What are the disagreements? He doesn’t say. But he belongs to ChangePoint now. Here are more quotes from the anti-gay ChangePoint article by Clary’s pastor:
“There are no reasonable grounds for considering same-sex unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage…”
“Support ministries that offer help, hope, and healing to those affected by homosexuality. Exodus International is one example of an effective effort to provide a way out for homosexuals who want help.”
Being gay is not a sickness that needs healing. Prejudice is the sickness. The pray-away-the-gay methods used by Exodus have been discredited over and over, but churches like ChangePoint and ABT continue to push the “ex-gay” lies.
Jarrell also tells his church members to become politically active against gays:
Get involved in the political process supporting any effort to preserve a biblical definition of marriage as a life-long, intimate partnership between one man and one woman.
And they have their own anti-gay “pernicious indoctrination” class for children:
There are many excellent tools available for any parent wanting to instruct their adolescent child about marriage, sex, and family issues… ChangePoint’s Due North program for 6th grade girls and boys is exceptional as well, get your kids involved.
How sad for those kids, especially the LGBT ones and their parents.
So, in his own words, Andy Clary thinks that gays (“these people”) are struggling with a lifestyle like alcoholism and adultery. His current pastor calls us “pernicious,” pushes harmful pray-away-the-gay methods, and encourages church members to get involved in politics against gay rights. Sounds close enough to Prevo.
This is NOT who we want to represent us on the Anchorage Assembly.
Local elections are important. That point was driven home during the ordinance battle between the assembly and the mayor last year. In
Tuesday’s municipal election, we have several allies – and opponents – running for the assembly and school board, and it’s important to know who they are.
One opponent is Andy Clary, son of Anchorage Baptist Temple pastor Glenn Clary and current member of evangelical ChangePoint. Both churches promote pray-away-the-gay “therapy” and oppose gay civil rights. Clary supports Mayor Sullivan’s agenda, and will be Jerry Prevo’s voice on the assembly.
In other races, LGBT ally Sheila Selkregg is retiring and endorsed
Paul Honeman for her East Anchorage seat. Honeman is a moderate and a supporter of our community. He’s running against ultra-conservative Adam Trombley, who opposed ordinance 64,
has no ideas, and
is a friend of our veto-happy mayor.
In West Anchorage, both progressive
Matt Claman and moderate
Ernie Hall are supportive of the LGBT community. Claman introduced the equal rights ordinance last year and is endorsed by progressives. Hall thinks the ordinance should have been handled differently. The nonpartisan Hall is endorsed in this race by conservatives, but once ran as a Democrat for lieutenant governor.
In South Anchorage, conservative Jennifer Johnston is being challenged by progressive
Keli Booher. Johnston voted for the ordinance, but generally votes conservative. Booher is young, motivated and gay-friendly.
Remember former assembly chair Debbie Ossiander, who allowed Wasilla homophobes to testify against the Anchorage ordinance? How could we forget that. Independent
Joelle Brown is challenging her for the Eagle River seat.
Yes, we are also voting on school board seats, and there are two ultra-conservative candidates who promote ‘traditional’ education and no diversity. Creationist Don Smith made nasty racial comments about President Obama, according to
Alaska Commons, and is the darling of the far right along with Bob Griffin. Both are running against people who are more supportive of diversity.
Jeannie Mackie currently holds Seat B and is doing a good job.
James LaBelle has the best chance of defeating the anti-gay Smith for Seat A. But there are two progressive candidates for Seat A, which might split the vote and allow Smith to win. So we need every vote we can get against him.
Your vote counts! Please learn about the assembly and school board candidates, and vote for the ones who support our community and the LGBT youth of Anchorage.
Sunday, 4 April 2010 – 1:47 PM
| Comments Off on Sara’s News Round-up 4/4/10
This week’s LGBT news roundup from Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Patterson Irrigator, March 24, 2010
Washington, DC Agenda, April 1, 2010
Washington, National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, March 30, 2010
Iowa, Iowa Independent, April 1, 2010
Mexico City, Mexico, LA Times, March 19, 2010
Madison, Wis., 365Gay.com, April 2, 2010
Utah, Daily Herald, April 2, 2010
Huffington Post, April 1, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2010
PFLAG’s eTransParent: March /April 2010
