Welcome...

Hello all Campus Pride peeps! In all it's fabulousness, this week's edition of Queer it Up Friday!...

• HOT LIST! Athens Boys Choir, Performance Artist
• Campus Pride Selected As National Partner for StandUp Foundation Against Bullying
• Pittsburgh Art Institute's mascot welcomes Pride 2011!
• Make It Better Summer
• Let us feature your campus!

Check out this week's great features after the jump...

HOT LIST! Athens Boys Choir, Performance Artist

Ok, so the name Athens Boys Choir can be a bit deceiving but you can’t blame a Transsexual man living in the Deep South for having a sense of humor about the whole ordeal. So Katz, the Choir’s now solo member, travels the country speaking “the good word” throwing down hard hitting spokenword that deals with issues of Gender, Politics, Love, Sex, and everything in-between. Katz’s spoken-word is raw, unapologetic, witty, and soulful. As Out Magazine wrote in 2006, “Katz avoids falling into the common spoken-word trap…and instead uses engaging wordplay, razor-sharp wit, and hip-hop rhythms.” He has had the honor of sharing the stage with such artists as Ani Difranco, Indigo Girls, Bitch, The Butchies, Danielle Howle, and Michelle Malone. He has also opened for poets of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam on more than one occasion.

Learn more about Athens Boys Choir...

Campus Pride Selected As National Partner for StandUp Foundation Against Bullying

Pro-rugby player Ben Cohen is first straight athlete to dedicate his philanthropic efforts for the benefit of LGBT people

Campus Pride was selected as a national partner by the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, the worldʼs first organization dedicated solely to combatting bullying, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation.

"We are proud to partner with Campus Pride. They have a long, successful track record of working with educators and students to make campuses more inclusive for and accepting of LGBT people. Raising awareness of and funds for their tireless, on-the-ground work is very important to all of us here at the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation," said Ben Cohen, MBE, chair of the foundation.

Learn more...

Pittsburgh Art Institute's mascot welcomes Pride 2011!

The advisor to the Pride Club at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh was kind enough to share with Campus Pride their school mascot, Rex-Dinosaur, and his celebratory welcome to Pride 2011! What a grand sight this is! Congrats to the LGBTQ and straight ally students, faculty and staff of the Pittsburgh Art Institute and Happy Pride!

Make It Better Summer

Want to heat up your summer vacation with a little social change? Join the Make It Better Project's online activist camp(aign) to Make It Better this summer! It's a perfect treat for your social justice wants and desires, especially for all you great students making change in your high schools. College and university students might just learn valuable skills and topics, too!

Students should be able to take more than the summer off from bullying. As an online camp(aign)er, you can stay engaged over the summer and make it better come the fall!

Starting in mid-July and lasting through mid-August, the Make It Better Project will host one hour camp sessions on Thursdays from 4 pm - 5 pm PT, 7 pm- 8 pm EST. Just hop onto a computer and you'll be able to tune in as Gay-Straight Alliance Network youth trainers cover everything from your rights as a student to starting a GSA in your school. And you'll be able to ask questions and meet other LGBT and allied youth!

The Make It Better Summer Camp(aign) will help LGBT and allied youth all over the country connect to resources, ideas, and each other through weekly online camp sessions. Click here to sign up to receive information on how you can get involved!

Ideas to Make It Better this summer...

Just a few ideas on how to make your school better... The project has more great tips and resources on how to make it better in your community, your state and the nation. Learn more...

Start a GSA
The simple existence of a Gay-Straight Alliance club has been shown to help make students feel safer at school.  If your school doesn’t have one, starting a GSA is one of the most effective first steps you can take to make it better.

GSAs can change your school’s culture by raising visibility, stopping slurs, andeducating youth about LGBT people. Many GSAs host events like poster projects, school assemblies, visibility, and anti-slur campaigns. GSAs can also provide a safe supportive space where youth can get together to talk about their experiences and break through feelings of isolation.

Learn the 10 Steps to starting a GSA and check to see if there is a local organization in your state that supports GSAs through the National Association of GSA Networks or by finding a local GLSEN Chapter.

Interrupt Bullying & Harassment
The most important thing you can do in your school is to interrupt bullying and harassment when you see it happen. Study after study has shown that bullying has real and tragic consequences for LGBT youth and disrupting bullying can lead to a positive outcome for all students at the school. Check out stopbullying.gov for resources from the White House's anti-bullying campaign.

Encourage your friends, teachers, and school staff to also interrupt bullying and harassment. Here’s a guide on how to stop discriminatory and bullying behavior, and send them over to “For Adults” for more resources.

Know Your Rights
Did your school out you to your parents, ban your GSA, or stop you from bringing a same-sex date to the prom? That's not just unfair; that's illegal. Read the ACLU's rundown on your rights as a student, and make sure that your school is following the law. If your school is breaking the law, check out our Get Help page for tips on how to file a complaint and seek legal advice.

Let us feature your campus!

Do you have stories, experiences, tips or tricks like Rachel and Tommy? We want to feature student leaders, campus organizations and other student-led and -initiated efforts! We want to praise your successes and examine your challenges. Profiling them here gives other students the opportunity to learn from your mistakes as well as your achievements. All-in-all, we can help each other make better campuses and communities for LGBTQ people! If your student-led campus or community group has something to share, shoot an email off to matt@campuspride.org.

Want more? Check out our past Queer It Up! coverage.