Welcome...

...to another fabulous installment of Campus Pride's and OUTmedia's new Queer It Up! Take Action Fridays. In this week's edition...

• HOT LIST! Kimberly Dark, spoken word performer
• Camp Pride
• OUT TO PLAY! Make your nomination today!
• Querying Gender & Sexuality
• Victory at Belmont University
• Let us feature your campus!

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

Last fall, news broke of two concerning stories at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

In November, Belmont University student Robbie Maris, president of the nascent Bridge Builders student group, said school administrators had denied his and other students' requests to form the group. Instead, university administrators pointed to a school-sanctioned discussion group on sexuality that meets twice monthly. At the time, Maris said the university-run discussion group isn't enough.

Then, in December, a women's soccer coach was dismissed after she announced she was having a child with her same-sex partner. Though the school's athletics director, Mike Strickland, said coach Lisa Howe left on her own volition, students and others rose up in protest.

Their criticisms have made some progress.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Belmont has added "sexual orientation" to its non-discrimination policy, though it remains unclear if the addition of the term will cover sexually-active LGB people.

From The AP:

At the time of Howe's departure, [Belmont President Bob] Fisher said that the university does not consider sexual orientation in admissions or hiring decisions. On Wednesday, he said the policy change simply affirms the practices already in place.

Asked whether his statements could be taken to mean that Howe was not pressured to leave because she came out to students, Fisher said he could not talk about any specific cases.

"This is a great victory for the values of inclusion, human dignity and respect," Howe said in a statement. "I am grateful to the Belmont board for recognizing that being gay and being Christian are not mutually exclusive. This is a landmark day."

Several reporters wanted to know whether Belmont was making a distinction between sexual orientation and sexual practice.

Belmont's student code of conduct lists sex outside of marriage as "sexual misconduct." Since gays and lesbians cannot marry in Tennessee, there is no way for them to be sexually active without violating the code.

Campus Pride's 2011 Summer Leadership Camp will be held in Nashville in July at the nearby Vanderbilt University. Learn more: www.campuspride.org/camppride/

Less than a month after news reports of Belmont University's denial of a gay-straight student organization on campus comes news of the school's women's soccer coach resigning amid pressure from school administrators.

Belmont University athletics director Mike Strickland said in a statement that coach Lisa Cox left on her own volition. But, The Tennessean reports (h/t The Advocate) that students were told a different story: That Cox was pressured into the resignation after sharing news that she and her partner were having a baby.

The paper reports:

Erica Carter, a senior on the team, said Howe told her and her roommate Ashley Hudak, a junior on the team, Tuesday that athletics department officials had given her the choice to resign or be terminated because she had told the team her partner was pregnant with a baby due in May.

"She said she went to the administration to get permission to talk to us about (the pregnancy) so that she could bring us to light on her becoming a mother," Carter said.

"She didn't want us to hear it from other sources. She has never talked about her personal life before. We always hear rumors, speculation and things. She wanted this to come directly from her."

In November, Belmont University student Robbie Maris, president of the nascent Bridge Builders student group, said school administrators had denied his and other students' requests to form the group. Instead, university administrators pointed to a school-sanctioned discussion group on sexuality that meets twice monthly. Maris has said the university-run discussion group isn't enough.

"I know a lot of the gay community at Belmont feels marginalized and feels like they don't have a place to meet on campus," Maris told Nashville's News Channel 5 at the time.

Belmont University denies gay-straight student org

Nashville, Tenn.'s Belmont University has denied the formation of a gay-straight student organization on campus. Student Robbie Maris is president of the group, Bridge Builders. He says it started after a Facebook group was formed to support students at the private Christian (formerly Baptist) school.

"I know a lot of the gay community at Belmont feels marginalized and feels like they don't have a place to meet on campus," Maris told Nashville's News Channel 5.

University administrators said in a statement: "Recognizing the importance of mutual respect and diverse opinions from Christian perspectives and the challenges of cultivating such informal dialog on these issues, the university chose not to meet their request, but to create a university-led opportunity for this discussion. Beginning last spring, a university sponsored discussion group on these issues has convened twice monthly and expects to continue for the duration of this academic year." Read more...

Christian fraternity kicks out members

Two former members of Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., say they were told to leave the group because their sexual orientation violated the fraternities code of conduct. Read more...

Community college students want GSA

Students at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., want to start a gay-straight alliance of their own, student paper Aztec Press reports. Read more...

Will Rutgers amend their policies?

New Jersey's Rutgers University has been at the center of controversies over student safety and LGBT inclusion on college campuses ever since student Tyler Clementi committed suicide in September. The Daily Princetonian explores the colleges current policies and discussions on possible amendments. Read more...

UCLA ROTC follows 'Don't Ask'

The University of California-Los Angeles' student newspaper, Daily Bruin, explores the college's policies as it relates to the campus ROTC program. Read more...

Canadian school district asks students about sexual orientation

As American colleges determine whether or not to ask students voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender-identity, one Canadian school district is beating them to the punch. Canada's Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is conducting a voluntary, anonymous survey of each of its students in grades 7-12. They'll ask 150,000 students a variety of questions, including, according to the blog Queerty, "how much money their parents make, what religion they belong to, and what kind of job they imagine holding down in the future." The survey also askes if "they like boys or girls or both." Grades 6 and below will receive a different questionnaire. Read more...