Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer was at Texas Tech University in Lubbick, Texas, on Tuesday, delivering a message of inclusion, safety and respect for LGBT students.

An excerpt from a report by Texas Tech's student newspaper, The Daily Toreador:

Steven Lara, a junior political science major from Tahoka, said he saw an advertisement for the event and thought it would be interesting.

“It was a lot better than what I thought when I came here,” he said. “I didn’t know what he was going to talk about or what he was going to do, but it was a very honest about what gay guys or LGBT community goes through.”

Lara said he has more respect for people who are willing to admit they are gay.
“I think that’s probably the hardest part about it all,” he said.

Bill Gustafson, director for the Tech Center for Financial Responsibility, said Windmeyer’s lecture intrigued him.

Same-sex marriages face problems legally because they are not allowed to marry, he said.

“I can remember a couple of years ago we had a debate with two guys about the idea of gay marriage,” Gustafson said. “It’s just an issue that’s going on in our society and universities have diverse people, and it just gave me a chance to expand my view.”

Read the full The Daily Toreador's report...

Update (March 20, 9:25 a.m. EDT): You can watch the White House conference today live via the White House's website starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Tune in here...

The White House is hosting its third LGBT Conference today at the University of Texas-Arlington. The event will feature U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and White House Senior Advisor Valerie B. Jarrett and focus on safe schools and communities.

From Dallas Voice:

The next White House LGBT Conference will be at the University of Texas at Arlington on March 20 and will focus on safe schools and communities, according to an announcement from the White House this afternoon.

The event is the third conference in a series of several the White House launched in February. It will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice in partnership with UTA’s College of Liberal Arts Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the College of Education and Health Professions.

U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to the president, will speak at the event, according to a White House release.

“The White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities will provide advocates, community leaders, and members of the public an opportunity to engage with the Obama Administration on efforts to ensure safety and security for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in schools and communities throughout the country,” the release states.

Read Dallas Voice's full article here, and be sure to follow them (@dallasvoice) and the #WHLGBT hashtag on Twitter for live updates throughout the day.

In preparation for the event, two national organizations have released supporting material to the public.

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) released a preview of its Safe and Supportive Schools chapter from its upcoming publication, "A Blueprint for Equality: A Federal Agenda for Transgender People." Read more about the release and download the chapter here.

Additionally, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released an issues brief detailing the work of the Obama Administration on safe schools issues and some of the work HRC has been doing to aid in the process of creating safer schools.

Campus Pride congratulates those who will be participating in the conference today and thanks President Barack Obama and his administration for their continued efforts to raise awareness on issues important to the health and needs of the LGBT community and, in particular of LGBT young people. Healthy schools and learning environments-- from primary and secondary education to higher education -- are crucial to the well-being of LGBT youth.

I recently became acquainted with a dynamic nonprofit organization founded and headquartered in Austin, Texas.  With a powerful vision and big dreams, Atticus Circle (www.atticuscircle.org) has a mission to educate and mobilize straight people to advance equal rights for LGBT partners, parents, and their children.

The organization provides information about the rights of parents and partners that are denied solely on the basis of sexual orientation and seeks to create cultural and attitudinal change by helping people understand the unique challenges and discrimination same-gender couples and their families face.  The founder, Anne Wynne, whom I had the good fortune to meet, is a practicing attorney in Austin who was moved in a heartfelt way to launch the organization in 2004 when 11 states passed marriage discrimination amendments (the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had been passed and allowed these states to enact homophobia into their laws by preventing same-sex couples from marrying).  With the help of many friends and supporters who offered funding to launch the organization, Atticus Circle was born.  I had the chance to meet with the organization’s straight executive director, Ruth Gardner-Loew, whose passion for the mission of the organization is clear in any language (as she speaks a few).

Read the rest after the jump...

A Texas Tech University student, who is president of the campus Gay-Straight Alliance, published a letter on DallasVoice.com today lashing out at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" activist Dan Choi and his agent.

The student's beef? Choi's asking price for speaking engagement and his agent's alleged rudeness in dealings with the student.

Nonnie Ouch writes:

"However, I’ve lost all respect for you as a gay- and human-rights activist. In the course of my two short years as an activist in the communities I have lived in, I have met amazing people such as Irene Andrews, C.d. Kirven and Michael Robinson, who travel from city to city, state to state with their own money and ask NOTHING from those who request their speaking services. These people, like myself, live, breath and eat queer activism. They live to inspire others. They live to show the compassion of love to others. They have not lost sight of what is truly important here: equality for all.

"[...snip...]

"So, I ask you, Lt. Choi: Own your truth. Hold yourself accountable for your actions. Look at what you preach and see if it matches your actions. Think about when you were my age, just going into West Point, and feeling alone next to your brothers and sisters. Remember Matthew. Remember Irene, C.d. and Michael. Remember me. Remember those 155,000 people who heard your words. After you do that, think about those in Lubbock, Texas, and other cities who couldn’t “afford” you and how you could have changed their lives."

Read the students letter in full at DallasVoice.com's reader blog...

Is $10,000 -- Choi's speaking fee -- too much? Some might say yes, and some might say no. After all, $10,000 is far, far less than many professional speakers charge (including folks who some might argue aren't anywhere near as inspirational or influential as Choi). How can Choi balance his needs to live (pay rent, health insurance, bills, save for retirement) with a commitment to reach out for the community? He has, indeed, already sacrificed so much.

(Just as an interesting side note: Texas Tech University is not listed in Campus Pride's Campus Climate Index. It'd be interesting to know exactly how LGBT-friendly the campus is, and if unfriendly staff or student leaders might be standing in the campus Gay-Straight Alliance's way when it comes to funding their programs and possible speakers.)