National Youth Call to Action -- Conference Call

Campus Pride & GetEqual are teaming up to recruit youth organizers and we need your help.

GetEQUAL is an organization that encourages LGBT folks and allies to take bold action in order to gain full LGBT equality -- without delay and without compromise. Both Campus Pride and GetEQUAL are concerned about the fact that young LGBT students across the country are encountering hate-filled rhetoric from our political and religious leaders, and we want to do everything possible to fight back.

That's why GetEQUAL and Campus Pride are partnering to pull together a national conference call for young people (in college and not in college) who are interested in taking bold action for equality on campuses and in communities across the country. If you -- or if people you know -- are interested in joining this call to brainstorm ways that young people can take action and take control of a student-led movement towards LGBT equality, please forward this information or join this call.

Here are the details:

Day: Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Time: 3:30pm-5:00pm Eastern / 12:30pm-2:00pm Pacific

Link to RSVP: http://bit.ly/rcBwLv

Please be sure to RSVP for the call using the link above. We'll be using a tool called Calliflower that lets us call on folks who have comments/questions, and there's a chat feature that lets everyone talk on a back channel throughout the call -- but it's important to register ahead of time so that you can fully participate in the call.

Who is Julian Eltinge?

from Michael Bronski, Author of A Queer History in the United States

Men dressed in women’s clothing are now common in popular entertainment. Films such as Priscilla, Queer of the Desert and Mrs. Doubtfire have devoted followings. Drag – illegal in many states just two decades ago – is now glorified on television in RuPaul’s Drag Race.

But the popularity of drag is not new. Nor has it, until recently, been particularly taboo. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Julian Eltinge was internationally famous, and beloved, for his performances as a woman. Eltinge’s reputations was so great that in 1912 his producer Al Woods built, and named, a beautiful Broadway theater that was considered the jewel of Forty-second Street. Eltinge was probably the most noted male performer of the early part of the century, but he is almost entirely forgotten today.

BestCollegesOnline released this week their "11 Important Leaders in LGBT Edcuation." These are professional leaders in academia who have indelibly left their mark on LGBT issues in higher education and society. Among the list at #9 was Campus Pride Founder and Executive Director Shane L. Windmeyer.

The BestCollegesOnline description about Windmeyer's accomplishments states:

"Campus Pride nurtures LGBTQIA organizations and student leaders alike in the interest of making college a safe experience for oft-marginalized sexual orientation and/or gender identity minorities. The brainchild of activist, author and speaker Shane L. Windmeyer, it currently exists as the only national group devoted to such networking and resource-providing causes. His books, such as The Advocate Guide for LGBT Students, and editing ventures (Brotherhood: Gay Life in College Fraternities, Inspiration for LGBT Students & Allies and more) all focus on providing solace and strength for LGBTQIA college kids. His own experiences grappling with small-town Kansas and campus homophobia inspired him to make sure later generations never suffer as he once did."

Read the entire list online at http://www.bestonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/11-important-leaders-in-lgbt...

Organization to Kickoff National BORN THIS GAY Contest with $10,000 in Free speakers, LGBT Event Registrations and other Prizes to commemorate the 10 Year Anniversary all year long

Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit working to build future lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leaders and develop safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities, celebrates its 10thanniversary this month. The group is highlighting its decade-long record of achievements and accomplishments and giving back, kicking off their national BORN THIS GAY Campus Tour and a contest including more than$10,000 in prizes.

For 10 years, Campus Pride’s primary objective has been to develop necessary resources, programs and services to support LGBT and ally students on college campuses across the United States. Founded in the Fall of 2001 and launched a year later in October 2002, Campus Pride started as an online community and resource clearinghouse under the name Campus PrideNet. The original founding partners were M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes & Shane L. Windmeyer. In 2006, the organization broadened its outreach efforts and restructured as the current educational non-profit organization Campus Pride. As part of the restructuring process, the Lambda 10 Project for LGBT Fraternity & Sorority Issues (www.lambda10.org (http://www.lambda10.org/)) became an educational initiative of Campus Pride.

National award recognizes outstanding contributions of college student leaders across the country; Application process opens now until November 16, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC; September 12, 2011 – Today Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org) releases its official call for the Voice & Action National Leadership Award, an honorary recognition highlighting the extraordinary contributions of young adult leaders at colleges and universities across the United States. For the fourth year, the national award is the only one nationally focused on the work of undergraduate college students who are creating positive change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally issues. The application process officially opened today until November 16, 2011.

“Young adults have always been a force locally in communities and on college campuses creating systemic, long term change -- but seldom are they recognized for their efforts nationally,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “The Voice & Action Award gives ongoing visible national recognition where it has long been overdue.”

YOU ARE LOVED -- Indeed, you are...
CAMPUS PRIDE SUPPORTS CHALK MESSAGE PROJECT THIS OCTOBER

Help spread the love and acceptance as part of this national suicide prevention awareness campaign -- YOU ARE LOVED CHALK MESSAGE PROJECT

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The You-Are-Loved Chalk Message Project is an annual, nationwide suicide-prevention awareness campaign that combats hateful rhetoric toward the LGBTQ community through the use of positive, uplifting chalk messages. Participating universities are also asked to organize suicide-prevention workshops on the day of the event.

The 3rd annual Chalk Message Project will take place on October 10th, 2011 (if your university is closed on the 10th, you may organize on October 11th).

Visit http://chalkmessages.org or email [email protected] for more information on how to bring the Chalk Message Project to your campus.

RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114690748622200

Campus Pride supports LGBT History Month - KNOW YOUR QUEER HISTORY
October is LGBT History Month!

Campus Pride in partnership with Equality Forum supports the LGBT History Month 2011. Each day in October, there is a featured Icon with a video, biography, bibliography, downloadable images and other information. These educational resources will be available without charge at www.lgbtHistoryMonth.com. The 155 Icons with resources from inception in 2006 to 2010 are archived on the site.

The goal for LGBT History Month 2011 is for colleges and universities to have an LGBT History Month Exhibit in October in their student union building. An LGBT History Month exhibit can be created for free by downloading posters, Icon images, graphically designed Icon bios and other resources at lgbtHistoryMonth.com.

The LGBT community is the only minority worldwide that is not taught its history at home, in public schools or religious institutions. LGBT History Month provides role models, teaches history and makes the civil rights statement of the LGBT community’s important contributions.

LGBT History Month is coordinated nationwide by Equality Forum. For more information contact Chip Alfred, Communication Director at [email protected].

WATCH THE EPISODE -

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CLICK HERE

Download Full Report -- http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/lgbt_higher_ed.pdf

Washington, D.C.—As college students pack up to head back to school and high school seniors begin to think about their college prospects, the Center for American Progress released a report today entitled, “Unequal Aid: Discriminatory Treatment of Gay and Transgender Applicants and Families Headed by Same-Sex Couples in the Higher Education Financial Aid Process,” finding that the federal government’s application for financial aid does not fully recognize families headed by same-sex couples and often renders them invisible. What results is the discriminatory misallocation of federal, state, and private dollars for higher education based on sexual orientation or gender identity—characteristics completely divorced from an applicant’s actual need for financial aid.

For some, biases inherent in the financial aid process result in less financial aid and in doing so, the system robs applicants otherwise deserving of financial assistance for higher education simply on the basis of sexual orientation. But for others, these biases actually result in more aid to finance a student's education because they or someone in their family is gay. In either case, the system clearly distributes higher education financial aid in an inefficient and ineffective way that is unfair to students, families, and American taxpayers.

"As the leading national organization for LGBT students and campus groups, Campus Pride is pleased Newsweek relied on our expertise, resources and our nationally acclaimed online LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (http://www.CampusPrideIndex.org) for its ranking of its "Top 25 Gay Friendly Colleges for 2011," said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride executive director/founder. "The Index is a valuable research tool for national benchmarking on LGBT policies, programs and practices. Of course, its free to everyone online -- prospective students, families as well as colleges and universities -- its even accessible for professional news sources like Newsweek."

As stated on the Newsweek's site: To compile the list of the campuses that are the most accepting and open-minded of LGBT students and supporters, we first turned to , a leading metric of how inclusive colleges campuses are of LGBT and Ally people. As well, we considered whether colleges have a LGBT campus center, and College Prowler survey data revealing how students rate the diversity and degree of acceptance for each campus.