One of the many ways we support student leaders is through our various leadership workshops, conferences and seminars, including our recent Campus Pride and Human Rights Campaign Carolinas Young Adult Leadership Summit in Charlotte and our upcoming Camp Pride 2012 Summer Leadership Program. Both are phenomenal annual programs for LGBT and ally students.

But the work we do isn't possible without the generous support of the many people, organizations and businesses that pull together to help Campus Pride achieve its mission in supporting and developing LGBT and ally student leaders and safer, more inclusive college and university campuses.

Campus Pride sends a big, hearty Carolina thank you to the Charleston, S.C.-based Alliance for Full Acceptance and to the Charlotte-based Scorpio nightclub. Both have supported our work in tremendous ways -- AFFA provides grants so that students in the Carolinas and Georgia can attend our Camp Pride for free, and Scorpio's recent fundraiser for us the weekend of our Carolinas Young Adult Leadership Summit supports our efforts here in our hometown.

Thank you AFFA. Thank you Scorpio. Your generosity is appreciated!
 

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Commons (GSSC) (Facebook page), an LGBT student organization at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., is among 15 student organizations in the running for the White House & MTVU Campus Champions of Change Challenge!

We know it's last minute, but we just had to spread the word! Vote for them today! Voting ends tomorrow, March 3!

Click here to vote for GSSC and support them in the White House & MTVU Campus Champions of Change Challenge.

From an article at Feministing:

Fairfield University’s Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Commons (GSSC) is the only LGBTQ advocacy group in the Top 15 finalists of the White House & MTVU Campus Champions of Change Challenge. It is currently up to a public vote to decide the Top 5. Top 5 winners will be invited to an event at the White House and featured by mtvU and MTV Act. GSSC is a small grassroots student initiative working within a private Jesuit university in need of student and institutional support to continue their mission of supporting the LGBTQ community and combating issues relating to gender and women.

Read the rest of the Feministing write-up here and remember to vote here.

Last night, Campus PRide Executive Director Shane WIndmeyer appeared on CNN Headline News with Dr. Drew to discuss the on-going trial of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student accused of cyber-bullying roommate Tyler Clementi, who died from suicide in September 2010.

Windmeyer appeared with Allyson Pereira, who had nude photos of her at age 16 leaked by her boyfriend to her peers at school. Pereira said the Clementi and Ravi case wasn't a hate crime, though radio personality Erica "America" Hayden disagreed.

Windmeyer's comments cut right to the chase on the larger issues surrounding the case: "It's very disturbing the fact that this young man today was sharing that it was curiosity [that led him to spy on Clementi]. It is disturbing that young people today have so much privilege being straight that they don't see the repercussions of what it means to be gay and how difficult it is to come out."

Be sure to watch the interview and comment below!

See Campus Pride's previous statement on the case, "Trial of Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi highlights national priority to create safe and inclusive campuses for LGBT students."

Campus Pride in attendance as Lady Gaga and Oprah launch national foundation to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.

Today, Lady Gaga and Oprah will launch Gaga's new Born This Way Foundation at a special event at Harvard University. Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer and two LGBT student leaders from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including 2011 Voice & Action National Leadership Award recipient Samuel Brinton, will be among those present for the event!

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world. Born This Way believes that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

You can tune into a live online stream of the event at 4 p.m. at http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/live-stream
 

The following is a guest blog from University of Notre Dame student Alex Coccia ('14), of Notre Dame's student-led "4 to 5 Movement," an initiative seeking to gain wider acceptance and support for LGBT students on the campus of the Indiana, Catholic-affiliated school. Campus Pride has been keeping up with Coccia's and other students' efforts. Our executive director, Shane Windmeyer, recently wrote about Notre Dame and another religious school, Pepperdine, at the Huffington Post . We believe it is important to support Notre Dame and Pepperdine students in their efforts to make their campus safer and more inclusive for LGBT students.

Statement from Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer:
"Campus Pride commends the LGBT and ally students at the University of Notre Dame for not giving up on their quest for inclusion and safety, despite the challenges posed by administrators," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "Faith empowers us to believe in something greater than ourselves. In particular, the Catholic faith, upon which Notre Dame bases its mission, calls upon each of those in the Notre Dame community to live in mutual respect, love and Christian fellowship. The faith and fellowship of LGBT and ally Notre Dame students is strong and they are showing courage and leadership. The University of Notre Dame and other private, religiously-affiliated colleges need to do the right thing and fulfill their mission to their students and their faith. All students deserve support and safety at college. It is time for the University of Notre Dame to recognize its LGBT students as part of its campus faith community by ensuring their safety and academic success."

The 4 to 5 Movement at Notre Dame: A Majority for Full Inclusion

By Alex Coccia ‘14, University of Notre Dame

The spark for the 4 to 5 Movement – a movement for full inclusion for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students, faculty and staff at Notre Dame – came in March 2011, when Brian Sims, the first openly gay college football captain, spoke about the importance of allies to create a safe and welcoming environment on college campuses. Citing the Pew Forum, Hamilton College polls, and the National Youth poll, he said:

Four out of five college students or college-educated people between the ages of eighteen and thirty in the United States right now support the general package of gay civil rights…. Eighty percent of you support my rights. You only think that it’s about a third of you.

The students who heard that speech recognized the same dynamic at the University of Notre Dame. Experience had shown that there is a supportive majority of students, faculty, and staff; and yet, there is either a vocal minority that keeps the majority silent, or there are structures in place that make it seem as though being an ally is not the norm. In many respects, both cases are true. On campus, a minority contributes to an unwelcoming atmosphere through hateful slurs, ingrained dorm “traditions” which are insensitive to any GLBTQ students, and the presence on campus of those who have claimed that a gay and lesbian student group would be the same as a student bestiality club. However, the structures and policies of the University amplify the voice of the intolerant minority by refusing to recognize any form of a gay-straight alliance student club and refusing to include “sexual orientation” to its non-discrimination clause.

A GLBTQ or GLBTQ-Ally themed student group has been denied official club status at Notre Dame at least fifteen times. Despite pressure from students, faculty, and staff, the non-discrimination clause remains unchanged. (For more information on Notre Dame policy, visit http://nextgenjournal.com/2011/11/the-4-to-5-movement-due-time-is-due-now/). Upon recognition that these structural issues severely hinder any true steps towards inclusion on campus, the 4 to 5 Movement was begun by the Progressive Student Alliance with three goals. First, it aims to raise the voices of the allies on campus—those silenced or overwhelmed by the loud minority. Those involved aim to make it clear that being an ally makes someone part of the majority, and that majority has the ability and the solidarity to raise its collective voice in loud protest to the policies at the University. Second, the 4 to 5 Movement aims to create spaces on campus for dialogue about issues pertinent to the GLBTQ and ally members of the community. Third, the 4 to 5 Movement seeks to address and change these structural issues – the lack of recognition of a gay-straight alliance and the lack of “sexual orientation” in the legal non-discrimination clause.

The 4 to 5 Movement has grown to become a broad coalition comprised of Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, clubs and groups, departments and administrative bodies, alumni/ae, and non-Notre Dame groups that support full inclusion for GLBTQ members of our community. The 4 to 5 Movement is honored to have Campus Pride as a member of the coalition. The first semester of action for the 4 to 5 Movement was extremely successful. The Facebook group has grown to over 1300 members; we hung “Did you Know” posters stating facts about the situation at Notre Dame such as “Faculty and Staff at Notre Dame can be fired because of their sexual orientation” all around campus and in dorms; we held an extremely successful and well attended panel titled, “Queer Queries: Ally, Gender, and Sexual Identity at Notre Dame”; we hosted a Notre Dame Coming Out Day celebration; and perhaps most importantly, people began talking about the 4 to 5 Movement – what it stands for, what it has done, and why it is important.

This semester has already shown signs of success and momentum. The 4 to 5 Movement introduced a resolution to the Student Senate regarding the recognition for a gay-straight alliance student club. This resolution passed 21-0-2. Student Senate is currently discussing a resolution regarding the non-discrimination clause. Athletes, extremely prominent voices on campus, have become involved with the 4 to 5 Movement, posing for posters saying, “I am an Athlete. I am an Ally.” Faculty have become increasingly involved within their departments to garner support.

This semester especially has gained a lot of coalition support. Recently, the 4 to 5 Movement united with CUAllies at Catholic University of America, in order to join the movements for recognition of gay-straight alliances at the two most prominent Catholic universities in America. In the nature of Valentine’s Day, the 4 to 5 Movement hosted an Inclusive Love candlelight ceremony to build community among its members and reflect on the ever-growing need for our University to open its heart to change. This semester, the 4 to 5 Movement aims to organize as much vocal support as possible, as our gay-straight alliance, AllianceND, once again applies for club status.

Now, more than ever, is the time to gather more and more support for our efforts. For change to occur on campus, it is going to take support from those within the University – the students, faculty, and staff – and from those outside the University – the alumni/ae and anyone who believes that one should feel safe and welcome regardless of sexual orientation. We need your help. The 4 to 5 Movement has garnered more support and has organized more multi-lateral initiatives than ever before in the over-a-quarter-century long struggle for equal rights, equal protection, and equal inclusion on campus. Let’s ride the momentum.

If you would like to show your support for inclusion at Notre Dame, join the “4 to 5 Movement” page on Facebook, follow @4to5Movement on Twitter, and add your group as a member of the coalition: 4to5Movement.org/the-coalition/.
For more information on the 4 to 5 Movement, email [email protected], and visit our website at 4to5Movement.org.

Wahls, thrust into spotlight after impassioned speech defending his two mothers, to be awarded honorary Voice & Action Award at Campus Pride’s Summer Leadership Camp

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
Registration for the sixth annual Camp Pride, July 17-22, 2012, is now open. An early discounted rate of $815 is available through May 1. Scholarships for free registration are also available. A special “Advisory Bootcamp” track for LGBT and ally faculty advisors is also available. Students and advisors can register online or learn more about scholarship opportunities at www.campuspride.org/camppride/

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Iowa native Zach Wahls, whose speech on his state house’s floor on behalf of his mothers and marriage equality inspired millions, will speak as a guest keynote and receive an honorary Voice & Action National Leadership Award at Camp Pride (www.campuspride.org/camppride/), the national summer leadership program for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight ally student leaders held July 17-22, 2012, at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University.

Wahls’ Jan. 31, 2011, speech in front of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee went viral on YouTube and other social media outlets in the days after he took a stand in his state’s debate on marriage. Soon after, TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres invited Wahls on her show to discuss his speech and his family’s story. Since then, Wahls has spent countless hours advocating for his family and other LGBT-led families and their fight to receive equal marriage rights across the U.S. His book, “My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family” (Gotham Books), is due to be released on April 26, 2012.

“Zach’s amazing conviction in standing up for the rights of his family has been an inspiration to LGBT young people, families and straight allies across this nation,” said Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer. “At a time when the national debate on marriage equality for same-sex couples continues to be used as a political football, Zach’s simple message of love, honor and commitment reminds each of us what a family is really about and acts to empower young people across the nation to stand up for what they believe is right and true.”

The Voice & Action National Leadership Award will be presented to Wahls on the final evening of Camp Pride. Wahls will be joined at the camp by other national speakers and entertainers. Past honorary award winners have included Neil Giuliano, Donna Rose, Mara Keisling, Judy Shepard and Daniel Hernandez, Jr. The award is the only honor of its kind, focused on the work of undergraduate college students who are creating positive change for LGBT and ally people on their campuses and in their communities. Campus Pride honored three other students with the award this year, including University of California, Berkeley’s Marco Flores, New York University’s Tovah Leibowitz and Duke University’s Jacob Tobia.

Camp Pride, Campus Pride’s Summer Leadership Program, is a one-of-kind leadership experience that brings together over 60 LGBT and allied young people from across the country for five days of student leadership development, campus organizing techniques, conflict management, social justice advocacy, diversity education and more. The summer leadership program will be featured in May in the documentary “Legalize Gay: The Civil Rights Movement of a Generation” on the national TV network Logo. Campus Pride is the nation’s leading non-profit organization for LGBT and allied college and university students.

Registration for the sixth annual Camp Pride, July 17-22, 2012, is now open. An early discounted rate of $815 is available through May 1. Scholarships for free registration are also available. The cost of registration includes educational curriculum, all program materials, accommodations for five nights and meals as well as entertainment and activities. A special “Advisory Bootcamp” track for LGBT and ally faculty advisors is also available. Students and advisors can register online or learn more about scholarship opportunities at www.campuspride.org/camppride/.

Joint statement from Campus Pride, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality and Transgender Law Center outlines path forward for schools aiming to create safer, more inclusive campus housing options and residential life for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally college students, has joined with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Law Center in issuing a joint statement calling on North Carolina colleges and universities to consider, adopt and implement gender-neutral and gender-non-specific housing options and residential life programs.

On Feb. 7, 2012, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp rejected a student- and faculty-led proposal to adopt a gender-non-specific housing program. At the time, Campus Pride noted our displeasure at Thorp’s decision and its failure to meet the safety needs of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) student population.

“Thorp has said his school has yet to ‘adequately explain’ the proposed gender-neutral housing program to its ‘stakeholders off campus,’ but such an explanation is simple and straightforward: The first and foremost priority of any college or university should be the safety and education of its students,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Our landmark 2010 research, ‘The State of Higher Education for LGBT People,’ shows that LGBT students are significantly more likely to experience harassment on campus. It is the sole responsibility of college administrators and staff to provide for the safety and inclusion of their students.”

UNC-Chapel Hill would have been the first public university in the state to institute a gender-neutral housing program, following in the footsteps of nearly 100 schools nationwide including nearly half of Chapel Hill’s peer institutions as well as three private schools in North Carolina: Duke University, Guilford College and Warren-Wilson College.

“Put simply, Chancellor Thorp is just wrong” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Thorp’s decision now puts UNC-Chapel Hill behind dozens of schools across the country that have implemented gender-neutral housing options. There is no state law that prevents gender-neutral housing, and most importantly, transgender students at UNC may continue to face unsafe living and learning environments because of Thorp’s decision. That is wrong, and Chancellor Thorp should reconsider his position.”

As news of Thorp’s decision spread across the state, several issues were raised at other UNC System campuses, including concerns that North Carolina colleges and universities are legally prohibited from offering fair, equitable and safe housing to LGBT students.

“Gender-neutral housing options are one important way universities are making their campuses safe and welcoming for LGBT students, including transgender or gender non-conforming students, who in some cases may not feel comfortable with a roommate of a certain gender,” said Ilona Turner, legal director for the Transgender Law Center. “There is no legal reason that North Carolina schools cannot adopt these common-sense policies.”

National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Price Minter, Esq., explained the legal background:

“There is no North Carolina law that would prevent a university from providing gender-neutral housing for students who would like to have that option. Specifically, there are no laws about cohabitation that would prevent this.

“North Carolina has a couple of laws that prohibit cohabitation under certain circumstances, but they do not apply to gender-neutral housing in a university by any stretch of the imagination.  In addition, after the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), those laws are also plainly unconstitutional.

“Only two laws in North Carolina currently address cohabitation. One has been found unconstitutional on the basis that it violates the 14^th Amendment due process rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). The second, though unchallenged, would almost certainly be found unconstitutional. In addition, neither of the laws apply directly to gender-neutral housing on college or university campuses.

“In sum, universities and colleges in North Carolina are completely free to provide gender-neutral housing without running afoul of any law.”

The safety of LGBT students stands at the heart of campus programs and policies like gender-neutral housing. UNC-Chapel Hill Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp recognized the importance of such campus housing safety measures, telling WCHL 1360 AM, “My recommendation was to do it on a pilot basis that would engage some of the issues around safety and inclusivity that the proposal addressed…My commitment is to try to make sure we have an environment where everyone has an equal shot at success,” he says. “To me, that begins with feeling safe and included. There are segments of our community where we struggle, and this particular proposal is aimed at improving that.”

Campus Pride will continue to support the LGBT student community at the UNC-Chapel Hill and renews its call that this proposal be reconsidered within the year -- because it is the right thing to do for LGBT student safety and all students on campus.

Campus Pride further calls on all North Carolina colleges and universities to consider, adopt and implement gender-neutral and gender-non-specific housing options and residential life programs and join the nearly 100 schools across the country that have already taken steps to provide for increased safety and inclusion of LGBT students on their campuses and in campus housing.

Media Contact:
Matt Comer, Communications & Programs Director
704-277-6710, ext. 6. [email protected]

More than 30 students from nine Carolinas colleges and universities will engage in training and development on campus organizing techniques, social justice advocacy and more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than 30 students from nine colleges and universities across North Carolina and South Carolina will gather in the Queen City Friday, Feb. 24-Saturday, Feb. 25 for a special Campus Pride Young Adult Carolinas Leadership Summit in conjunction with this weekend’s Human Rights Campaign Carolina Gala.

“We are fortunate to be able to host these student leaders in Charlotte,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Young people are already taking the lead on such important matters as the upcoming vote on North Carolina’s anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment. It is essential to support students and young people in their endeavors to create safer and more inclusive schools and communities for their peers and for future generations.”

Members of the community and the media are invited to attend a special Young Adult Leader Panel Discussion at the Aloft Hotel at the Epicentre. Students will discuss their experiences on their campuses, their thoughts about the movement for LGBT equality and their plans for creating change on their campuses, in Charlotte and across the Carolinas.

WHAT: LGBT Young Adult Leader Panel Discussion, in conjunction with the Campus Pride and Human Rights Campaign Young Adult Carolinas Leadership Summit
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 25, 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Aloft Hotel at the Epicentre, Tactic Room Two, 210 E.Trade St., Charlotte, NC, 28202
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/179828332126123/

Based in Charlotte, Campus Pride is the nation’s only non-profit organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders working to create safer campus environments. Campus Pride’s national programs and services include national benchmark and assessment tool Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org), national hate crime prevention training program Stop The Hate (www.stophate.org) and the annual Camp Pride Summer Leadership Program (www.campuspride.org/camppride/), slated this year for Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., July 17-22.

The Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than one million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where LGBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. Founded in 1980, HRC currently has more than 1 million members and supporters, including more than 23,000 in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.hrc.org.

For more information and to purchase 2012 HRC North Carolina Gala tickets for Feb. 25, visit www.hrccarolina.org. Tickets are $225 per person; Federal Club Member tickets are $75; student and senior (65 and older) are $95.

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Comer, Communications & Program Director, 704-625-6449, [email protected]

A university's first and foremost responsibility is the safety and education of its students. LGBT-inclusion and safety programs and policy implementation are not optional.

The harassment and death of Tyler Clementi, pictured, and Rutgers University's handling of the ensuing controversy serve as prime examples of the need for increased awareness and responsibility by university administrators.

Jury selection in the trial against former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi, accused of cyber-bullying that ultimately led to the Sept. 22, 2010, suicide of his roommate Tyler Clementi, began on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. As the trial proceeds, the details regarding the relationship between Ravi and Clementi continue to highlight the need for college and university administrations to make their campuses safer and more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.

"Colleges should take responsibility for their LGBT students," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "At the heart of this issue is the right of LGBT youth and students to be heard and recognized on the important campus safety issues they face at school. Nearly a quarter of LGB students face harassment on campus and this percentage is even greater for our transgender students."

Clementi's death and Rutgers University's handling of the ensuing controversy serve as prime examples of the need for increased awareness and responsibility.

"The mere presence of an LGBT student organization or LGBT-inclusive policies will not make a campus safer for students," said Windmeyer. "Concrete policy and practice implentation is necessary -- constant work that includes listening to and including the voices of LGBT students and taking decisive action to respond to their needs."

Listening and responding to LGBT students takes effort on the part of university admissions, student life and housing professionals, Windmeyer added. Asking optional questions about students' sexual and gender identities on forms for admission, housing and other services is a crucial first step toward ensuring accountability in campus programming and resources. To date, only one U.S. institution of higher education, Illinois' Elmhurst College, has added such questions to their undergraduate admissions forms.

Since Clementi's death, officials at Rutgers University have implemented a "Respect and Civility" program and have created an LGBT student living/learning community -- a program students had been seeking for a number of years before the tragic incident in 2010.

Campus Pride calls on all colleges and universities to take steps to fully include LGBT students on their campuses and to create safer, more welcoming environments where LGBT students may live, learn and grow with respect and dignity. Programs and policy implementation -- such as anti-discrimination policies, safe and inclusive student conduct codes, gender-neutral housing, LGBT living-learning communities, hate-crime and bias-motivated incident response and LGBT-inclusive healthcare -- are not optional.

"A university's first and foremost responsibility is the safety and education of its students," Windmeyer said. "It is imperative that colleges and universities begin to recognize their role in creating safer environments for LGBT students. Tragedies can be averted and lives can be saved when students feel safe and accepted and when universities are proactive in their approach to campus climate."

As part of its continuing commitment to develop necessary resources, programs and services to support LGBT and ally students on college campuses across the United States, Campus Pride offers its national benchmarking and assessment tool, the Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org), free-of-charge to college and university administrators seeking to understand the current needs, challenges and opportunities for their campuses.

Last week, we posted about It Gets Better Project founder Dan Savage's national college tour. Dan's still got plenty of upcoming appearances (check them all out...), but tonight is the night of all nights!

Don't forget to tune your TVs or set your DVRs for tonight's premiere of the It Gets Better documentary special, airing simultaneously on MTV and Logo at 11 p.m. Eastern.

Check out the trailer below...