FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 18, 2009

PRESS INQUIRIES:
Campus Pride
704-277-6710 or [email protected]

Campus Pride Announces New Locations & Dates for Gay-Friendly College Fairs this Fall 2009 & Spring 2010

Boston, Los Angeles & New York are targeted for larger fair attendance along with strategic partnerships with local youth organizations

Charlotte, NC, June 18, 2009 – Do you want to recruit out LGBT and ally students? Thanks to Campus Pride and local partners now your college can. Campus Pride announces dates for it’s third annual national college fair program this Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 specifically designed for out lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students to find LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. More information online at http://www.campusclimateindex.org/events

2009-10 Campus Pride
LGBT-Friendly College Fair Program Dates & Locations

New England Fair --- Wed, September 30, Boston, MA
East Coast Fair --- Friday, November 6, New York, NY
West Coast Prep Day & Fair --- Sat, February 27, Los Angeles, CA
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Two college fairs will be held in Fall 2009 and then a day-long college fair and college prep day will be held in Spring 2010. The first national fair is in partnership with Friends of GLBT Youth, Inc. based in Boston, Massachusetts and will take place on Wednesday, September 30. The second fair will be on Friday, November 6 in partnership with Youth Enrichment Services of the LGBT Community Center in New York City. The last fair will be a day-long college prep conference and fair to support LGBT and ally youth and families in the college application process, financial aid, search, campus visits, scholarships, etc. This college prep event will be in partnership with the University of Southern California’s LGBT Resource Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 15, 2009

PRESS INQUIRIES:
Campus Pride
704-277-6710 or [email protected]

This July Campus Pride to Award “Campys” for Distinguished Service to LGBT & Ally Youth

Shelly Weiss of OUTmedia & Branding Guru Patrick Davis among honorees to receive first-ever Campys along with Campus Pride volunteers Bylone, Hall, Pettitt, Shutt & Simmons

(Baltimore, MD – Monday, June 15, 2009) — This July 21-26, Campus Pride will host its third annual Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp geared toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders from colleges and universities across the United States. The five day long leadership camp, is the only national program of its kind, and will take place on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Registration is available online at http://www.CampusPride.org.

Campus Pride announced today that it will bestow a new award at Camp called surprisingly a “Campy.” This award recognizes special individuals and organizations that have demonstrated outstanding service and contributions to Campus Pride. This summer Shelly Weiss of OUTmedia and Patrick Davis of Patrick Davis Partners will receive a Campy recognizing their unique roles supporting the Campus Pride mission to give “voice and action” to LGBT and ally youth. In addition, five longstanding Campus Pride volunteers will be recognized for their ongoing support of camp: Christopher Bylone, CM Hall, Jessica Pettitt, Michael Shutt & Lisa Simmons.

Shelly Weiss is the owner and founder of OUTmedia, a leading queer cultural activist organization and social enterprise. Weiss has influenced queer arts for decades at colleges and universities across the country and has been a leader in promoting positive visibility and inclusive multiculturalism in entertainment.

An excerpt from CampusCompare Pride Month Blog Series

President Barack Obama has declared June “LGTB Pride Month”, and in honor of that, we’ll be doing a series of blogs on the LGTB experience with the search for college.college search

Okay, sure, you say. But what does “LGTB friendly” really mean? And why is it important?

An LGTB-friendly campus is one whose policies about housing, safety, faculty benefits, health services, clubs, recruitment, and student life are all inclusive of those who are gay, lesbian, transgendered, or bisexual. This can be as basic as including the words gay/lesbian or transgendered in a school’s anti-discrimination policy, or as revolutionary as same-sex bathrooms (gasp!). If you’re wondering what the big deal is, the answer is simple: everybody has the right to a safe and supportive college experience. If you ‘re a LGTB or Ally teen applying to college, then finding a college that’s right for you means finding a campus that supports your rights as a student.

LEARN MORE
http://www.campuscompare.com/college-resources/college-trends/lgtb-pride...

ROAR WITH PRIDE
VIEW THE CAMPUS PRIDE ROAR E-NEWSLETTER ONLINE
SUMMER 2009 ISSUE

http://www.campuspride.org/ROAR/ROAR060109.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS INQUIRIES:
Campus Pride
704-277-6710 or [email protected]

Charlotte, NC, June 8, 2009 – Start your engines. Are you ready to drag race this summer? Campus Pride kicks off the summer by entering its founder and executive director Shane Windmeyer, otherwise known as Buff Faye All You Can Eat, in the online competition for RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2 on Logo. Vote Buff Faye once a day at http://rupaulcasting.com/people/bufffaye

“What could be more fun than a drag race this summer?,” said Shane Windmeyer, founder and executive director of Campus Pride. “Buff Faye is proud to represent Campus Pride in the online competition for RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2. Sometimes it takes wearing heels and a dress to make a difference.”

Buff Faye, who is best described as a camp drag queen, is currently in the top 30 with over 700 contestants in the RuPaulCasting.com online competition. Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally college students, entered the competition to create visibility and to have a voice for youth issues on the show. Individuals may view photos, videos and read Buff Faye’s blog online and ultimately vote once every day athttp://rupaulcasting.com/people/bufffaye

Today New Hampshire became the 6th state with same sex marriage. Congrats, New Hampshire!

Here's an excerpt from the Boston Globe:
Traditionally conservative New Hampshire today became the sixth state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, after a bill was enacted by both the state House and Senate and then signed by Governor John Lynch.

"Today, we're standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear they will receive the same rights, responsibilities, and respect under New Hampshire law," Lynch said before signing the bill at about 5:20 p.m.

Lynch said it was a New Hampshire tradition "to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections, and that tradition continues today."

Gay marriage is now legal in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts -- all of the new England states, except for Rhode Island. Gay marriage is also legal in Iowa.

The rest of the article can be read by clicking here.

A radio show based n Sacramento, the Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show, recently discussed trans youth and adults on their show. To make a long story short, they were awful. The promoted child abuse if a child acted outside of gender normative behaviors and were just generally awful. You can listen to the half hour segment of the show here.

GLAAD, Pam's House Blend, and Trans Youth Family Allies all have more information up. Please listen to the show and respectfully respond at the links provided by GLAAD and TYFA.

So, like every other person in our alphabet soup of a community this past week, I'm a touch infuriated.

The California Supreme Court has not struck down Prop 8. It stays, and we're showing our anger through protests and screaming and interviews on the nightly news. This is all well and good - but I have to wonder if maybe we should simply back off of gay marriage as a cause for a while.

More after the jump.

Acclaimed Out Comic Rob Nash gave Campus Pride the opportunity to interview him. Rob's most recent work School Sucks! , a one-act show, features 30 characters. This show has received 14 rave reviews from New York periodicals including the New York Times. The show was listed in the Top Ten Broadway/off-Broadway Plays in 2005 Time Out New York Magazine. He has been seen on VH1 and Comedy Central. He has also worked with such noted comics as Margaret Cho, Aisha Tyler, Rosie O'Donnell, and Ellen DeGeneres.

He has performed in many venues including Gotham Comedy Club in NYC and The Comedy Store in LA. He has performed at a few colleges and universities including UCLA, Yale, Vassar College, and Princeton. Nash was deemed the "funniest standup comic" in 2004 according to the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll. He is also the first out gay standup comic from the south.

Currently, he lives in Austin, Texas. He divides his time between writing and teaching writing, touring, and performing at St. Edwards University, CAP 21 Studios at NYU, and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. He also is a special education teacher for AISD in Austin.
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Interview Begins.

CP: Thank you so much Rob for giving your time to Campus Pride for this interview. Let's start off with what gives you inspiration. Who or what inspires you with your work?

Recently, on May 14th, Mason held their first Lavender Graduation. This is quite historic for Mason and Virginia. Many members of the administration attended the event including the VP of University Life- Sandy Hubler and Rose Pascarell- Associate Vice President of University Life. I got the chance to inverview via e-mail one of the speakers- Brian Picone.

CP: How does it feel to be a speaker at Mason's first LavGrad?