Marcel Neergard speaking to local ABC news affiliate on the sucess of his petition to resind the ‘Reformer of the Year’ award from Tennessee Rep John Ragan.
The program, according to government sources, will be set up through the Canadian Red Cross. The idea is to have thousands of young people trained to deliver anti-bullying workshops in their communities, and promise to reach at least 20 other kids.
“Our government wants to ensure that our young people have the resources they need to prevent bullying, cyberbullying and discrimination,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
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National anti-bully scheme to launch at late teen’s school - Ottawa - CBC News How ironic, an anti-bullying campaign supported by the Harper government. |
Judge’s ruling reinforces Fla. teen’s right to organize gay-straight alliance
U.S. District Judge Anne Conway issued a final order in the case of Bayli Silberstein, 14, of Leesburg, Fla., who brought a lawsuit against the school board of Lake County, Fla., for repeatedly delaying action on the her request to form the club.
…
“My friends and I didn’t want to have the school year end without being able to do something to make school safer. I’m really grateful for all the support I’ve gotten and hope this helps other kids see that what we’re doing is something worth fighting for,” she said.
“I had like two people at the school be, like, oh, you shouldn’t win prom queen because you’re a boy. You should win prom king,” Tubman said. “I’m like, well, I’m a queen.” (via Mass. high school crowns its first transgender prom queen | The Daily Caller)
Interesting article on some of the challenges trans* students face in the public school system and how at least some parents, teachers, and schools are working to over come these obstacles.
![From a Boy Named Issak by Issak Wolfe:
“The school has agreed to let me wear the boys’ cap and gown, but won’t budge on anything else. They refuse to promise to do anything to help other kids like me, as if pretending I’m the only transgender student they’ll ever have at their school will make it so. They refuse to apologize to me, even though they know the principal’s actions were mean-spirited and hurtful.
And they insist on reading my female name at graduation, even though I’m working on getting my name legally changed and most people have been calling me Issak for almost two years now.
Reading my male name at graduation wouldn’t hurt anyone, but they KNOW that reading my female name only serves to hurt me more. [my emphasis]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/9609f36ba6a9aee0398798ff6e924b85/tumblr_mn5o97hCre1qgo5q0o1_400.jpg)
From a Boy Named Issak by Issak Wolfe:
“The school has agreed to let me wear the boys’ cap and gown, but won’t budge on anything else. They refuse to promise to do anything to help other kids like me, as if pretending I’m the only transgender student they’ll ever have at their school will make it so. They refuse to apologize to me, even though they know the principal’s actions were mean-spirited and hurtful.
And they insist on reading my female name at graduation, even though I’m working on getting my name legally changed and most people have been calling me Issak for almost two years now.
Reading my male name at graduation wouldn’t hurt anyone, but they KNOW that reading my female name only serves to hurt me more. [my emphasis]
We must be very careful that in the interest of tolerance we do not allow minority views to defeat majority sentiments,” Thwaites told journalsists yesterday at a post Sectoral Debate press conference at Jamaica House.
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| — | Minister stands firm against gay grooming - Lead Stories - Jamaica Gleaner - Friday | May 17, 2013 |
Catholic school: Transgender student must wear girl’s graduation gown
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A transgender student at a Catholic high school in Albuquerque, N.M., says he is has been told he must wear female student gown at his graduation procession, or not walk at all.
Damian Garcia is a senior at St. Pius X High School, where at the graduation ceremony, the girls wear white gowns and the boys wear black.
Damian, who identifies as male and had a legal name change last year, said he’s been told by the school that he must wear the white gown reserved for females, or not participate in the ceremony.
The St. Pius Superintendent told KRQE-TV that that the school goes by what the student’s birth certificate says if there’s any question on what gender-color they wear at graduation.
“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”
Watch a report from KRQE-TV:
Damian’s father calls the school’s decision heartbreaking.
“All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of,” he said.
A petition at MoveOn.org is calling on the school to allow Damian to walk for graduation in the male cap and gown. There is also a Facebook page, “Let Damian Walk.”
“Gay” (by Theo Chen)
A very perceptive and articulate young man speaks about bullying at school because he is perceived to be gay.
TW: slurs, bullying
Q.
Transgender high school senior wins battle to wear dress to school prom
HOUSTON — A transgender high school senior in Houston, Texas, has won a fight to wear a dress to the senior prom.
Spring Independent School District said that Tony Zamazal, a transgender student at Spring High School, may wear a dress, pump-style shoes, makeup and a wig to the school prom on May 11, reported KTRK-TV.
Tony Zamazal
The American Civil Liberties Union says a school administrator previously told Zamazal that wearing a dress would be “unacceptable” attire, as rules state only female students can wear dresses and males must wear tuxedos.
At one point, according to the ACLU, Zamazal was told by the principal she would have to consult the school board because it would be a “community decision.”
“All I wanted was to get to wear a dress to prom, because I wouldn’t have felt comfortable at all showing up in a tux,” the 19-year-old senior said, in a prepared statement. “I’m so grateful that my school has agreed to let me be myself on such an important night.”
The ACLU sent a letter to the principal on March 18, explaining that federal law and the U.S. Constitution protect Zamazal’s right to wear a dress to prom.
The school district responded last week and affirmed that it will allow Zamazal to attend the prom in the formal clothing of her choice.
“Tony has the right under both federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution to express her gender identity,” said Adriana Pinon, ACLU of Texas Senior Staff Attorney. “Students’ legal rights aren’t something that public schools get to put up to a vote. We’re happy to see the school do the right thing.”
Evan Wiens, 16, of Steinbach, Man., Says He’ll Do What It Takes to Ensure Gay and Lesbian Students at His High School Are Supported, Even Though He May Not Have the Support of Everyone in His Community. (by tvnportal)
A school I once attended. At that time, they did not allow school dances as dancing was the ‘devils work.’ But, the school has now decided to allow Evan to put up posters for his GSA.
Go Evan!
Q.
Gay teen holds the line for Manitoba bullying bill
This was never meant to become a battle, and Evan Wiens didn’t expect to find himself in the thick of it. Instead, it all began as routine: Manitoba’s government, spurred by the high-profile suicide of B.C. teen Amanda Todd, tabled a bill that would beef up its bullying laws.
Worded as a largely boilerplate protection of “a safe and inclusive learning environment,” Bill 18 drew little attention at first. But it has become a flashpoint. Opponents say the bill threatens religious freedom by broadly defining bullying and protecting gay-straight alliances (GSAs) but not mentioning faith groups.
The backlash is most acute in Steinbach, a small city of about 13,500 people southeast of Winnipeg. It’s there that the local MP – cabinet minister Vic Toews – has joined the local MLA and religious leaders in speaking out against Bill 18.
And it’s Evan’s home.
The 16-year-old is trying to start a GSA at the public Steinbach Regional Secondary School, where he’s the only student who has come out as gay. He’s become the face of Bill 18 in the city where it’s most strongly opposed. And it’s not easy.
During Evan’s interviews, with cameras rolling, other students shout slurs at him. He shrugs it off as best he can, saying he’s fighting for those who feel they can’t speak out.“They should not have to feel ashamed, and they should not have to feel like they have to hide themselves,” said the 16-year-old, who was shy, at first, about his fight. “But then I thought about it, and I thought if a church is allowed to vocally oppose a bill, what’s so bad about me standing up for my rights?”
LGBT-inclusive Best Practices Now Available
Seems to be a good resource, but why ‘teaching tolerance’ rather than ‘teaching acceptance’?
Q.
Submitted by Teaching Tolerance Staff on March 12, 2013
Though lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are harassed at twice the rate of other students, a few purposeful steps can transform a school into a safe place for all students, according to a guide released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project.
Best Practices: Creating an LGBT-inclusive School Climate offers advice ranging from ensuring that a school’s anti-bullying policy explicitly prohibits anti-LGBT bullying to recognizing staff members who promote an inclusive school environment.
The guide also offers advice regarding dress codes, gay-straight alliances and ensuring that LGBT students are not excluded from school events.
“This best practices guide is about creating schools where all students feel safe and supported,” Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello said. “Every student has a right to attend school without harassment. This guide shows how a few simple steps can make all the difference.”
Studies have shown that creating a supportive environment for LGBT students improves educational outcomes for all students. A recent Human Rights Campaign survey also underscored how the failure to create an inclusive environment harms LGBT students. These students reported being harassed at school – verbally and physically – at twice the rate of non-LGBT youth.
Protest held for gay student who claims she was bullied by teacher
OurWindsor.Ca by Jonathon Liedtke
Roughly two-dozen supporters protested in front of the Catholic District School Board’s office to show support for a student who claims she was bullied by her teacher due to her sexual orientation and whose message to other bullied students is to stand up for yourself.
Grade 12 St. Thomas of Villanova student Brooke Mulligan claims that her religion teacher discriminated against her due to her sexual orientation and that she attended the protest because she wanted “to stand up against bullying.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” Mulligan exclaimed in response to the number of people who attended the protest.
“I’ve had a past teacher who has been bullying me at school [since] coming out,” stated Mulligan who added that the religion teacher when discussing homosexuality would explicitly stare at her during class and taught that “homosexuals can’t get married in the Catholic church [which] upset me. Obviously I want to get married when I’m older, in a church.”
“We don’t feel that this is a case of bullying but we are still investigating the circumstances,” said Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board superintendent Michael Seguin who also explained that an investigation into the matter has been launched.
Mulligan claims that a complaint had been submitted to both the school and the school board, however Seguin stated that the board hasn’t received any formal complaint and that Mulligan going to the media caught the board off guard.
Anoka-Hennepin schools: Gay bullying has eased after lawsuit settlement
Finally some encouraging news from Anoka-Hennepin.
TW bullying, talk of suicide
Q.
Posted: 03/02/2013 05:58:31 PM CST
Updated: 03/02/2013 09:29:08 PM CST
Friends Mykala Edner, 17, right, and Molly Herrmann, 18, both of Coon Rapids, hang out at lunch at Coon Rapids High School last month. Edner identifies herself as bisexual. Bullying of LGBT students in Anoka-Hennepin schools has eased according to many in the district. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
Friends Zach Jensen, 16, left, and Max Miller, 18, laugh during lunch at Coon Rapids High School. Jensen is openly gay and Miller is openly transgender. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
Ann Lindsey remembers feeling scared and hot when she made the phone call.
It was Aug. 25, 2010. The middle-school teacher was sitting in her car outside Jackson Middle School in Champlin during a 47-minute break from teacher training. Lindsey waited till she was on break and off school property because she worried the call might upset administrators in the Anoka-Hennepin school district.
She was calling an attorney at one of the nation’s leading civil rights groups to report the conditions facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in Minnesota’s largest school district.
