Restroom Choice
The lack of a policy about transgender accommodations underscores a larger problem in higher ed, said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride.
Colleges should be proactive in establishing clear policies and gender-neutral facilities, said Windmeyer, whose organization advocates for the rights of LGBT students. While many transgender people prefer gender-neutral restrooms, also called family restrooms, Windmeyer said individuals should also be able to use a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. In failing to allow that, Windmeyer said Arkansas-Fort Smith erred.
“It sounds like the campus has not done a good job taking responsibility for creating a welcoming, safe space for trans-identified students,” Windmeyer said. “It is unrealistic to ask anyone to go across campus in between classes to be able to use the restroom.” Read more:
LZ Granderson- No contradiction: I’m black and gay
What Obama, Jay-Z, Julian Bond, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and others have done over the past week is simply acknowledge life is not an “either/or” proposition but rather an emphatic “and.” Boxes are for shoes, not people. So while compartmentalizing folks makes it easier to herd people into target groups and voting blocs, it’s a gross misrepresentation of the reality of humanity.
I am gay. And I am black.
And despite the efforts of black religious conservatives to ignore that intersection, the truth is that intersection is a major part of black culture. It’s in our literature (James Baldwin), our films (Lee Daniels), in politics, baseball fields (Glenn Burke), the Black Panthers (Angela Davis) and the civil rights movement (Bayard Rustin).
That intersection exists in our hair salons, barbershops and, yes, even our churches.
Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, a national organization that advocates on behalf of LGBT students on college campuses said, “I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied with anything about this trial. I’m not excited or pleased with the sentencing, whether it be three years, five years, 10 years. Tyler Clementi is still gone.”
But Windmeyer added his organization’s focus is to educate college campuses on how to create safe spaces. “There were many bystanders,” he said of the case. “The college was a bystander, the other students. At the end of the day all colleges need to teach students not to be bystanders.”
In his début poetry collection, Broadway actor Cornelius Jones Jr., delivers a poetic memoir in 4 scenes: Focus, Spotlight, Dimmer, and Soliloquies. From childhood to adult memories: a burgeoning theater lover, impersonating Hollywood Stars, playing little league football, singing in GLEE like Show Choirs, exploring sexual identity in southern towns, and being human in a world of cultural, spiritual and sexual differences and HIV/AIDS. Using witty metaphors, experiential verse, theatrical jargon, the spoken word, colorful imagery, and memory he explores the self and the world through this compelling “no holds barred” poetic memoir of love(s), loss(es), forgiveness and triumph(s).
Are Attitudes towards gays changing in pro sports?
No openly gay male athletes currently play professional football, basketball or baseball. Last year, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls got in trouble for using gay slurs during their games.
But LZ Granderson, senior writer at ESPN, says there’s increasing support among professional athletes for gay rights.
Campus Pride’s “Out to Play Project” is designed to address anti-LGBT slurs, bias and conduct in college sports. As part of the national project, Campus Pride published the first-ever LGBT-Friendly “Top 10” in college athletics in partnership with Compete Magazine. “For far too long, no one has known the score when it comes to LGBT-inclusion and friendliness in collegiate sports programs – that changes today,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “LGBT students today are more out and vocal than ever before and those who are also athletes deserve to know which schools and which athletics programs will respect them for who they are. All students deserve the assurance of safety and inclusion both in the classroom and on the field.”
All in the Family: 2 radically differing voices on L’Affaire Clooney-
I Wanted to Go to George Clooney’s House, Too -by Jason Stuart on Huff Post Gay Voices
In election, ‘a seat at the table’ costs $5,000- by LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor
Campus Pride & OUTmedia broaden partnership for LGBT education and activism at U.S. colleges
LZ Granderson on CNN today, fresh from TedX yesterday: Obama showed he is no coward; he didn’t have to address the issue before election. He asks if Obama’s support for gay marriage will change the Romney camp’s direction.
Shane Windmeyer today: “Thank you, President Obama. Now it is time for the rest of the country to ‘evolve. Your leadership on this issue after the passing of Amendment One in North Carolina is commendable and historic — and remains a reminder as to the hard road ahead. Undoubtedly, you will save many young LGBT lives simply by expressing your support for marriage and ‘coming out’ as an ally. I thank you for that. I also know that you can do more beyond words and put that support into action. Before the election, I encourage you to sign an executive order protecting LGBT federal employees in the workplace. Words matter, but actions count. Let’s push on.”
Shane Windmeyer yesterday at 10:30 AM on
Message to North Carolina: No Vote Will Change Whom I Love
Tearing it up at Bingo! @jessicahalem and @athensboyschoir are loved by Gay Pride Rockland @ the Nyack Center, in Nyack, NY!
Barack Obama, you’re standing with us, and without fail, we will now stand with you!!! 
