News!!

Great news today: marriage equality has just passed in Washington, D.C.! :D

...that's pretty much it. So... K bye! :)

December 14th Meeting

There's not a lot to write today... We didn't have much to talk about in Prism.

-One thing to add about classroom visits is that we will be turning the slide into youtube, so there will be a link to youtube. (to place herez :D) Starting after the break, so make sure that you don't have anything to do on wensdays and we'll get them rolling!

-bake sale/fundraing, not much to add... just that it's possibly this Wednesday. :D If we are there will be mass emailing. Plan for wensday!!! :D ~ribbons and bracelets prolly $.50-$1.

-Tshirts blah blah blah... that's kinda eh. We'll talk about it next monday. :D

-Surveys: FINISHED!!! :D Sent to MrJ! Surveys are going to be done sometime sooooooon... :? Survey is ANONOMUSES!! :D (Student - 13 questions-ish)

December 7th Meeting

(Suprisingly when I got home my computer was safe in my room! The screen is fixed and better than ever! :D)

-Classroom Mettings have been canceled until after break, due to this wensday being choir concert/photo club opt, and next wensday dance practice. Sorry about that y'all! -_-

-Fundraising oportuntity bake sale MIGHT be occuring on my birthday (the 16th), and we will be outside the lunch room selling. Bake sale posters are being made by Jubilee, Audrey, and Jessica (aka Navi). The bake sale foods need to be labeled with their contents, (ie/ Contains extreme levels of rainbowey goodness, and peanuts. :D)

-And speaking of posters, new ones for PRISM itself need to be made, for are posters have been lost in the swarm of students. *dramatic sigh* Bring your ideas in on next monday.

-Last but not least, Amber wishes all to send her an email if you have any additions to the PRISM slideshow that we shall be showing during our classroom presentations. Her email is breakdancing_bob@hotmail.com, and please no spamming her. :D A nice LGBT is a great LGBT!

T-t-t-that's all folks!

November 30th

So in first news, the teacher survey is almost done, a total of 9-ish questions. The student survey is done, will be brought in by next monday, possibly, according to Audrey.

This Wensday is canceled, to the classrooms, because of dialogue day.

The presentation was shown today, (for the classrooms), all slides are rainbow and beautiful. :D They make minds explode, in beautification. But all jokes aside... there is some rearranging to be done, mistakes to correct, and the like. All in all, the presentation is amazing, and I can't wait to present it in front of the students. :D
I expecially would like to commend on the "What would you do if..." slide, it was really provocative. (For those not here,

Fundraising:
Bake sale:
Donate bake goods to the sale, (rainbow themed please)
At least a dozen please!

THE BAKE SALE WILL BE HAPPENING! (After Christmas Break?)

Ribbons/Bracelets:
Making Rainbow, and red/other colors.
Make 200-300 ribbons
Can sell at bake sale.
Do different styles of bracelets
(Con: Materials, time.)

HEY! LISTEN! EVERYBODY NEEDS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO FOR FUNDRAISING!!! :D
(Beads? Shrinky Dinks? And more ideas!)

Community Jar: Spare change to put for fundraising? (This might be happening)

Possibly we might be getting shirts, tye-dye. We'll be getting the primary colors, and getting normal white t-shirts with our logo (still to be decided) on the front printed in either white or black. If the cost is too much to get a design on it, we shall be doing felt letters! Shirts will be done after fundraising, to pay for the shirts!! :D

November 23rd

~Survey: Audrey is going to have it out by we think... Sometime between the holiday breaks. (Thanksgiving and Christmas). And we possibly might be over at LCHS with the survey. There might be a teacher questionaire in addition. It's 25-30 questions long.

~We want to say that RENT was amaaaaaaazing! But it did not, in the notice of nondiscrimintaion on the program, it did not list sexual orientation or gender identity.

~We talked about teachers acting against the gay community. The main concern that if we can't trust our teachers to help us out, when they are supposed to be their leaders, who can we go to in school?

CLASSROOM VISITS:
I.Intro: Introduce selves, what we do, why we're here, when we meet.
II. Terminology: LGBTQ, GSA, Hate Crimes, PRISM
III. Bullying: (we're going to stress) Who and why people bully, how you can protect yourself from bullying, effect of derogatory terms, how you can help (not be a bully/stop a bully/ be proactive)
IV. Questions + Discussions: what would you do... (personal level)
V. Outro: After the discussion, the opposite of the intro, make the finishing statements, and move on to the next class.

Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools

This isn't an article I wrote myself, I found it online. It is about a study that Harsh Realities did, the first comprehensive study on transgender students, and it's amazing. Some of the information pertains to a lot of us, and it's definatley something that we can talk about at upcoming meetings.

For those who want to read the entire thing, the actual article is: http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2388.html


I'm just putting up some of the statistics in the article.

"Key findings of Harsh Realities include:

-90% of transgender students heard derogatory remarks, such as "dyke" or "faggot," sometimes, often or frequently in school in the past year.

-90% of transgender students heard negative remarks about someone's gender expression sometimes, often or frequently in school in the past year.

-Less than a fifth of transgender students said that school staff intervened most of the time or always when hearing homophobic remarks (16%) or negative remarks about someone's gender expression (11%).

-School staff also contributed to the harassment. A third of transgender students heard school staff make homophobic remarks (32%), sexist remarks (39%) and negative comments about someone's gender expression (39%) sometimes, often or frequently in the past year.

-Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (69%) and how they expressed their gender (65%).

-Almost all transgender students had been verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened) in the past year at school because of their sexual orientation (89%) and gender expression (87%).

-More than half of all transgender students had been physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation (55%) and gender expression (53%).

-More than a quarter of transgender students had been physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked or injured with a weapon) in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation (28%) and gender expression (26%).

-Most transgender students (54%) who were victimized in school did not report the events to school authorities. Among those who did report incidents to school personnel, few students (33%) believed that staff addressed the situation effectively.

-Transgender students who were out to most or all other students and school staff reported a greater sense of belonging to their school community than those who were not out or only out to a few other students or staff.

-Although most transgender students (83%) could identify at least one supportive educator, only a third (36%) could identify many (six or more) supportive staff.

-Only half (54%) of transgender students reported that their school had an anti-harassment policy, and only 24% said that the school policy included specific protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. "

A lot of those statistics were really sad I thought, and this Friday (Transgender Day of Remembrance) is a good way to show our support for fellow gays/lesbians/allies.

Transgender Day of Rememberance

Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs on Nov. 20 each year in commemoration of the murder of Rita Hester, a trans woman from outside Boston, Massachussets who was stabbed to death in 1998. She was well-liked in the community, who responded to the news with a large vigil. This began the effort to pay respects to all people who are killed as a result of transphobia via a website, www.RememberingOurDead.org and the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. This year over 100 deaths worldwide are listed on TransgenderDOR.org.

If we can, I'd like for everyone who is reading this post to wear all black, and something rainbow. I will be wearing all black and a rainbow armband on this date, and I will try to spread the word around.

I don't know if we want to do what other groups are doing, or what people I know are doing, and also take a vow of silence upon this date... I suppose that's up to you. I will be taking a vow of silence, or I will try~ I'm not very good at being quiet... ;) But whatever you all decide is fine.

I want to put up posters, or do an announcement, so I need to talk to Mrs. W when I get the chance, or if any of you want to do it?

Rose out!

This 10-year-old won't Pledge Allegiance at school because of Gay Rights

Hi everyone, for those who didn't know already... I have been off with the flu, (and Strep Throat, lovely combination eh?). Next Monday, however, you'll be getting the updates from the last two weeks of PRISM meetings.

To tie you over from then to now I'd like to post a little article I found. It's about a 10-year-old boy who won't pledge alliegance to America, because he doesn't support a country that doesn't support gay rights. Amazing yes?

http://www.queerty.com/this-10-year-old-wont-pledge-allegiance-to-a-country-that-discriminates-against-gays-20091111/

If only we could get adults to speak out in the same manner.

Also, the newspaper article about PRISM should be coming out by the 21st of November, otherwise known as next Monday, according to Kozian, (the yearbook/newspaper teacher). Look out for it!

Being a senior, and having ordered the yearbook, I will be getting the newspaper. So for those who want to read it ask me and I'll bring mine in. I know that most of the other seniors, aka James and Audrey, would probably bring theirs in too. :)

October 26th's Meeting

We talked this meeting about what happened/our expierience about Allies week.

There was some positive expierences, but also some negative.

Here's a few things to say in those negative experiences, or "do's" if you will:
-Walk away, you don't need to provoke them.
-If you are sitting down, tell them that you respect their opinion and turn to someone else. If they try to provoke you more, just ignore it.
-Use it as a teachable moment

Don'ts:
-Handel it in an agressive manner
-Use bad language in response
-start a physical or verbal fight over the words

-What if we did a presentation during class rooms, or do a video on the tv about awareness on Gay rights?
Brianstorm!!
-Needs to grab peoples attention
~LOUD AND PERSONAL
~MAKES PEOPLE THINK
-Tailgaite a Class Meeting?(If we get a speaker we will need a group to stand up on stage with him/her)
-TV Commercail/PSA? (Do by departments? During tutorial.)
-Factual Information!!! (how to not be mean about it, why we believe GSA is a good thing to support, etc...)
-People who had things happen/know things give expierences
-If go to classes, make it group dicussion?
-Pamphlets? Definition Sheets?

WE DECIDED ON GOING INTO CLASSES ON WENSDAYS DURING TUTORIAL TIME.
-Deciding on the groups now, those who want to/able to talk about it.

We need to get a schedule together for those who will/can do it. Mrs. Woods is talking to the teachers about it, and next meeting we should be creating it. :D

Krista is making more GSA Prism posters! :D

Audrey says Hi mom! :D

Fundraisers:
-Bracelet making Party?
-Bake Sale
-Ribbons
(Sell during lunch, or meetings)

T-Shirts? What are we doing about that?

On a special note, the North Star Visited our humble room of 128 this date. :D
The article is appearing possibly next newspaper. I shall talk to Anya. :S

Tis End!

Monday's Meeting

Audrey wont be able to do a full meeting this monday, so we're going to have a two parter! This monday we will have "part one" and then next week we will have "part tw" which is the more indepth part.

Also the north star will be there on monday so beware those who don't want/ can't be phototed!

Hate Crimes Bill Passed!!

I just got an email from the Human Rights Campaign tonight. Here's what it said:

"Dear Rose,

The hate crimes bill has passed through Congress!

I have some amazing news: after a Senate vote today, the inclusive hate crimes bill has crossed its last hurdle in Congress! President Obama has vowed to sign it by the end of this month.

Today's victory marks a truly pivotal moment in our fight for LGBT equality. It happened because of the dedication of people like you and the families of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., for whom the bill is named.

And with bills seeking to end workplace and military discrimination coming up for debate in Congress, today's victory could be just the first of many if we can keep up our momentum.

But even as we celebrate this amazing news, we're already getting a sense of the fight we'll have to wage to keep our momentum going.

Courageous lawmakers are continuing to hear from right-wing groups falsely claiming their vote will end free speech, criminalize anti-gay thoughts, and open the door to jailing pastors for their sermons.

One recent right-wing article said passing this bill would "shred America's Judeo-Christian value system."

That's what we're up against.

It's clear that we can't afford to sit back and hope for the best.

But we've proved today that if we continue to fight with the passion and persistence that paved the way for today's hate crimes victory – we can fulfill the promise of this moment, despite our anti-equality opposition.

I hope you'll take one moment today to celebrate this turning point and send your message of support for the families whose dedication helped pass this law:

http://www.LoveConquersHate.org

Thank you again for everything you've done to help make this possible.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President"

The bill that he is talking about is a recent act called the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act". The act is all about expaning the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

The bill would also:

* remove the current prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school;
* give federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
* provide $10 million in funding for 2008 and 2009 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
* require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes against transgender people (statistics for the other groups are already tracked).

I personally would like to add that our Michigan Representatives in the senate voted yes. :D

The act passed today, October 22nd, and only has to wait for Obama to sign it. Let us all cross our fingers in hope.

Next Week's PRISM Meeting

Here are some things that we should cover at next weeks meeting.

A)TG Day of Remembrance is coming up on November 20th (Otherwise know as the Transgender Day Of Remembrance: ). Are we going to do something for it?

B)Make sure everyone is aware of the blog. :)

C)Teacher leaflets! D and Tara, can you guys bring it in, if you have it done?

D)We might be possibly making Allies ribbons, and selling them for like $.50. What do you all think about that?

We'll see you at monday's meeting!

Remember, we're in room 128 now, aka Necto's room. :)

Weekly Update for October 12th

OCT 12 2009

Placed Staff Members:

Chair – Audrey

Co-Chair – Felix

Secretary – Rose

Treasurer – Jessica

Project Manager – Katherine

Liaison Team – TBD


Position Descriptions (Can and will be changed in future reference):

Chair: Runs the club, determines what we need to cover each week, basically president.

Co-Chair: Runs the club in absence of Chair, works very closely with chair so knows what was planed to discuss in Chair's absence, works closely as a Liaison between the other staff members, basically Vice President.

Secretary: Notations during meetings, runs the “newspaper” and makes sure that everyone is informed of what has happened at a meeting even if the other members are not there, updates Facebook Page and sends out emails regarding club events and the like, works with Chair to inform people of what needs to happen at meetings via email/facebook. Also BLOG!

Treasurer: Money manager, works with all projects, forms and keeps a budget for all club activities, formulates money raising activities and talks about them to the Chair to get them running.

Project Manager: Oversees all projects that are occurring at the moment to take care of problems that may arise, Liaison between the different projects and the Secretary and Chair to get more support on projects or help with a certain project that needs help (Secretary to send bulletins out to get more help, Chair for most everything else).

Liaison Team: A group of students, and Mrs. Woods, to go between the group and Mr. Jackson to get support/approval on projects/any other reason.


Current Projects to be done:

- Allies Week Events

-Allies Fliers – Jessica Trobaugh

-Teacher Info Paper – Dragana and Tara

- GSA Allies Poster – (If Possible – Needs Jackson Approval)

-Lunch Participants:

-A: Nikki, Jessi, Mary

-B: Leah, Dragana, Jessica

-C: Amber, Rose, *Audrey

-D: Krista, Tara, Jubilee

(* = Available all four lunches)

-Survey (Group Participation)

-Writing Group: Dragana, Audrey, Felix, Tara

-Copies: Katherine

-Pass Abouts: Tara, Jubilee, Krista, Mary, Jessica


Liaison Team Assignments:

- Talk to Jackson about whether or not Teachers can openly talk about PRISM in their classrooms before Allies Week, (think Prep Time...)

-Talk to Jackson (TtJ) about making an announcement during the pep assembly this week.

-TtJ about permission for poster during lunch

Times News Alert

As Felix posted on Facebook:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1928932,00.html

This is amazing!

Welcome to the offical PRISM blog

This is where I shall be posting the updates of PRISM. What happens at the meetings, what projects we're working on, and so on and so forth. :D

So Welcome to the official LCHSN GSA PRISM site.