Recently, advocates from around the country gathered in Baltimore for the annual Creating Change conference, hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. At the 24th national conference on LGBT equality, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) and the National Education Association's Office of Minority Community Outreach partnered to present a timely townhall meeting that focused on the challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth of color face -- one of these issues being violence at school.

Hazing is alive and well on college campuses across the nation. The tragic death of Robert Champion Jr. at Florida A&M University (FAMU) is a reminder of this.

Read the rest of Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer's commentary at The Huffington Post...

Training Institute: Improving Campus Climate for LGBT Students

Research demonstrates that a safe and welcoming campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students is a strong predictor of LGBT students successfully completing college. Developing safer campus climates for LGBT students can also help prevent alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AODV), and other forms of harassment and discrimination. During this two-day Training Institute, participants will build upon existing skills to improve their own campus climate, support effective AODV prevention on college campuses for LGBT college students, and learn how policies can bring about long-lasting positive changes that increase their retention and academic success.

The goals of the Training Institute are to:

Review research and best practices that will assist campuses in creating effective AODV prevention programs in order to strengthen learning environments and increase college retention rates for LGBT students.

Examine policies and legal strategies that may offer new approaches to build welcoming campus climates in order to strengthen learning environments and increase college retention and completion rates for LGBT students.

Share successful model campus programs, build upon existing skills, and receive training from practitioners in the field of AODV prevention and other areas related to improving campus climate and retention for LGBT students.

Dates: Wednesday-Thursday, July 13-14, 2011
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, St. Paul, Minnesota

Did you know that college and university campuses are the third most common place for a hate crime to occur? Student retention and persistence depends on having a safe place to live and learn on campus. Your campus should know what to do and how to respond if a hate crime happens. Learn "what your campus needs to know about hate crimes" including how the law defines a hate crime and the best practices for a response to a hate crime. Participants will examine real examples from campuses across the country and will get the latest information on hate crime trends. Key facts and figures will be shared from the nationally known Stop The Hate curriculum. This webinar on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, at 3 p.m. (EST), is a necessary primer for all college staff,faculty and administrators.

When: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 At 3:00 PM (EST)

Who: Hosted by Greg Miraglia, Dean of Career Technical Education/NapaValley College Police Academy and National Program Coordinator for StopThe Hate and Shane Windmeyer, Founder of Stop The Hate

Webinar Fee: $95.00

Click here to register now...

Official Call for Nominations announced today to profile LGBT progressive NCAA or NJCA collegiate athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country

Nobody knows the score when it comes to collegiate athletic programs and where they stand on inclusion and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) players, coaches and staff. For the first-time ever, Campus Pride, in partnership with Compete Magazine, plans to find out who the winners are for LGBT-inclusiveness in college sports -- and, ultimately, whether out LGBT athletes, coaches and staff are welcome.

Today Campus Pride launches its newly formed “Out to Play Project” which is designed to address anti-LGBT slurs, bias and conduct in college sports. As part of the national project, both Compete Magazine and Campus Pride will spend from March until June reviewing nominations of colleges and universities for the “Out To Play List.” The LGBT-friendly listing will be published in a special edition of Compete Magazine and online at CampusPride.org profiling the “Best” in LGBT-inclusivity and college sports.

The official call for nominations starts today, March 1. To be eligible, the athletic program must be part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II and III, or the National Junior College Athletic Association. Former or current out LGBT and ally athletes, coaches, fans and, or campus staff are encouraged to nominate a college or university. Anyone can nominate a LGBT-friendly college athletic program online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay.

“Anti-LGBT attitudes and behaviors are prevalent, if not pervasive, in the world of sports. ’Out To Play’ can change all that – by starting in college and setting the standard. The ‘Best of the Best’ listing will highlight college athletic programs that have demonstrated LGBT-inclusion in policy and practice,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “If we know the score, everyone will be motivated to play harder – even those farthest behind.”

Windmeyer, also the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, will lead the nomination review team which will partly consist of select individuals who are current and former out LGBT athletes as well as researchers in the field of higher education. Once nominations have been received, the review team will contact college sports program to undergo a further review. The review will consist of a series of LGBT-inclusive athletic questions as well as an assessment of the entire campus community through Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org).

I recently became acquainted with a dynamic nonprofit organization founded and headquartered in Austin, Texas.  With a powerful vision and big dreams, Atticus Circle (www.atticuscircle.org) has a mission to educate and mobilize straight people to advance equal rights for LGBT partners, parents, and their children.

The organization provides information about the rights of parents and partners that are denied solely on the basis of sexual orientation and seeks to create cultural and attitudinal change by helping people understand the unique challenges and discrimination same-gender couples and their families face.  The founder, Anne Wynne, whom I had the good fortune to meet, is a practicing attorney in Austin who was moved in a heartfelt way to launch the organization in 2004 when 11 states passed marriage discrimination amendments (the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had been passed and allowed these states to enact homophobia into their laws by preventing same-sex couples from marrying).  With the help of many friends and supporters who offered funding to launch the organization, Atticus Circle was born.  I had the chance to meet with the organization’s straight executive director, Ruth Gardner-Loew, whose passion for the mission of the organization is clear in any language (as she speaks a few).

Read the rest after the jump...

In September, Campus Pride Blog chronicled the efforts of LGBTQI and straight ally student leaders at the University of Rhode Island in their quest to ensure safer and more welcoming learning, living and working environments on campus.

In response to several anti-LGBTQI incidents on campus and lackisdaisical response by university administrators, several students began a 24-hour sit-in in the student union. The protest lasted for two weeks, until students received many of the requests they'd made of URI administration.

Last week, URI administrators made good on another student request; URI has hired its first-ever associate vice chancellor for community, equity and diversity.

According to The Providence Journal, Kelly Friedman, the former executive director of diversity and equity at the University of Vermont, began work in the associate vice president position last week.

Friedman will report directly to URI President David Dooley and will supervise the Women’s Center; Multicultural Center; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Center; the Bias Incident Response Team; and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.

Read up on the history of URI's LGBTQI student protest...

Now that President Barack Obama has signed a repeal to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, and as implementation of repeal proceeds forward in the next year, how should colleges prepare?  As a former U.S. Army officer commissioned through ROTC (and very proud of both), I tried to put myself back in time to think about what I might have needed had this repeal occurred during my college/ROTC years.

The Department of Defense (DOD) December 2010 report on DADT repeal implementation pays little attention to how colleges should prepare for the DADT repeal and the impacts on ROTC programs and cadets at civilian colleges.  Although ROTC programs were mentioned briefly in parts of the report, e.g., repeal would not likely increase ROTC candidate numbers or recruiters’ access to college campuses, there are no clear implementation steps for college administrators to follow in that report.  Leaders at universities will need to create their own implementation plans to ensure a smooth a transition on campus post-repeal.

Recommendations to College and University Leaders

The impact to colleges and universities will depend on campus leadership.  Following are some tips on how college leaders (at institutions with or without ROTC programs) might begin to plan for any impacts following the President signing the DADT repeal into law.  This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but offers some “action steps” that administrators and student leaders can think about as repeal becomes a reality.

Read the recommendations, after the jump...

REGISTER NOW

Campus Pride invites you to join us on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 2 p.m. EST for a webinar titled "What's Your Campus Climate: Supporting LGBT & Ally Students." The webinar was scheduled during National Coming Out Week as a way for campus communities to bring visibility to LGBT concerns and to gear up for the historic National Equality March on Sunday, October 11th, 2009.

Now you can learn if your campus is doing everything it should to actively support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) students within your campus community. Today, more than ever, your campus has the responsibility to implement LGBT-inclusive policies, programs and practices to encourage a safe, welcoming place for all students to learn, live and grow.

Take the opportunity to use this LIVE CAMPUSPEAK CONNECT webinar to re-energize, mobilize and connect students, faculty, staff and administrators on your campus to create change. Please join us for this exciting opportunity.

Lead with PRIDE,

Shane Windmeyer
Founder & Executive Director
Campus Pride