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...

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...

Today, another hate crime was reported on a University of California campus. Several swastikas were discovered on the walls of a student housing building on the campus of UC Berkeley. This is the third time an incident of this type has been reported on this campus since last October.

Last last week, a transgender male student was found stabbed in a restroom on the campus of the California State University at Long Beach. While police are still investigating this incident to determine if it was in fact a hate crime, students on the campus and members of the transgender community are understandably scared.

What is most disturbing is that these recent events follow a series of hate crimes reported on campuses throughout the state. During Black History Month, a noose was found hanging in the library at UC San Diego. Swastikas were scratched into the walls in a student housing facility at UC Davis.

According to the 2008 FBI Hate Crime Report, educational institutions continue to be the third most common location where hate crimes are reported. Of all the places in our "land of the free and equal" where the free exchange of ideas and identities should occur safely, it should be our school campuses. It's tragic to think, that the place where young people should feel the most safe, that hate continues to strike fear those who are different.

Jorge Steven López Mercado was the victim of a hate crime. He was murdered because he was gay. Below is a video of his mother, Myriam Mercado, talking about what she is thankful for: her gay son, the time she had with him, and the support she has received. She also has a wish: that people realize love conquers hate.

Remember, there are always things to be thankful for.

Barack Obama met with Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard, today in Washington DC to discuss federal hate crimes legislation.

Judy Shepard has been a vocal proponent of federal hate crimes legislation since her son Matthew was killed over ten years ago.

Last year Lawrence (Larry) King was shot by a classmate purportedly because King had asked the boy out earlier in the week. Now a judge in Ventura, California has ruled that King's parents, who he did not live with, can sue the foster home that he lived in because they allowed him to wear make-up and high heeled boots and to otherwise express his identity.

To express oneself should NOT post a danger to anybody, including the person doing the expressing. To help a person express their identity is not a crime.

Today, The National Day of Silence, has made me think about some recent events that unfortunately, should not have happened.

The first event that happened was brought to my attention through GLSEN. They reported that Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself on April 6th. He was an 11-year-old, who did not identify as gay; however, he had to endure endless bullying including things about him being gay. His mother asked the school continually to deal with the problem, but it seems like nothing was done about it. Today would have been Carl’s 12th birthday, but unfortunately he could not take the bullying any more. It is absolutely horrible that he had to go through this, and at such a young age. This article can be found here.

Another incident that occurred recently was an attack at the University of Virginia. Five men attacked an UVa student and his friend. During the attack, the attackers yelled anti-gay slurs. Police believe it to be a “bias-motivated crime” with the motive being their perceived sexual orientation. According to the Associate Vie President and Dean of Students Allen W. Groves, “‘bias-motivated assaults’ are especially hurtful for students because there is no justification for the attack other than hatred.” This type of attack seemed fairly rare for this state, yet it is still very important to be aware that it is happening there, and it could happen anywhere. This article can be found here.

Bias and hate crimes impact colleges and universities across the United States and are the third most likely place for hate crimes to occur. The way to prevent hate crimes is by having systems in place for students to report bias and harassment as well as trained professionals to educate the campus community. Stop The Hate (http://www.stophate.org), an educational initiative of Campus Pride, has trained nearly 1200 students, faculty and staff over the last eight years on bias and hate crime prevention at colleges and universities.

Stop The Hate National Program Coordinator Greg Miraglia and myself, just finished yesterday the annual West Coast Stop The Hate Training at Napa Valley College in Napa, CA. Not only was it a beautiful trip through San Francisco getting there, but also an excellent college committed to diversity in all its forms. The training was actually hosted in the Police Academy where we had in attendance seventeen students, faculty and staff from across the country. Each of the new trainers will serve as active, visible resource advocates and implement a series of six anti-hate crime prevention efforts over the next year.

Every time I participate in a Stop The Hate Training, I leave with new hope and a sense of activism that we have made a real difference. Each training creates Stop The Hate teams to help fight bias and hate crimes at another college or university. But, the truth is that we need more.

*trigger warning - this post will contain discussion of hate crimes*

Angie Zapata was an 18 year old transwoman who was murdered last July. She was murdered because she was trans - when her attacker found out that she was anatomically male below the belt, he killed her.

Her murderer's trial began on Tuesday. This trial is coming at a crucial time. Angie Zapata's murderer will be tried for murder, identity theft, auto theft, and with a bias-motivated crime. The bias-motivated crime is really important here - federal hate crimes legislation is being introduced that includes both sexual orientation and gender identity.

The HRC website has a lot of information on hate crimes, hate crime legislation, and what laws currently exist in which states.

Currently 12 states (Washington just passed a law on April 9th!) and Washington DC include gender identity and sexual orientation in their hate crimes statutes and 30 states include sexual orientation but not gender identity.

Keep an eye out for what's happening with hate crime legislation nationally and in your state.