Early-bird discount registration is open until May 25; Scholarships and financial assistance are available until June 1, 2011.

[Nashville, TN] – Campus Pride announced today the list of national speakers and artists to be featured at its fifth annual summer leadership camp, affectionately known as “Camp Pride.” Among the list is the “Next Drag Superstar” winner of Season 1 of Logo’s hit show RuPaul’s Drag Race Bebe Zahara Benet. Her appearance is being sponsored as part of Divas of Diversity from Hope’s Voice just confirmed today.

Camp Pride is the only one of its kind for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally college students from colleges and universities across the country. The camp will take place from July 19 to 24, 2011 and will be hosted on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville,TN. Registration is available online at http://www.CampusPride.org/CampPride. Early-bird discounted registration has been extended to May 25, 2011.

Keynote highlights will include Daniel Hernandez, Jr.,the young gay college student credited for saving U.S. Representative Gabriel Giffords life in Arizona shooting; Dr. Sue Rankin, nationally-known LGBT campus climate researcher, Bleu Copas, an Arabic translator discharged in 2006 from the U.S. Army under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; T. J. Jourian, as seen on Logo’s show “TransGeneration,” Mara Kiessling, President of the National Center for Transgender Equality; Shane Windmeyer, best-selling national author and Executive Director of Campus Pride; and Robyn Ochs, Bi-Activist, Trans Advocate & National Public Speaker.

Hernandez to be awarded honorary Voice & Action Award at Campus Pride’s Summer Leadership Camp on July 23, 2011

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Daniel Hernandez, Jr., the student intern credited with saving the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) after the Jan. 8 shooting attack in Tucson, Ariz., will speak as a guest keynote and receive an honorary National Voice & Action Leadership Award at Camp Pride (www.campuspride.org/camppride/) on July 19-July 24, 2011, in Nashville, Tenn.

Hernandez, who is an openly gay college student at the University of Arizona and serves on the City of Tucson Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues, was thrust into the national media spotlight following the January tragedy. Though he’s publicly rejected the label “hero,” his student leadership, service to his local LGBT community and work with Congresswoman Giffords has inspired young, LGBT students across the country.

“Daniel fully embodies the mission and values of Campus Pride and our Voice & Action National Leadership Award. His leadership, integrity and humility has inspired many across the nation -- simply by doing the right, just thing and being visible,” said Shane Windmeyer, founder and executive director of Campus Pride. “In a time where we have national headlines about LGBT youth suicide, it is even more important to shine a light on young adult leaders like Daniel who give hope and inspire.”

Yes! It's true: Registration for Campus Pride's fifth annual Summer Leadership Camp is open online.

Camp Pride returns to Nashville, Tenn., on this anniversary year with brand new and exciting programming and features. As usual, the camp will be a place where LGBTQ and ally students learn to "Lead with Pride," but we're most excited about this year's first-ever Advisor Bootcamp.

The Advisor Bootcamp is a special, professional track during the camp, with new skill-building experiences for LGBTQ and ally organization/club advisors.

The five-day event will be held at Vanderbilt University, July 19-24, 2011.

Our Happy Camper Discount ends on April 16, so start registering today!

To register for camp or for more registration information (including scholarships), visit CampusPride.org/camppride/register.html. For more information about camp, its mission, what to bring, etc., visit CampusPride.org/camppride/.

Stay tuned! Come back to CampusPrideBlog.org in the coming days and weeks for our Queer It Up! Take Action Fridays. We'll include tips and suggestions on how you can fundraise for events on and off your campus, including how to fundraise for Camp registration.

Last fall, news broke of two concerning stories at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

In November, Belmont University student Robbie Maris, president of the nascent Bridge Builders student group, said school administrators had denied his and other students' requests to form the group. Instead, university administrators pointed to a school-sanctioned discussion group on sexuality that meets twice monthly. At the time, Maris said the university-run discussion group isn't enough.

Then, in December, a women's soccer coach was dismissed after she announced she was having a child with her same-sex partner. Though the school's athletics director, Mike Strickland, said coach Lisa Howe left on her own volition, students and others rose up in protest.

Their criticisms have made some progress.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Belmont has added "sexual orientation" to its non-discrimination policy, though it remains unclear if the addition of the term will cover sexually-active LGB people.

From The AP:

At the time of Howe's departure, [Belmont President Bob] Fisher said that the university does not consider sexual orientation in admissions or hiring decisions. On Wednesday, he said the policy change simply affirms the practices already in place.

Asked whether his statements could be taken to mean that Howe was not pressured to leave because she came out to students, Fisher said he could not talk about any specific cases.

"This is a great victory for the values of inclusion, human dignity and respect," Howe said in a statement. "I am grateful to the Belmont board for recognizing that being gay and being Christian are not mutually exclusive. This is a landmark day."

Several reporters wanted to know whether Belmont was making a distinction between sexual orientation and sexual practice.

Belmont's student code of conduct lists sex outside of marriage as "sexual misconduct." Since gays and lesbians cannot marry in Tennessee, there is no way for them to be sexually active without violating the code.

Campus Pride's 2011 Summer Leadership Camp will be held in Nashville in July at the nearby Vanderbilt University. Learn more: www.campuspride.org/camppride/

Less than a month after news reports of Belmont University's denial of a gay-straight student organization on campus comes news of the school's women's soccer coach resigning amid pressure from school administrators.

Belmont University athletics director Mike Strickland said in a statement that coach Lisa Cox left on her own volition. But, The Tennessean reports (h/t The Advocate) that students were told a different story: That Cox was pressured into the resignation after sharing news that she and her partner were having a baby.

The paper reports:

Erica Carter, a senior on the team, said Howe told her and her roommate Ashley Hudak, a junior on the team, Tuesday that athletics department officials had given her the choice to resign or be terminated because she had told the team her partner was pregnant with a baby due in May.

"She said she went to the administration to get permission to talk to us about (the pregnancy) so that she could bring us to light on her becoming a mother," Carter said.

"She didn't want us to hear it from other sources. She has never talked about her personal life before. We always hear rumors, speculation and things. She wanted this to come directly from her."

In November, Belmont University student Robbie Maris, president of the nascent Bridge Builders student group, said school administrators had denied his and other students' requests to form the group. Instead, university administrators pointed to a school-sanctioned discussion group on sexuality that meets twice monthly. Maris has said the university-run discussion group isn't enough.

"I know a lot of the gay community at Belmont feels marginalized and feels like they don't have a place to meet on campus," Maris told Nashville's News Channel 5 at the time.

CAMP PRIDE is on it's way!

It's so exciting to be able to announce the dates, location and registration rates for the fifth annual Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp, aptly called "CAMP PRIDE."

CAMP PRIDE will be held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., from July 19-24, 2011.

It's a phenomenal event, and we encourage you to check it out whether you're a student or faculty member. Additionally, we're encouraging folks to sign up as camp faculty and Pride leaders before Jan. 4, 2011. Click here to learn more and apply.

P.S. -- Be sure to check out some bits about past "Queer Camp" from camper, Pride leader and Campus Pride blogger Ash Wickell.

Belmont University denies gay-straight student org

Nashville, Tenn.'s Belmont University has denied the formation of a gay-straight student organization on campus. Student Robbie Maris is president of the group, Bridge Builders. He says it started after a Facebook group was formed to support students at the private Christian (formerly Baptist) school.

"I know a lot of the gay community at Belmont feels marginalized and feels like they don't have a place to meet on campus," Maris told Nashville's News Channel 5.

University administrators said in a statement: "Recognizing the importance of mutual respect and diverse opinions from Christian perspectives and the challenges of cultivating such informal dialog on these issues, the university chose not to meet their request, but to create a university-led opportunity for this discussion. Beginning last spring, a university sponsored discussion group on these issues has convened twice monthly and expects to continue for the duration of this academic year." Read more...

Christian fraternity kicks out members

Two former members of Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., say they were told to leave the group because their sexual orientation violated the fraternities code of conduct. Read more...

Community college students want GSA

Students at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., want to start a gay-straight alliance of their own, student paper Aztec Press reports. Read more...

Will Rutgers amend their policies?

New Jersey's Rutgers University has been at the center of controversies over student safety and LGBT inclusion on college campuses ever since student Tyler Clementi committed suicide in September. The Daily Princetonian explores the colleges current policies and discussions on possible amendments. Read more...

UCLA ROTC follows 'Don't Ask'

The University of California-Los Angeles' student newspaper, Daily Bruin, explores the college's policies as it relates to the campus ROTC program. Read more...

Canadian school district asks students about sexual orientation

As American colleges determine whether or not to ask students voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender-identity, one Canadian school district is beating them to the punch. Canada's Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is conducting a voluntary, anonymous survey of each of its students in grades 7-12. They'll ask 150,000 students a variety of questions, including, according to the blog Queerty, "how much money their parents make, what religion they belong to, and what kind of job they imagine holding down in the future." The survey also askes if "they like boys or girls or both." Grades 6 and below will receive a different questionnaire. Read more...

Campus Pride's 2010 Summer Leadership Camp (which was fabulously phenomenal, by the way) got some great shout outs from Nashville's Out and About Newspaper and 365Gay.com columnist John Corvino. We thought we'd share...

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Campus Pride fires up Vanderbilt attendees
National group hold summer leadership camp in Nashville
by Joe Morris, Out and About Newspaper, Aug. 1, 2010

In an effort to get into areas of the country where GLBT students face more issues, the Campus Pride organization held its summer leadership camp at

Vanderbilt University in late July.

Campus Pride works with student leaders and campus groups to create a safer college environment for GLBT students. Its nationwide volunteer network helps to develop resources, programs and services on campuses across the country, and its summer leadership camp plays a major role in that effort, says Shane Windmeyer, one the group’s cofounders and its executive director. Read the rest at O&AN...

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Corvino: What I learned at gay leadership camp
By John Corvino, 365gay.com, July 30, 2010

"Remind me, dear,” I said to my partner Mark on the way to the airport, “what I am absolutely, positively not doing again next year?”

“You are not doing Camp next year,” he dutifully replied.

We had repeated this dialogue many times in the weeks leading up to Campus Pride’s annual Leadership Camp, a week of intense workshops and other activities for LGBTQ and allied college students, which was held this year at Vanderbilt University July 20-25. Read the rest at 365gay.com...

Campus Pride hosted fourth annual LGBT & Ally Summer Leadership Camp, July 20-25, 2010 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN
National LGBT & ally college nonprofit recognizes Keissling of National Center for Transgender Equality with national leadership award as well as Driscoll, Topping, Barth, Thomison, Burks, D’Allaird, Graving, Brown & Feldman with “Campys” for distinguished volunteer service

(Charlotte, NC) -- Campus Pride hosted its fourth annual Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp from July 20-25, 2010 on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. The camp is the only one of its kind geared toward mobilizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders from colleges and universities across the United States.

Nearly sixty college student leaders attended the five day camp from over thirty-five colleges and universities. Featured camp keynotes included Campus Pride founder/executive director Shane Windmeyer as well as Mara Keissling from the National Center for Transgender Equality, Dr. John Corvino of Wayne State University and writer of 365gay.com, out gay athlete Brian Sims who is also on the board chair of EqualityPA, Dr. Marisa Richmond of Tennessee Equality Project, national bisexual advocate and author Robyn Ochs and D’Arcy Meyer of the National Gay & Lesbian Law Association.

Campus Pride also bestowed its National Voice & Action Leadership Award to Mara Keissling of the National Center for Transgender Equality. The award recognizes a national leader in the LGBT and ally movement who believes in the Campus Pride mission to build future leaders and create awareness, safety and visibility for LGBT students on campus.

Read more after the jump...

It might be hot, humid and sticky, but that's not ruining the fun at Campus Pride's Summer Leadership Camp 2010.

All the campers gathered for a group photo this week. Take a look-see at all the happy, smiling faces of LGBTQI and straight ally campus leaders from across the nation!

Coverage from the week:
Tuesday at Queer Camp, July 21
Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp Kicks Off at Vanderbilt University, July 21
Epic Road Trip and Campus Pride Orientation, July 20
Pack your bags! We're heading to Camp!, July 19