Personal reconciliation turns to action for two young leaders in Charlotte, N.C.

Paul Willoughby, a senior at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte (UNCC), remembers well the hardships cast upon him and his family when his twin brother came out of the closet.

"That was the worst time in my life, for real," Willoughby says of the summer between his junior and senior years in high school.

Unbeknownst to all but him, he, too, was gay -- a revelation he dared not disclose in the face of his parents' conservative, religious leanings and their treatment of his brother.

"My parents said a lot of mean things, calling [my brother] names they shouldn't be calling him," Willoughby recalls. "It was hard to see how my parents reacted to him coming out -- they even tried to send him to therapy to try to change him. Here I am -- I'm gay, too -- and I didn't know what to do. I was terrified that they would find out."

Now 21 years old, Willoughby is a member of the UNCC men's soccer team. Just last fall, he came out to friends on campus and to friends on his sports team.

Read the rest of this article after the jump...

A round-up of national LGBT and progressive news, including...

• Campus Pride 'Top 12' Voice & Action leader nets State Dept. internships
• UNC chancellor rejects gender-neutral housing option
• SUNY Fredonia embarks on campus climate assessment
• Survey finds college freshmen more liberal
• Georgia's oldest HBCU gets first LGBT student group
• Canada's first fraternity for gay and bi men

Campus Pride 'Top 12' Voice & Action leader nets State Dept. internship

Greensboro College student Matthew Troy has accepted an internship for the summer of 2012 with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. While there, he plans to work with U.S. groups that advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to help those groups expand internationally.

Troy also was offered an internship in the Office of the Secretary, but he chose the Bureau internship instead because he felt that position would let him do "more substantive work on projects and less 'busy work' to accommodate the executives."

In January, Troy, a junior from Mason, Ohio, was also named one of the Top 12 Student Leaders in Action by Campus Pride. He received that honor for guiding a group of students through the process of establishing Greensboro College's Gay-Straight Alliance. That process involved seeking the approval of officials not only at the college but also in the United Methodist Church. He also worked with students at other Greensboro-area campuses on assessing conditions for LGBT students.

He also was recognized on the basis of his scholarship and general campus service. He has a 3.8 grade-point average while double-majoring in mathematics and political science, with minors in humanities, ethics, and women's and gender studies. He has served as a residence advisor; leader of the student community supervisors for Village 401, the campus's main service organization; president of the student honors organization; Executive Treasurer of Student Government; and a member of Pride Productions, the college's campus-activities board. He designed a "get connected" program in which new students at Greensboro College fill out a survey and are contacted to get involved with student organizations immediately. He also recently redesigned the Student Government Association to expand from five to 29 leadership positions, covering every aspect of the college.

A member of the men's tennis team, he represents the student body on the Board of Trustees. As the college's representative on the N.C. Campus Compact Student Advisory Board, he led a team that made a presentation at the state conference, and a 15-page guide that he developed was sent out to more than 30 student leaders in North Carolina. He also is a student ambassador and fund raiser for the national anti-hunger organization Share our Strength.

In the summer of 2011, Troy worked as an intern at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he redesigned a leadership course for the Chief of National Training that is now a mandatory course for all FEMA supervisors.

-- compiled from release

Read more headlines and news after the jump...

California, New York and North Carolina students are leading the way for positive, LGBT-inclusive change on their campuses and in their communities

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Students and young leaders across the country are making change, speaking out and taking the reins of leadership on their campuses and in their communities. Marco Flores, Tovah Leibowitz and Jacob Tobia, the three young adult leaders chosen as this year’s recipients of the Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award, are no exception.

In partnership with OUTmedia, the Campus Pride Voice and Action National Leadership Award is an honorary recognition highlighting the outstanding accomplishments of young adult leaders at colleges and universities across the United States. The award, the only of its kind, is bestowed upon undergraduate students who use their “voice” to speak up and take “action” to create change for LGBT and ally issues within their campuses, local communities and region of the country. The award also acknowledges the vital role nationally that young adult leaders play in the present and for the future of our movement for LGBT fairness and equality.

“The talent and commitment to the movement shown by all the applicants is the reason Campus Pride developed this national honor,” said Voice & Action Award Committee Chair Christopher Bylone. “These three students have gone above the call of duty expected of any student leader in our movement.”

Campus Pride congratulates this year’s recipients:

Marco Flores, University of California, Berkeley (‘12), is a gender and women’s studies and LGBT studies major, an undergraduate student organizer for Queer People of Color (QPoC) and a student representative for the Immigrant Students Issues Coalition.

Tovah Leibowitz, New York University (‘12), is double-majoring in gender and sexuality studies and documentary filmmaking. Tovah serves as the president of the NYU Queer Union.

Jacob Tobia, Duke University (‘14), is studying human rights advocacy and leadership. Jacob serves as director of LGBTQ policy and affairs in the Duke University Student Government.

Flores will be honored at the upcoming Western Regional LGBTQUI Conference at University of the Pacific, in Stockton, Calif., Feb. 24-26. Leibowitz and Tobia will receive their awards at the Northeast LGBT Conference at Sage Colleges in Albany, N.Y., March 30-April 1. Each of the students also receives a free artist, speaker or entertainer of their choice, courtesy OUTmedia, to appear on their college campuses in 2012.

Twenty-five applications were submitted for this year’s award review process. Twelve applicants were chosen by a panel of peers and student volunteers with Campus Pride and honored in early January as Campus Pride’s “Top 12 Leaders in Action.” Flores, Leibowtiz and Tobia were chosen from this pool of 12 outstanding LGBT student leaders.

This year’s awards committee was comprised of Chris Bylone, Campus Pride volunteer and Voice & Action Award Committee chair; Kyle Byrer of the Northeast LGBT Conference and Sage Colleges; Vincent Garcia of The Point Foundation; Anthony Villegas of the Western Regional LGBTQUI Conference and University of the Pacific; and Shelly Weiss of OUTmedia.

Visit www.CampusPride.org/voiceandaction.asp to learn more about the national awards program or email chris@campuspride.org.

[Media: Interviews with award winners are available upon request. Please direct any inquiries to Christopher Bylone at 704-277-6710, ext. 5 and chris@campuspride.org or to Matt Comer at 704-277-6710, ext. 6 and matt@campuspride.org.]

Comer brings knowledge of activism, new media to enhance
Campus Pride’s future growth

Contacts:
Shane Windmeyer, shane@campuspride.org, 704-277-6710, ext. 1
Matt Comer, matt@campuspride.org, 704-277-6710, ext. 6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Campus Pride, a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBT students, is pleased to welcome Matt Comer, a skilled grassroots activist and communications strategist, onto its staff as Campus Pride’s new communications and programs manager. Comer begins work with the organization today.

“I’m looking forward to the new opportunities Campus Pride will provide me to continue serving the LGBT community across the nation,” said Comer. “Campus Pride’s unique mission and vision is essential for ensuring safe learning environments for LGBT students. I’m excited to be a part of an organization that is working to support and build LGBT and ally student leaders – young adults who will and are already becoming some of our community’s and nation’s strongest and brightest future leaders.”

A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Comer has been active as a grassroots activist, outspoken advocate and journalist in North Carolina’s progressive and LGBT communities. He attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, participated in several local and national LGBT grassroots advocacy projects and built a strong local and statewide following as a blogger and civic journalist before taking a position as editor of QNotes, the Charlotte-based LGBT North Carolina newspaper, in October 2007. Last year, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he is completing his studies in American history and politics.

As Campus Pride’s new communications and programs manager, Comer will be responsible for overseeing the organization’s communications strategies and outreach and will aid the organization’s continued programs and fundraising development.

“Matt is the right person at the right time for our organization,” said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride’s co-founder and executive director. “I don't think we could have found a better fit. He brings a young adult perspective on LGBT issues and significant media expertise to help us continue our growth and success on college campuses. Campus Pride looks forward to having Matt on board in this new position.”

Comer begins work in earnest this week, accompanying Campus Pride to Baltimore, Md., for “The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change,” the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s 24th annual gathering of thousands of LGBT and straight ally social justice activists and organizers. He will blog from the conference and highlight the stories of young adult leaders from across the nation. You can follow Campus Pride’s blog at the organization’s website, campuspride.org.

# # #

BELIEVE IN -- CAMPUS PRIDE

Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. It exists to give "voice and action" in building future LGBT and ally leaders.

Charlotte-based National Gay Rights Advocate Speaks Out After Horrific Rock Hill Attack

ROCK HILL -- The brutal beating of a gay man has prompted local representatives to re-introduce a hate crime bill when the state Legislature reconvenes next week, but those intentions are being met with resistance.

The measure, led by SC state Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, was prompted by the beating of Joshua Esskew at a convience store, which was caught on the store's video tape.

King's hate crime bill, which went nowhere in the General Assembly when first introduced last year, is expected again to be met with opposition. A spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley told a reporter from the Rock Hill Herald that the newly elected governor does not support state hate crime laws.

Shane Windmeyer,
Campus Pride Executive Director
"Individuals who believe that a crime is a crime is a crime do not understand the definition of a hate crime or the unique impact a hate crime has on an entire targeted community," says Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride, a national, Charlotte-based nonprofit for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities.

Time Out Youth executive director Steve Bentley (from left), Judy Shepard, mother of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, and Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride were among those in attendance at the annual Believe in Youth event, held Feb. 20 at Myers Park Baptist Church. Shepard spoke frankly to an audience of more than 100 people about her experiences and the importance that all -- straight allies as well as gay, bisexual and transgendered men and women -- speak our truth to lessen stigma and stereotypes. The event, partially funded by the Wesley Mancini Foundation, also featured a performance by One Voice Chorus. (RACHEL SUTHERLAND COMMUNICATIONS PHOTO)

Campus Pride & Time Out Youth present their annual awareness event on Sun, Feb 20 to "push the Queen City forward" on LGBT issues

(Charlotte, N.C.) -- Campus Pride and Time Out Youth will present LGBT advocate Judy Shepard at their annual awareness event “Believe in Youth” on Sunday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m., at Myers Park Baptist Church’s Heaton Hall, 1900 Queens Rd. The event is free to educators and youth; $15 suggested donation otherwise.

Right: Flyer for Judy Shepard's Campus Pride/Time Out Youth event. Click to enlarge.

Shepard, mother of slain hate crime victim Matthew Shepard and author of the new book, “Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” will speak to the audience with a special Q&A following. Special music will be provided by Charlotte’s One Voice Chorus. Following the event, there will be a VIP meet and greet with Judy Shepard at The Bar at 316, 316 Rensselaer Street, open to the public; $5 suggested donation.

The annual “Believe in Youth” event is being presented by the national, Charlotte-based Campus Pride, a nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities, and Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth service and support organization working in the Charlotte area for 20 years.

“Campus Pride and Time Out Youth have partnered to bring Judy Shepard to Charlotte to shed light on the ongoing crisis that faces LGBT youth and community members both locally and across the country,” said Steve Bentley, executive director of Time Out Youth. “Judy’s amazing advocacy on behalf of LGBT people provides a unique perspective and a call to action for movement on LGBT equality.”

“In the past few years, our nation has come a long way in achieving progress for LGBT people – from federal hate crimes legislation to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ LGBT Americans are finally starting to see more full equality,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “That progress, however, has yet to hit Charlotte. Though the Queen City has come a long way, our community has much further to go especially for youth. We hope Judy’s message will help push this city forward.”

Catapulted onto a national stage following the murder of her son, Matthew, in 1998, Shepard has dedicated her life to advocacy on behalf of LGBT people. Determined to prevent Matthew’s fate from befalling others, she established The Matthew Shepard Foundation. She and the foundation are ongoing educational partners with Campus Pride as well as have worked with several organizations from the Human Rights Campaign to Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

For more information about Campus Pride programs and services, visit www.CampusPride.org or email info@campuspride.org. For more information about Time Out Youth programs and services, visit www.TimeOutYouth.org or email info@timeoutyouth.org

RSVP on Facebook:

Plan on coming to our Believe in Youth event with Judy Shepard? Then click here to RSVP on Facebook!

‘It Gets Better’ candlelight vigil planned for gay teen suicide victims

LGBT, other community groups partner to present vigil on National Coming Out Day

CHARLOTTE, NC – Oct. 11, 2010 – Local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations and other community groups are partnering to present “It Gets Better,” a special candlelight vigil and concert in memory of LGBT young people who fell victim to anti-gay harassment, bullying, depression and suicide. The event will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1900 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC, 28205, 7:30 p.m. on National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, 2010, a day of both celebration and remembrance for LGBT people.

Presenting community groups include: Campus Pride, Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, One Voice Chorus, PRIDE JWU Charlotte, Queer Rising QC, Sean's Last Wish, Time Out Youth and UNC-Charlotte PRIDE. Other organizations are also expected to join in on the effort.

“The nation is still mourning the loss of so many young gay people, and now is as fitting a time as ever to pause and take note of the unfathomable tragedies affecting our youth,” says Shane Windmeyer, executive director of the national, Charlotte-based group Campus Pride. “We ask that Charlotteans join with the nation in remembrance of these lost lives.”

About a week-and-a-half ago, we blogged about the tremendous support North Carolina-area colleges were giving to the LGBT-Friendly College Fair to be held in collaboration with Pride Charlotte and Time Out Youth on Oct. 2. Well, other colleges and universities haven't let us down. Go Carolinas (and all the other Southeastern colleges, too)! Keep 'em coming!

We've extended the early registration rates for both the Charlotte fair (Oct. 2) and the Portland fair (Oct. 6) until Sept. 28!

Don't miss your chance to take advantage of lowered rates and reach out to meet potential LGBT students for your educational institution. Get more info and register: www.campusclimateindex.org/events/

Registered for the Charlotte fair thus far:
Davidson College
Warren Wilson College
Columbia College Chicago
Guilford College
Syracuse University
UNC Charlotte
Washington and Lee University
North Carolina State University
IUPUI
Vanderbilt University
Appalachian State University
Elon University

And, for Portland:
Columbia College Chicago
Vanderbilt University
Western Washington Univ
Fairhaven College
Bucknell University
IUPUI
Washington State University
Oregon State University
Portland Community College
Whitman College
University of Oregon
Southern Oregon University

We're three weeks out from Campus PRide's first LGBT-Friendly College Fair ever held in the Southeast, and North Carolina colleges are stepping up.

Along with Nashville's Vanderbilt University and Chicago's Columbia College, six North Carolina schools have signed up for spaces at the LGBT-Friendly College Fair: Warren Wilson College, Guilford College, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University and Elon University.

The Fair, held in collaboration with Time Out Youth and the Lesbian & Gay Community Center, will be held on Oct. 2 during the Pride Charlotte festival at the N.C. Music Factory.

For more information, check out our release from last week...

Are you a college or university staff member interested in getting your campus at the Fair? Jump on the bandwagon quick! Our special $195 early bird rate ends Sept. 14. Learn more...

Photo: Pride Charlotte 2008. Credit: Willamor Media, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.