Civil rights leader and highly-acclaimed furniture designer Mitchell Gold
to speak about his book CRISIS and the toll based bigotry

Charlotte, NC, Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010 – The national, Charlotte-based Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org) and local Time Out Youth (www.Time Out Youth.org) have partnered for a joint fundraising event on Thursday, Feb 25 to bring attention to lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally youth in the Charlotte area.The fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m. at Myers Park Baptist Church(1900 Queens Road) and then continue at 8 p.m. at Petra’s Piano Bar(1919 Commonwealth Avenue). No tickets are necessary; however, donations are encouraged.

Titled “Believe In Youth,” the one night only event will feature civil rights leader and author Mitchell Gold and his book "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America." A resident of Hickory, NC, Gold is a nationally recognized leader in the furniture industry as well as the founder of Faith In America, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the harm caused to LGBT Americans by religion-based bigotry and prejudice.

Gold has been honored nationally for his work and most recently in 2009 received a "Visionary Award" from the Stonewall Foundation in New York for his work with Faith in America and for publishing his recent book CRISIS. The book has been hailed as an important tool for understanding the immense harm to LGBT people when prejudice, discrimination and violence toward them is given moral and religious approval.

Washington Post, Friday, December 11, 2009
Campus Pride Executive Director
Shane Windmeyer

As quoted:

For decades, public and private universities have grappled with how to support gay students and protect them from verbal or physical attacks. Religious schools also have the challenge of upholding church teachings, such as the Catholic stance that it is not sinful to be attracted to someone of the same sex but it is sinful to act on such desires.

This delicate balance often puts gay students in a “conflicted state of acceptance,” said Shane L. Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, a national organization that helps colleges assess their gay friendliness. “The church wants to love the person and hate the sin. But what does that really mean?”

So visible support for gay students — such as a resource center, rainbow stickers, club tables and awareness weeks — is especially important at religious schools, he said. But such actions do not change campus attitudes overnight, he said.

Read the Article

Posted on Advocate.com October 23, 2009

There's No One Way to Be a Morehouse Man

Why can't a Morehouse man wear a fierce pair of Jimmy Choos to class?

By Shane L. Windmeyer

View Opinion Editorial online at http://www.advocate.com/Society/Education/Theres_No_One_Way_to_Be_a_Morehouse_Man/

Campus Pride Hosts Second Annual OUT & GREEK Conference for LGBT & Ally Fraternity & Sorority Members, Nov 19-22

Registration Open; Call for Workshop Presenters until Friday, September 25, 2009

Manhattan, KS, September 14 , 2009 – Campus Pride announced today the dates for the second annual Out & Greek conference designed for LGBT and ally college students and professionals involved in Greek life. The conference, which will take place November 19-22 at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, is the only conference of its kind for LGBT and ally fraternity and sorority members nationally. Registration now open along with call for workshop presenters online at http://www.lambda10.org/outandgreek.

Echoing the mission of Campus Pride's Lambda 10 educational initiative, the Out and Greek Conference aims to bring together lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and ally members of fraternities and sororities in an effort to foster dialogue and create safer, more LGBT-friendly learning environments at colleges and universities.

"Fraternities and sororities were once considered a primary source of homophobia on college campuses," said conference chair Chelsey Fritch who is also a member of Gamma Rho Lambda, one of the nations queer-inclusive sororities. "But now more than ever LGBT members of the Greek system are being open and honest about who we are. This conference hopes to provide an opportunity to enhance that dialogue, share tools and create further strategies for change."

Campus Pride has been lucky to have many wonderful donors and corporate partners/sponsors. The last few years Campus Pride has welcomed and enjoyed a partnership with RSVP Vacations to provide visibility for our work with LGBT youth. Most recently, Campus Pride did a national give-away for a “Free RSVP Cruise” to students, faculty and staff who participated in our National LGBT College Climate Survey.

This past week I had the opportunity to go aboard RSVP Vacations on a trip to Alaska. The majestic scenery of Alaska and the amenities aboard the Westerdam were truly special. However, what I enjoyed most was meeting the people aboard the ship – new friends and old friends. RSVP has a dedicated staff and volunteers who are not only “community minded” but deeply committed to LGBT youth issues. One thing I have always appreciated about RSVP is their commitment to give back to the LGBT community and the importance they place on “building future leaders” in our movement. I know this comes from the very top of the organization with their President Charlie Rounds. Another outstanding person who I adore and have enjoyed getting to know better on the Alaska cruise.

Thank you RSVP – and especially our contact Nick Pavlick.The trip was a much-needed vacation and I appreciate all you do for the LGBT community. Campus Pride looks forward to another successful year working together. ALL ABOARD! Learn more -- http://rsvpvacations.com/

Campus Pride Issues Warning regarding the Princeton Review’s Top 20 “Gay Community Accepted” College Ranking

National nonprofit organization states that the educational preparatory company's college ranking is "erroneous & potentially misleading, harmful to LGBT youth & families"

(CHARLOTTE, NC, Thursday, August 13, 2009) -- Campus Pride issues a warning regarding the Top 20 “Gay Community Accepted” and “Alternative Lifestyle Not an Alternative” rankings in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review’s annual college guide The Best 371 Colleges (Random House/Princeton Review, $22.99). The national nonprofit organization believes that not only is the use of “alternative lifestyle” problematic when referring to the lives of LGBT people, but the methodology Princeton Review used to garner their findings is too simplistic and could potentially lead to harmful, unsafe choices for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) students looking for acceptance and support during college.

The criteria that Princeton Review used to determine the best LGBT “acceptance” at colleges was not based on significant LGBT student opinions or research related to inclusive LGBT policies, programs or practices as one might expect. Their rankings were based off one single question asked to 122,000 students at the 371 top colleges -- whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “Students, faculty, and administrators treat all persons equally regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.”

Campus Pride & CAMPUSPEAK Establish Partnership

Award-winning agency exclusively representing founder, best-selling author Windmeyer

(Charlotte, NC -- July 27, 2009) Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org) and CAMPUSPEAK (www.campuspeak.com) announced today a partnership between the two organizations to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally students at colleges and universities across the country, including exclusively representing the founder of Campus Pride Shane Windmeyer in his college speaking activities.

CAMPUSPEAK was founded in 1999 as a collegiate-based speaking agency. Based in Denver, CAMPUSPEAK has been recognized as “Agency of the Year” three times by Campus Activities Magazine. In recent years, the company has broadened its focus with interactive workshops and webinars.

Campus Pride was founded in 2001 and is based in Charlotte, NC. Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization serving LGBT and ally college students and campus groups.

“The partnership makes perfect sense and brings value to Campus Pride by working closely with a company that values what we do,” Windmeyer said. “CAMPUSPEAK is a progressive-minded group committed to being an agenda-setting force in higher education, and we are simply a good match.”