Being an out transman and a public speaker means that I’m a susceptible target for people who either don’t understand transgender issues or who are fearful, ignorant and immature surrounding things different than them.

I have been fortunate over that years that the transphobia directed at me has not been physically hostile, (verbally is a different story). The newest incident is one that happened while ironically training staff on ways to create a safe and trans-inclusive environment on a college campus. I found out about the incident just after arriving on campus after traveling all morning through airports and by car. The staff person that handled my booking informed me that a poster on campus used to advertise my evening talk had been defaced. My shirtless torso, aligned right of a description of the evening event and directly below my name had been altered, not by a black sharpee or pen, but by items cut out from a magazine and added on top my frame. The transphobic individual first changed some wording on the poster by printing off new lettering and taping over “FTM” to make it “FML.” They then proceeded to find hair and a bra that fit the poster and taped them on me along with two shiny piercings on my lower lip and belly button.

The defaced poster had been found in trash, (obviously someone appalled by it tore it down) and it was taken to the department that was sponsoring my appearance. The college could have not shared this with me, but I’m happy they did because it allowed us to have open conversations and it has allowed me to think more about how to compose and create dialogues that address transphobia. Through conversations with the staff, I knew it was something that shouldn’t be kept secret, it should be talked about and the most powerful person to do it, was the one it was targeted at.

REGISTER NOW
UPCOMING CAMPUS PRIDE WEBINAR
REGISTER NOW -- http://cplookingbeyond.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Looking Beyond Transgender Day of Remembrance: Educating Campus Communities about the Lives of Transgender People

Moderator: Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride

Guest Presenters: Genny Beemyn, Ph.D, Director, The Stonewall Center, UMass Amherst & Nancy Jean Tubbs, Director, LGBT Resource Center, University of California, Riverside

3 p.m. EST - $95 per site includes web recording

Description: Although transgender and gender nonconforming people have become more visible on college campuses and in the media and popular culture over the last decade, many cisgender (non-transgender) faculty, staff, and students lack even a basic understanding of the lives of transgender individuals. Clearly work must be done to educate campus communities. This webinar will focus on how institutions can implement a campus-wide transgender ally training program or offer transgender ally training sessions for specific departments and offices. The presenters, who have extensive experience conducting transgender-focused trainings and presentations on college campuses, will discuss their strategies for educating different audiences and share the handouts and exercises that they use in different training sessions.

Participants will gain knowledge on:

NOW YOU HAVE AN AFFORDABLE WAY TO PROGRAM FOR YOUR CAMPUS COMMUNITY AROUND LGBT ISSUES

REGISTER FOR ANY WEBINAR IN THE CAMPUS PRIDE SERIES & HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE REGISTRATION ($795 value) FOR YOUR COLLEGE TO ATTEND THE CAMPUS PRIDE SUMMER LEADERSHIP CAMP IN JULY 2012.

Campus Pride Announces the Fall 2011 Webinar Series featuring a diverse selection of topics, ideas and resources for your campus community. Your campus pays one flat fee and can have up to 5 locations per webinar-- its the most affordable way to enlighten, educate and entertain LGBT and ally students, faculty and staff. Every webinar registration also gets a free web recording to share on your campus for those who may not be able to attend. Email any questions to info@campuspride.org.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Research & Action: Religious-Based Bigotry on College Campuses

Moderator: Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride
Guest Presenter: Warren Blumenfeld, Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University & QRIHE, Campus Pride

3 p.m. EST - $95 per site includes web recording

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ACLU Asks Court to Stop Camdenton School District from Illegally Censoring LGBT Websites; School District Ignored Requests to Remove Web Filter to Avoid Liability for Unconstitutional Viewpoint-Based Censorship

Campus Pride statement:

"Finding a LGBT-friendly college and learning about valuable LGBT services on campuses should not be blocked for any reason. Every young person should have access in their schools to such online information provided by Campus Pride, especially those seeking safer, more welcoming places to learn, live and grow," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "Our online resources are essential in delivering a message of hope and support -- and in changing the lives of LGBT and ally young people."

ACLU RELEASE ABOUT THE FILING:

ST. LOUIS – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a lawsuit against Camdenton R-III School District today after the district ignored warnings that its Internet filtering software had been improperly configured to block access to web content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of LGBT organizations whose websites are blocked by the filter: PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian and Gays), the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Campus Pride and DignityUSA, a Catholic LGBT organization.

From Coast to Coast: Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Los Angeles & New York set as 2011 Campus Pride College Fair Locations

Do you want to recruit out LGBT and ally students? Thanks to Campus Pride now your college can do just that. Campus Pride announces dates for it’s fifth annual national college fair program this Fall 2011 specifically designed for out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students to find LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. More information online at http://www.campusclimateindex.org/events

REGISTER NOW

20011Campus Pride
LGBT-Friendly College Fair Program Dates & Locations

SOUTHEAST REGION - Charlotte, NC
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in collaboration with the Pride Charlotte Festival,
Time Out Youth & The Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Community Center
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2011
Hours of Operation: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Pride Charlotte Festival, Uptown on S. Tryon Street, between 3rd and Stonewall Streets
 
MIDWEST REGION - Chicago, IL
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in partnership with the Center on Halstead -- Chicago's LGBT Center
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011
Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Center on Halstead, 3956 N. Halstead, Chicago, IL 60613
 
NORTHEAST REGION - Boston, MA
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in partnership with Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth (BAGLY) and Friends of GLBT Youth, Inc.
Date: Saturday, October 7, 2011
Hours of Operation: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: TBD
 

This year are you READY to QUEER IT UP?

Colleges across the country have the opportunity to book Kit Yan as part of the Queer It Up Tour 2011-12 to create change and spark dialogue on campus! Bring Campus Pride and Kit to your campus for National Coming Out Day, Trans awareness events, Pride celebrations, or other Spoken word and energizing events all year to Queer It Up!

Learn more about Kit online, click here. You may also contact OUTmedia or call 718.789.1776.

WATCH THE QUEER IT UP VIDEO
FEATURING KIT YAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLdRBnc-RV4

Queer It Up
by Kit Yan

Campus Pride, All Rights Reserved.

Your hands are a door knock, your fingertips an email, your voice a phone call,
Your tongue a conversation,
You are a nation that can change the every day,

You are a door knock at a dean’s office,
A thunderous demand for the status quo bend and break,
To right every policy mistake,
To take action for equal benefits,
For the dollars they promised from your fees,
In this office, from behind that desk, they will hear us.

You are an email passed on to tens of thousands,
Starting in a dorm room, a petition for new bathrooms,
New buildings, library shelves stocking our stories,
You are a brand new club,
You can hit send on the campus you’ve dreamed of,
Let each key stroke be a battle cry in a quest for justice.

You are a phone call,
A dial to a queer alumni to come back and speak, ,

Former rugby star Ben Cohen is taking his gay rights advocacy a step further with the creation of an antibullying organization called the StandUp Foundation.

Regarding the collaboration with Campus Pride, Cohen said in a statement, "We are proud to partner with Campus Pride. They have a long, successful track record of working with educators and students to make campuses more inclusive for and accepting of LGBT people. Raising awareness of and funds for their tireless, on-the-ground work is very important to all of us here at the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE FROM THE ADVOCATE: Learn more and WATCH THE VIDEO online at THE ADVOCATE

I first want to say that I'm honored to be a part of the Campus Pride blog. After discussing with Shane ways I can contribute to this site I expressed my desire to look at transgender issues on University campuses and hopefully develop a dialogue with you, the reader on this topic.

Before I could blog though, I had to think of a name...what to name this, what to name this...to which I decided on Trans Academy. (Unless reader's hate this title to which I will name it, "I love cats," and post random pictures of cats I think are cute).

So why the name Trans Academy and what will encourage you to read my posts?

I chose Trans Academy because although it sounds structured and rigid, I see it more as universal, a blog that discusses the ideal laws, policies and procedures to serve the transgender community that could, in turn, be passed down to other institutions.

The Trans Academy is the umbrella that will shelter all the important, real and hard topics facing transgender students on campuses today.

I feel very fortunate to be an LGBT activist and a national speaker on college campuses so it is my goal to start visiting with the students across the nation and blogging about personal experiences on their campuses both good and bad, as well as where we see change happening, small and large.

Hello reader, I'm looking forward to going on this journey with you.

Ryan
http://www.ryansallans.com

As my first blog on the Campus Pride website I'm happy to

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.