Spotu.org to launch this summer

Long Beach AIDS Foundation executive director Garry Bowie says his organization's new project, a youth-oriented Web site dubbed spotu.org, is a leap to reaching the city's youth.

In light of alarming facts issued by the Center for Disease Control, the Long Beach AIDS Foundation has opened a new youth awareness chapter to respond to saddening youth statistics. The organization reports that Over 50 percent of new HIV infections in Los Angeles County occur in youth ages 15 to 24. A quarter of them are not aware of their infection.

After the great success in reaching a younger target audience during last year's AIDS Day celebration, the foundation is already well on its way to making a difference with Long Beach's adolescents. The festivities last December attracted 700 more people than it did the year before, but the number alone wasn't the feat.

"50 percent of the people there had never been to an AIDS event before," Bowie said. "And 53 percent were families with their kids. The kids have to be there."

Spotu.org will be an online venue where young people can find out where to get tested locally, get the raw facts on HIV and AIDS infections, and also post their own stories about the disease. It was important to incorporate a social networking aspect into the site in order to keep up with sites like MySpace and Facebook, Bowie said.

After airing on 400 public service announcement spots on Charter cable starting May 19, 1,000 red heart-shaped balloons will be released at the AIDS Walk Long Beach this summer. Each will have a spotu.org postcard attached acting as what Bowie called "a call to action!"

"Hopefully," Bowie said. "Wherever the balloon falls, some curious person, young or old, will find the card and visit the site. The overall point is to get kids engaged [and] speak their language."

The AIDS Walk Long Beach will take place on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

CSULB's Lavender Graduation

On May 10, California State University, Long Beach, will celebrate its second Lavender Graduation - a supplemental graduation ceremony for the campus' lesbian, gay , bisexual and transgender students.

The ceremony has been a national occurrence since 1995, when the first one was held at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ronni Sanlo , now a faculty member at University of California, Los Angeles, was the Lavender Graduation pioneer and creator. The color lavender is a symbolic combination of the pink and black triangles worn by gay men and women in Nazi Germany.

"The LGBT civil rights movement took these symbols of hatred and combined them to make symbols and color of pride and community," Sanlo said.

CSULB is eager to be a part of a national tradition. Organized by only 10 people, the ceremony hopes to double its numbers from last year, going from 30 graduates people to a hopeful 60. This year boasts exciting speakers as well.

“We have just confirmed that city councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga of Long Beach will be one of our speakers at the graduation,” Chun said.

Uranga has been an active supporter of LGBT education and awareness in Long Beach's city council, especially after the Oxnard school shooting in February of a 15 year-old homosexual student. In March, she proposed that the city council work closely with the Long Beach School District to set up programs in schools to promote respect and understanding in public schooling.

Rainbow tassels are available for purchase for graduates.

Redgate Memorial Recovery Center's Youth Program

The Redgate Memorial Recovery Center says a youth recovery housing project is in the works.

John Kirby, a former homeless Methamphetamine addict and Redgate success story, is spearheading the project, saying that his positive HIV status encouraged him to help others facing the same obstacles. Thirteen years ago, Kirby had been homeless himself before he was checked into the Redgate facilities. He says the center turned his life around.

Kirby's plans are to create housing and treatment facilities for gay, lesbian, and transgender youth struggling with substance abuse issues. These facilities would house up to 10 patients - 18 to 25 year-olds dealing with alcohol or drug abuse. Detoxification, psychiatric help, education, employment and life skills programs will also be offered there, Kirby said.

Kirby believes a specialized program is needed at the Redgate Center.

“There are certain segments of the population that need specialized treatment, because they don’t benefit from traditional treatment,” Kirby said.

The developments are in the very early stages because of the approval and permits needed by the city of Long Beach. If all goes well, Behavioral Health Service Inc. will offer the program through two Long Beach sites around the Redgate Memorial Recovery Center. It will cost roughly $600,00 per year to operate.

Diversity Week in depth!

Here is a more detailed look at LGBT Diversity Week to take place next week:

MONDAY, APRIL 14TH

11:00 am - 1:30 pm: Campus Forum on Hate Speech, Hate Crimes, and Far Right Movements

(University Student Union, Beach Auditorium)

Heidi Beirich, Ph.D. (Southern Poverty Law Center), Randy Blazak, Ph.D. (Hate Crimes Research Network), Brian Chase, J.D. (Lambda Legal), Nativo Lopez (Mexican American Political Association), and Kevin O’Grady, Ed.D. (Anti-Defamation League)

TUESDAY, APRIL 15TH

12:30 - 2:00 pm: LGBT, with a Disability: Seeking Understanding in All Worlds (USU, Room 304)

Angela Madsen (California Adaptive Rowing Programs)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16TH

1:30 - 2:30 pm: Diversity Among Us: LGBT Professors Speak OUT (Multicultural Center)

Gabriel Estrada, Ph.D. (Department of American Indian Studies), Henry F. Fradella, J.D., Ph.D. (Department of Criminal Justice), Griselda Suarez, Ph.D. (Department of Chicana/o & Latina/o Studies), & Bianca Wilson, Ph.D. (Department of Psychology)

3:30 - 4:30 pm: LGB…T?: Employment Legislation on Gender Identity Issues (USU, Room 205)

Diane Houston (Human Rights Campaign), Andrew Oldershaw (Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center Young Professionals Council), & Rev. Alexander Yoo, M.A., MFTI (FTM International & GenderQueer Revolution)

THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH

11:00 am - 1:30 pm: Day of Silence Information Table - A Tribute to Lawrence King (Friendship Walk)

1:30 - 2:30 pm: Louder Than Words: A Workshop on Performances of Gender and Privilege (USU, Room 306)

7:00 – 8:00 pm: Lavender Graduation Celebration 2008 Information Meeting (USU, Room 202)

LGBT Diversity Week!

Long Beach State's LGBT Resource Center will host the second Diversity Week in mid-April.

Along with Diversity Week's main focus of providing educational programs in public schooling, the Resource Center's adviser, Kirstyn Chun, says that this year will focus on the concept of "intersecting identities."

Chun says that many LGBT students can also be classified as other minorities, and these combined identities are what define a person and showcase the complexity in an individual's character.

Here is a list of the week's agenda:

Monday, April 14, noon to 1:30 p.m. Campus Forum on Hate Crimes

Tuesday, April 15, 12:30 to 2 p.m. LGBT, with a Disability, Managing Multiple Identities

Wednesday, April 16, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. “LGB …T? The Fight Over ENDA and Reconciling Rifts Between LGB and Transgender Communities

Thursday, April 17, 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Day of Silence Information and Resources; and from 2 to 3 p.m. Beyond Day of Silence: How to Make Every Day a Safe Day at School for LGBT Students.

Of course, all members of the community are welcome.

Local gets cast in reality show

Shawnee Jean Harkins, a Long Beach trainer, has been selected to take part in a reality show for the Showtime network.

The show, dubbed Hydra Executives, puts eight American contestants against eight British contestants in a battle of the entrepreneurs. It takes place in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. Harkins will be highlighted on the show as the only openly gay contestant as well as the youngest.

The show is the first of its kind - - the first international English language reality televisions show filmed in United Arab Emirates.

Day of Silence

Orange County students along with millions across the nation will observe the Day of Silence on April 25 this year, dedicating it mainly to the young gay man killed in Oxnard this February.

The Day of Silence began 12 years ago on the University of Virgina campus to honor members of the LGBT community. In 2006, an estimated 450,000 students and more than 4,000 middle schools, high schools, and colleges participated in the observation. The main focus of the Day of Silence is to bring more awareness in LGBT discrimination and prejudice. It acts as a protest without any words at all.

Long Beach State student Christin Eitel is supportive because she sees that participation in the Day of Silence could help her campus. Not only would students take notice, it would also get them involved in discussion of the issues, leading to overall awareness.

April 25 will be the twelfth annual Day of Silence. Along with several community activities planned, hundreds of thousands of students and community members are expected to take part in the silence in memory of those who have been silenced over the years based on their sexuality or gender identification.

Last year's "speaking out" cards read as follows:
Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?

Same-Sex Couples Work to Cut Off Marriage Ban

Long Beach was one of more than 20 cities and municipalities fighting the California Supreme Court same-sex marriage ban in Washington D.C. on March 4.

Long Beach filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the legalizing of gay and lesbian marriage along with the most populous cities in California including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose. The brief is in response to a California Supreme Court appearance by 15 same-sex couples who filed lawsuits in March of 2004. After rulings and overturned rulings, these couples will get the day in court that they have long awaited.

In addition to cities, more than 250 organizations also filed friend-of-the-court briefs. The California NAACP and the California Council of Churches were among those that offered support.

City Council supports LGBT students

The Long Beach City Council sided with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in a meeting last Tuesday concerning young people and their school life.



In response to the shooting death of a transgender student by his fellow classmate in Oxnard last month, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga proposed a recommendation in which the City Council would work with Long Beach Unified School District, the Teachers Association of Long Beach and gay support organization The Center Long Beach to better the student relations and education involving sexual orientation and identity. The main focus of this outreach would be to promote respect and understanding of diversity among students.

Several Long Beach students were in attendance to speak for the cause. Thalia Duran, a graduate student at Cal State Long Beach, spoke about the need for diversity education in city schools.

"Hate," Duran said, "I don't believe as a social worker, is an innate quality. It is a learned quality and therefore implies that it can be unlearned."

YouTube: Resource for Love

In this global digital age, website giant YouTube has revolutionized how Internet users communicate with one another. People can become virtual friends, leave messages in public forums, and, now, get lesbian love advice.

Long Beach resident A.J. has used YouTube as her own avenue of providing fellow lesbian YouTubers with lesbian dating advice. A.J. admits that she was not the first to use this particular outlet. She was originally a seeker of such advice when she realized that the topic was dominated by gay men. Wanting a lesbian perspective, A.J. took matters into her own hands and created her own YouTube channel.

On her page, A.J. answers questions from viewers all around the world in at least two videos a week. She makes it a point to keep humor in her videos, to keep things light, while she answers serious questions from her curious viewers; her most common questions revolve around how to come out to one's family.

Long Beach AIDS Foundation goes green

The Long Beach AIDS Foundation will celebrate its 20th annual AIDS walk this June along with the second anniversary of the foundation's "green" efforts.

In a movement that attracts followers with the call to "Become a Green Walker," the Long Beach AIDS Foundation had made an all-electronic alternative to its AIDS walk registration process. On the organization's site, any interested walkers are encouraged to "lead the change," and fill out all registration forms online. Other "green commitments" include using online pay methods and strictly email correspondence.