PFLAG: MA Law Falls Short

Last week the Massachusetts state Senate passed a bill aimed at preventing bullying in schools. However, according to the PFLAG blog, the law falls short of helping those who need it most.

According to the post:

The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday passed S.B. 2313, An Act Relative to School Bullying, which brings much-needed attention to the crisis of bullying and harassment in commonwealth schools. However, the bill falls short as it fails to enumerate the classes of persons who have historically and disproportionately been the subjects of bullying and harassment. Research shows that students at schools with an enumerated anti-bullying policy reported harassment at a significantly reduced rate.

Read more at: PFLAG!

IN THE LIFE: The Right to Live – Bullycides

“Bullying is NOT a right of passage, it’s a national health crisis.” When as many as 10,000 students miss school every month, when children are committing suicide because of constant verbal abuse, bullying is a crisis. Please watch the following video and support Inthelife.org!

Courtesy of IN THE LIFE:

This month on IN THE LIFE: Bullycides, a term recently coined to address the national health crisis of young people taking their own lives as the result of bullying. Followed by the premier of In The States, a feature focusing on the struggle for LGBT civil rights at the state level.

Bullycides
Studies show that youth who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and to report suicidal thoughts. LGBT children and those who are perceived to be gay, lesbian or challenge tradition gender roles are among those most likely to be targeted by bullies. In this look at the most tragic outcome for kids tormented by kids, we meet heartbroken families fighting for federal legislation to protect their children.

In The States
Our first installment of this IN THE LIFE feature takes us to Ohio, a state ranked among the worst for LGBT rights. Ohio legislators not only banned same sex marriages but barred unmarried state employees from receiving benefits for domestic partners; transgender Ohioans lack basic civil rights including the right to correct their birth certificates and LGBT people can be legally fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In this report on the gay experience in the heartland, we meet locals with deep ties to their community organizing for equal rights.

The Right To Live will begin airing March 1st and be available for free video streaming and downloadable podcasts from the IN THE LIFE website. To find out when it will air in your local area, to stream or download it, go to www.inthelifetv.org.

Edge: MA Vote on Anti-Bullying

From Edge Boston:

The Massachusetts State Senate will soon vote on bill S. 2283, also known as the “Anti-Bullying Bill.” It was reported out of the Joint Committee on Education on Feb. 24. The legislation would work to prevent bullying and cyber-bullying by developing anti-bullying programs and raising the level of accountability of school adults; all school employees would be required to report bullying immediately after witnessing or becoming aware of it.

More here!

It would be great to see this accomplished at a national level!

Cyberbullying Up in LGBT Youth Community

Iowa State University is set to release the results of a national study on how often LGBT youths report cyberbulling.

The study led by Robyn Cooper and Warren Blumenfeld surveyed 444 youth between the ages 11 to 22, and their sample including 350 who identify as non-heterosexual and 94 people who consider themselves as a LGBT ally. The research concluded that over 50% of the youths had been cyberbullied about their sexual identity or affiliation with LGBT youth within a period of 30-days prior to being surveyed.

The study is set to appear in the International Journal of Critical Pedagogy on March 15.

Foundation Offers Paid LGBT Internships

The R. Scott Hitt Foundation is offering funding for qualified candidates with the vision to be future leaders in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement.

The pro-LGBT sponsoring organization that the interns choose to apply with will receive funding to compensate your internship position while you strengthen your resume and gain valuable skills toward becoming a leader of the future.

Pro-LGBT non-profits are encouraged to identify prospective interns and cooperatively submit an application packet.

The post-graduate internship is called the Scott Hitt Internship in Leadership Development. It is geared toward post-graduate students with a strong academic record. The grant is $20,000 for a 40-hour-per-week, seven to nine month internship at an LGBT non-profit. The applicant contacts host organization they want to work at and co-develops a successful curriculum encompassing these key elements: communications, fundraising, board development and grassroots policy. The deadline is May 7.

The undergraduate internship, known as the A.N.G.L.E. Southern California Internship, is a $4,000 grant for an 8-week internship at an LGBT non-profit in Southern California. The deadline is April 16.

To apply, visit http://www.scotthittfoundation.org and submit a cover letter, personal essay, resume and sponsor agreement.

From: Pridesource.com!

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