Our Story Movie Premiere (Des Moines)
Public premiere of One Iowa's short film featuring Iowans speaking out in favor of marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Appetizers provided.
Monday, December 8, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Fleur Cinema and Cafe, 4545 Fleur Drive, Des Moines

Oral Arguments before the Supreme Court, Varnum v. Brien (Des Moines)
Given the interest in the case and limited capacity, we anticipate that there will not be enough seating for everyone in the Supreme Court chamber. To accommodate growing interest from our supporters, One Iowa has planned several “watch parties” across the state!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 9:45 – 11:30 AM
Des Moines Watch Party - Des Moines Public Library, 1000 Grand Avenue
Ames Watch Party - ISU Memorial Union, Gallery Room (3rd Floor), 2229 Lincoln Way
Iowa City Watch Party - Iowa City Public Library, 123 South Linn

Making the Case Receptions
Reception to celebrate and discuss the oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court in the landmark Varnum v. Brien case.

Tuesday, December 9, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Pappajohn Center, 1200 Grand Ave, Des Moines

Wednesday, December 10, 6:30pm-7:30pm
CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd St SE, Cedar Rapids

Thursday, December 11, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Davenport Unitarian Church, 3707 Eastern Ave, Davenport

Monday, December 15, 6:30pm-7:30pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 22 Dillman, Council Bluffs

Tuesday, December 16, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Sioux City Public Library, Gleeson Room, 529 Pierce St, Sioux City

Day Without a Gay Volunteer events (Des Moines, tbd)
On December 10th thousands of allies and supporters of LGBT equality will be taking the day off to volunteer for fairness and equality!

One Iowa will be hosting a volunteer day at our headquarters in Des Moines and will be working to organize volunteer events across Iowa. If you would like to lead a volunteer effort in your area by opening your home or business please contact us at organize@oneiowa.org.
RSVP here.

This is the first attempt for my weekly post. I will try to cover things that are relevant to Ames and surrounding areas from a lez perspective with the purpose of keeping myself informed.

Events:

Alliance Meeting
Wednesday December 3, 2008
8 pm, 2121 Martin Hall, Iowa State
Our last meeting for the semester will be a holiday party.

Iowa Pride Network

Thursday December 4, 2008
5-7 pm, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ - Youth Room
4126 Ingersoll Ave, Des Moines, IA (Corner of Ingersoll & 42nd St.)
This is the monthly Central GSA Coalition

Des Moines Pride

Thursday December 4, 2008
6:30-8 pm, Central Library, meeting room # 3, in Downtown Des Moines.
Capital City Pride would like to extend an invitation to the community to come meet the group and get involved in the planning process for PrideFest 2009!

Entertainment:

So I just heard about bitch slap, and I totally want to see this movie. Here is the trailer:

I know some of you may think oh great a b-action movie but I love action films and how can I not get excited about an action film that involves a girl/girl “love” scene. I can’t wait.

Yes this entry is a little short, I’m just getting the feel out of it, I think I need a better title. But I'll try to keep you posted on things that we can see, hear, or should know if we are in Iowa.

We have affirmed the nominations for our Spring 2009 cabinet!

[for president and vp, you must have previously serve in the cabinet to be eligible for nomination].

Harry Potter made a special appearance.



















Kadaj from Final Fantasy: Advent Children had to drop by.

















Professor Scott wanted to check on his performance in the film.




















Some more people in awesome costumes.














A beautiful vixen dropped in.






















A vixen with a scythe . . . what can be better?















The cave man had been thawed.


















Dr. Lotta Vag was ready for the exam.

Preparing during the week by selling shirts and telling people about the rally.












Selling shirts and setting the area up for the rally.












Listening and sharing coming out stories at the rally.

The crowds gathering for those sweet, cold confections!










A groups of students socializing with their treats of choice.















Callen encouraging students to sign up for the mailing list, pick up brochures and grab a name tag.










Terri trying to sell the previous years shirts to new students.













A group socializing.











Greeting the mascot of the event.















Students socializing.

The campus ministry associate at the Wesley Foundation will be putting together a Silent Vigil For LGBT rights on Wednesday November 12th @5:30pm by Lake LaVerne.

I've finally fallen onto this bandwagon. I'll be blogging randomly for the rest of the semester, which sadly isn't too long now.

I just wanted to let everyone know about the conferences coming up. I already have a list of individuals that are more than willing to hear more. If you want to know more, you have to let me know! You can tell anyone on cabinet and we'll be sure to get the information to you. What are these conferences you may be asking. Well, they're a place to gather new ideas for ice breakers and other activities that you can perform to create a variety of outcomes. MBLGTACC is the main conference we attend. It will be held in Bloomington, Indiana this year, which is a bit of a drive but it is well worth it. This conference will run from February 13 to February 15. You will never believe the amount of amazing people you can connect with and the sheer amount of new ideas you will come back with unless you attend.

The other conference is the NGLTF Creating Change conference is a more professional conference. This conference is geared more towards students closer to graduation that are looking to network with potential employees and gain that little advantage in the working world. This conference is going to be held in Denver this year from January 28 to February 1.

Registration is open for both conferences now, so if you'd like to attend one without our group, you are more than welcome to sign up for yourself. MBLGTACC can be found at this site and the Creating Change conference can be found at this site. Feel free to look around the sites for more information about each conference and come to us with questions you may have. We are always here to chat whenever you need it!

So, the state of California voted for a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. The 52% support for it was surprising for me, specially since California is known for being a liberal state. It is indeed heart breaking. I know a lot of people were angered by the results. It seemed so unfair.

As Political Science major, I can see both sides of the argument. Proponents of Prop 8 claims that it is not about denying rights to same-sex couples, but rather, protecting the will of the people, as Newt Gingrinch described in this advert:


Even though I can see where he was coming from, I also know that in recent history, we have made laws that protects the minority from the tyrannical majority. Even though the result in California showed the will of the people, I don't see how denying someone their rights could be constitutional. And this amendment, is so obviously discriminatory on its face that it doesn't even require a strict scrutiny. Regardless of how they tried to mask this, discrimination is discrimination.

I know some people would say, "why don't the gays just call marriage something else, then there wouldn't be any issues."

Well, the way I understand it, because the states use the word marriage in their statute, and certain rights and privileges are attached to word marriage, if the gays use a different word to describe their union, then they don't get the rights that people who are allowed to use the word marriage would normally have.

And because the proponents of Prop 8 want the word marriage to only be defined as union between a man and woman, same-sex couples are not allowed to use that word. Hence, they don't get the benefits.

Sucks, doesn't it?

Earlier this month, we celebrated national coming out day. During our rally at the free speech zone, I shared my own coming out story, or the lack thereof. You see, the choice of coming out on my own was taken away from me. It wasn't in my own terms and I still feel violated whenever I think about it. I will not go on with the details of my coming out process, I mean... it is after all a never ending process. But it got me thinking about others out there who were forced to come out, or were outed by someone else.

I was just wondering, in the matter of coming out of the closet, are we helping the cause when we push someone out of the closet? Or are we hindering it? Under what circumstances is this ethically permissible? If you are dating someone who's still in the closet, should you demand them to come out? Or say, you're a public figure, does everyone need to know what your sexuality is?



I'd like to know your opinions on these. Type your response by clicking on the comments section bellow this post.

Auditions for ISU Got Talent! has indefinitely been postponed.

We will keep you updated on any developments regarding our fall benefit show.

Because, as you know, preventing kids from learning about tolerance is the
surefire way to ensure everyone turns or stays heterosexual.

A plan to have an acclaimed gay author speak to students in Charlotte County high schools has been scrapped after a few parents objected.

Alex Sanchez writes books about gay youth and their struggle to find acceptance, but local school principals were not comfortable allowing him to address their students.

Jay Remer, spokesman for the Charlotte County Rainbow Support Group, said Sanchez is a terrific public speaker whose message is about tolerance.

He said Sanchez’s mission is “to help the gay youth in the community to feel less isolated and more part of the community as a whole.”

Remer’s group is one of the sponsors bringing Sanchez, who lives in Florida, to New Brunswick.

"The idea was to try and have an audience of maybe as many as 1,500 students," Remer said.

But Sanchez won’t be able to spread his message in School District 10 because some parents have pressured principals, he said.

Keith Pierce, District 10 superintendent, said he changed his mind about allowing the author to speak in area schools after meeting with school principals.

"A few of them were getting pressure from a few parents, and they just weren’t comfortable going in that direction," Pierce said.

Some principals felt their schools were just “not ready” for the kind of presentation that Sanchez will give, he said.

In 2002, the American Library Association named Sanchez’s book Rainbow Boys to the list of Best Books for Young Adults.

Sanchez is still coming to New Brunswick. He will give a presentation at Wesley United Church in St. Andrews

We will be holding an audition for our fall benefit talent show on Tuesday, Oct 21st. Eaton Hall 1132 from 6-9pm.

The fall benefit show will be on Nov. 14, 2008 at the M-Shop. 7 pm.

Please consider the limitations of our venue before you audition.

Email us at alliance@iastate.edu for more info.

video clip from our fall 2007 & spring 2008 benefit shows.


Don't forget our Fall 2008 benefit show. We will be holding an audition on Tuesday Oct. 21st. Martin Hall 2121. 6-9pm.

October 10, 2008

Connecticut Supreme Court Sides with Equality, Grants Equal Marriage!

Dear Families and Friends,

At 11:30am this morning, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued its ruling in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, the equal marriage case. In short, we won. I would personally like to thank Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and Love Makes a Family for their leadership in this case and on marriage equality in Connecticut.

On this historic day, we should take time to celebrate as a national community of LGBT families. Call your friends and family. Tell them what marriage equality means to you. If you live in Connecticut, join with other families at the state house this evening at 5:30pm for a victory rally! Understand that marriage equality in Connecticut puts us that much closer to marriage equality everywhere. This is truly a great day for our families.

This is also a day to remember the important battles we're fighting in other states. On Election Day voters in California, Arizona and Florida will decide whether to change their constitutions to prohibit you and your loved ones from getting married. In Arkansas, voters will decide whether to ban all unmarried couples, including gay and lesbian couples, from fostering or adopting children.

We're working day in and day out to defeat these terrible amendments, and we need your help.

Now is the time for LGBT families in all states to draw the line in the sand on the attacks against our community. Say NO to further restrictions on our families' ability to care for each other by contributing to one or all of these important ballot campaigns right now. If you can afford to give to each campaign, please do. If one state is most important to you, give to that campaign. Whatever and however you decide to give, just know that that our families have so much at stake in this election.

Your contribution today could decide whether we're advancing positive legislation for our families in the future or continuing to spend precious time and resources fighting off these horrendous attacks.

To contribute to defeating the marriage ban in California, click here.
To contribute to defeating the marriage ban in Florida, click here.
To contribute to defeating the marriage ban in Arizona, click here.
To contribute to defeating the foster/adoption ban in Arkansas, click here.

In these unstable times, your family's contribution is profoundly appreciate

Sincerely,

Jennifer Chrisler,
Executive Director, Family Equality Council

P.S. Tomorrow night is Family Equality Council's National Awards Dinner at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. As we celebrate the growth and impact of LGBT families and Family Equality Council nationally, I would love to share with our honorees, HBO and the Pop Luck Club, and our featured guest, Cynthia Nixon not only the news about Connecticut, but the fact that our families responded to this call and contributed to secure equality in these four critical states. Give what you can to move our families forward!

As Mike mentioned in the previous post, the Ad Council launched a new campaign seeking to end the use of homophobic language.

Here's one featuring Hilary Duff.

By STUART ELLIOTT

FOR the first time since the Advertising Council was founded in 1942, the organization — which directs and coordinates public service campaigns on behalf of Madison Avenue and the media industry — is introducing ads meant to tackle a social issue of concern to gays and lesbians.

The campaign, which is scheduled to be announced by the council in Washington on Wednesday, will seek to discourage bullying and harassment of teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.” That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.”

There will be television and radio commercials, print and outdoor ads and a special Web site devoted to the campaign (thinkb4youspeak.com). Some spots feature celebrities, the young actress Hilary Duff and the comedian Wanda Sykes, delivering the message.

The campaign is on behalf of a nonprofit organization in New York called the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or Glsen (pronounced glisten), which promotes tolerance among students. Glsen is spending about $2 million to develop and produce the campaign.

•

The introduction of the campaign will be accompanied by Glsen’s release of the 2007 edition of an annual report, the National School Climate Survey. The survey will report that 9 in 10 teenagers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender said they were verbally harassed during the last school year. Almost half said they were also physically harassed because of their sexual orientation.

The campaign is “something I dreamed about for 10 years,” said Kevin Jennings, the founder and executive director at Glsen, and has been in active development for two years.

“If you follow hateful language, you eventually get hurtful behavior,” he added. “The chain of events begins with kids learning it’s O.K. to disrespect people.”

The campaign is “a very bold step” on the part of the council, Mr. Jennings said, in that “this will be, by a million miles, the largest public education campaign on L.G.B.T. issues.”

“I think they know they’re going to take some flak,” he added, referring to the leadership of the council.

Peggy Conlon, the president and chief executive of the council, said she did not believe, however, that there would be negative reaction.

“Before Glsen made the investment, we agreed we would poll the media community,” Ms. Conlon said, to determine how receptive outlets like newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations and Web sites would be to run such ads.

In conversations with public service directors — the staff members at media outlets who help determine which pro bono campaigns run — “a very small percentage said they would not run the work,” she said, “not because it was ‘radioactive,’ but because they thought it was not appropriate for their target audience,” which may be older than those to whom the campaign is addressed.

As for this being the first campaign under the aegis of the council to tackle discrimination against gays and lesbians, Ms. Conlon said, “we always had dialogue with that community,” which had been “focused on a different issue,” AIDS prevention.

“We’re always looking for important messages on discrimination,” she said. “We thought this would be a fabulous campaign to take on because it’s surprising how pervasive this language is.”

The council has presented antidiscrimination campaigns like “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” for the United Negro College Fund, and ads promoting gender equality (“Expect the best from a girl and that’s what you’ll get”).

In the commercial featuring Ms. Sykes, three teenage boys at a pizzeria are making fun of a silly statue of a pizza chef. One says, “That’s so gay, really gay,” to which Ms. Sykes replies, “Please don’t say that,” and then asks how he would like it if she were to say something she disliked was “so ‘16-year-old boy with a cheesy mustache.’ ”

Some print ads are taking a similar tack. “That’s so ‘Jock who can complete a pass but not a sentence,’ ” one headline reads. Another says, “That’s so ‘Gamer guy who has more video games than friends.’ ” The ads end this way: “Think that’s mean? How do you think ‘That’s so gay’ sounds? Hurtful. So, knock it off.”

It is a tricky task to create a campaign that speaks to young people in a tone they do not deem patronizing or condescending. To accomplish that, the campaign was researched and tested with the intended audience.

“Kids that age are tough and media savvy; they see through things quickly,” said John Staffen, chief creative officer at Arnold N.Y.C., part of the Arnold Worldwide unit of Havas.

As a result, “you can’t be too preachy,” he added, “and you can’t sell too hard.”

•

So the goal was “to show the situation in a new light,” Mr. Staffen said, “to point out this language can be hurtful and let the kids make their own decisions.”

“Ultimately, we believe they will make the right decision,” he added.

Two students who were shown the ads to elicit their reactions praised the approach.

“These ads do a great job of making you stop and think,” said David Aponte, 16, a junior at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Va., who described himself as a “straight ally” of Glsen and other organizations doing similar work. “I think people could connect to them,” he added.

Lynnette Schweimler, 17, a senior at Thunderridge High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., said she hoped the campaign would “open people’s eyes a little bit.”

Ms. Schweimler said that when she was attacked last year by assailants who singled her out for being a lesbian, “they used a lot of derogatory language.”

The repeating of such language “builds up intolerance,” she said, because “it’s used so often, people don’t understand the meaning of it.

The second debate between presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain is tonight at 8p on all major news networks. Please tune in and make an informed decision this election!

The following article was posted today on lesbiatopia.com by Renee Gannon.

Ten years ago from today, October 7, 2008, Laramie Police Dept. Officer Reggie Fluty went to the scene reported by a bicycle rider - a young man tied to a fence and obviously beaten very badly. Her words in the Laramie Project - that "the only part of his face not covered in blood were where he had been crying" are one of the most saddening and tragic moments in GLBTQI history. This was the day Matthew Shepard was found.

I wanted to post this for everyone as a 10-year memorial to the discovery of Matt, who was in a coma at the time of discovery, but also to everyone else who has been a vitcim of hate and violence.

Matthew Shepard was a good kid. He was the oldest son of Dennis Shepard and Judy Shepard. He attended Crest Hill Elementary School, Dean Morgan Junior High, and the first two years of high school at Natrona County High School. He was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Shepard spent his junior and senior years of high school at The American School In Switzerland. After graduating in 1995, he attended Catawba College and Casper College before he relocated to Denver. Shepard then became a first-year political science major at the University of Wyoming and was chosen as the student representative for the Wyoming Environmental Council.


He was described by his parents and good close friend from Orlando, Florida, Frankie J. McGraw, as "...an optimistic and accepting young man ...[who]... had a special gift of relating to almost everyone. He was the type of person that was very approachable and always looked to new challenges. Matthew had a great passion for equality and always stood up for the acceptance of people's differences."

The two men who attacked Matthew Shepard, Henderson and McKinney, were not charged with a hate crime, as no Wyoming criminal statute provided for such a charge. The disturbing and brutal nature of Matthew Shepard's murder prompted calls for new legislation addressing hate crime, urged particularly by those who believed that Shepard was targeted on the basis of his sexual orientation. Under current United States federal law and Wyoming state lawcrimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation are not prosecutable as hate crimes.

In the following session of the Wyoming Legislature, a bill was introduced defining certain attacks motivated by victim identity as hate crimes, but the measure failed on a 30-30 tie in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

At the federal level, then-President Bill Clinton renewed attempts to extend federal hate crime legislation to include gay and lesbian individuals, women, and people with disabilities. These efforts were rejected by the United States House of Representatives in 1999. In 2000, both houses of Congress passed such legislation, but it was stripped out in conference committee.

On March 20, 2007, the Matthew Shepard Act (HR 1592) was introduced as federal bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Congress, sponsored by Democrat John Conyers with 171 co-sponsors. Matthew's parents, Judy and Dennis, were present at the introduction ceremony. The bill passed the House of Representatives on May 3, 2007. Ultimately, the amendment was dropped by the Democratic leadership because of opposition from antiwar Democrats, conservative groups, and President George W. Bush.

Please use this article as a reminder that we are still very far from receiving equal rights and equal protections in this country. The fact that there still is not a national law protecting our community from hate and violence perpetuated by our own sexuality and gender identities is not only disheartening but frustrating too.

How many others out there do you think have been a victim of a hate crime whose perpetrators didn't receive the justice they deserved? How many people do you know personally that have been a victim of some kind of hate crime, attack or slur? When is enough, enough?

This is an extremely big election and I urge each and every one of you to stay educated on the issues involved in this election. Barack Obama supports expanding federal hate crimes to include sexual orientation/gender identity and he might be our only hope to finally get the national protection we deserve. Let's do it for Matthew Shepard. Let's do it for all the innocent victims whose attacks have gone unnoticed or unreported time after time. Let's do it for ourselves.

LGBTA Alliance presents:

Our Graduate Adviser, Erin Chapman, along with a graduate assistant from the Wellness Center, will answer your questions about sexual health, sex, std, and protections, among others.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

This Wednesday. 8pm. Martin 2121.

It's OK With Me T-shirts will only be available in sizes: small-xxl.

XXXL sizes are not available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

America's Next Top Model has reruns on Sunday nights.
Project Runway has an encore at 10pm.

So there should be no reason why you would miss the ISU LGBTA Alliance General Assembly on Wednesday nights at 8pm. Martin Hall 2121.

It's OK With Me 2008 t-shirt campaign. Just in time for National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11th).

Color: Blue. Sizes: Small-XXL.

Price: $8.00 for student members. or $10.00 for non members/non students.

Pre-order your shirts now!

1. email us at itsokwithmeisu@gmail.com with your info (name, size, quantity).
   
2. stop by our office: Office L in the East Student Office Space of the Memorial Union.
3. or come and see us during our general assembly on Wednesday at 8pm. Martin Hall 2121.

Limited quantity of previous years t-shirts are still available!
2006 t-shirt in yellow. medium & large. only $2.00
2007 t-shirt in green. small, medium, xl & xxl. only $3.00

Can't afford the Alliance membership right now?

Through a generous donation, the ISU LGBTA Alliance is offering a membership loan that is to be paid-forward in the following ways:

• Volunteering for a DIFFERENT organization for at least two(2) hours and represting one's self as a member of the LGBTA Alliance.
• Paying for the membership for someone , who OTHERWISE would not have joined.
• Paying for the admission to an Alliance event for someone, who OTHERWISE would not have attended.
• A future donation of at least $10 to the Alliance without anything in return.
• Some other action that benefits the LGBTA Alliance and is worth about 10 bucks.

For more information please see a member of the LGBTA Alliance cabinet, or stop by our office that East Student Office spaces in the Memorial Union.

*The ISU LGBTA Alliance is not responsible for the stipulations of these loan. Repayment is based on the honor system.

They're only $3.00 each!

Color: kelly green
Sizes: Small-XXL

Please stop by our office -- Office L in the East Student Office Space of the Memorial Union.
You may also e-mail itsokwithmeisu@gmail.com with special pick-up requests.

They make great gifts!

The Iowa Department of Revenue offers tax rebates on all books purchased at the University Book Store. To receive your rebate, please go to www.gsb.iastate.edu/tax to download forms and instructions. The receipt from your purchases will need to be included with the forms that are being sent in. The overall Iowa tax rate is seven percent, so this rebate will save you approximately seven percent on your purchase.

The Government of the Student Body is very concerned with the high debt levels of Iowa State students, and would like to help in any way possible. Please contact your representatives at http://www.gsb.iastate.edu with any concerns.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?

...about last nights meeting or anything in particular. Leave it in the comments section. It can be as completely anonymous as you want it to be.

We're also on Twitter now. Check it out on the sidebar!

One of the 14 girls who will compete on the new season of America's Next Top Model – which returns to The CW on September 3 – is transgender.

"My cards were dealt differently," Isis, a 22-year-old former receptionist, tells Us Weekly exclusively in its new issue, on newsstands now.

Hailing from Prince George's County, Maryland, Isis identifies herself as "a woman born physically male."

Will she be a role model?

"I like to help people, but I'm here to follow my dreams," she tells Us.

The inclusion of Isis is being hailed by GLAAD president Neil Giuliano as "an unprecedented opportunity for a community that is underrepresented on television.

"We applaud Tyra Banks and The CW for making this historic visibility of transgender people possible," Giuliano said.

What am I doing up at 1:30 am on a school night?

I'm happy to announce that our website has finally been updated! It's nothing fancy, just some general information and whatnot. I can not believe that I actually learned how use Filezila, Kerberos and NVu! Updating a website is nothing like maintaining a blog, there are so much more involved in it. Hopefully we'll find someone else to do it in the future, or switch to something a little less rigorous. Also, we have been informed that we had some issues with our email. If you have attempted to email us over the summer, we sincerely apologize for not responding-- we didn't get the emails. But feel free to post a comment on here, and we'll be sure to address any of your issues, questions or concerns.

Speaking of emails, our president, Terri, just informed us that techie peeps over in Durham Hall drooped the ball in sending our "Big Gay E-Mail" (it's our once a semester, campus-wide email announcing our general assembly meetings). This sucked cause the meeting is tonight, and we already paid them for the service that they failed to provide. (Yes, it cost money to spam... I mean, advertise.)

But if you are reading this prior to tonight's (Sept 3rd) meeting, please spread the word and let everyone know who might be interested.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this rather creepy video from Daft Funk: Technologic.



Update 8:30 am. The emails were finally sent out! It's a little later than what we would have wanted, but I suppose it serves it purpose. It is entirely possible that they may have processed the email on time, but due to some techie bureaucracy, it didn't come out in a timely manner. Fiber optics and broadband stuff seems to have a mind of its own. (Ha! It sounded like I KNOW what I'm talking about.)

So I would like to issue a mea culpa to the techie peeps over at Durham Hall. I'm sure you tried your best.

While flipping through the most recent issue of Vanity Fair [the one with my new favorite celebrity, France's first lady, Carla Bruni], I came across one of Kenneth Cole's new advert.

In his current fashion ad campaign, Cole has replaced professional models with "everyday" people in a series of photographs and videos with the tagline, "We All Walk in Different Shoes." The ad campaign is intended to dispel social prejudices while extolling the value of diversity. Among those featured in the campaign are a lesbian couple, Nicoletta and Joanna, and their daughter, Ruthie, as well as a transgender woman named Nina Poon.




Kenneth Cole is one of the most engaging - and engaged - business leaders/activists in the country. Cole also took a public stand in the battle against AIDS in 1985, and is widely considered the first in the fashion industry to do so. He has continued to use his position in the fashion industry and his business, Kenneth Cole Productions Inc., to bring awareness to not just AIDS-related causes but a wide range of socially conscious issues, including homelessness, gun safety and women’s rights.

Check out their website at KennethCole.com

LGBTAA's first general assembly for the school year is next Wednesday September 3rd at 8pm. Martin Hall 2121.

We'll have a fun information session and introduction about the Alliance for those who are new to ISU and we'll welcome back returning members.

Also, on Thursday September 4th at 6:00 pm is our annual ice cream social at the Sloss House. Bring all of your friends. Everyone is welcome.

In the meantime, here's a fun music video by New Young Pony Club: Ice Cream.

Another school year has begun as fall session starts today. There will be a cabinet meeting today at 6:30pm at the East Student Offices in the Memorial Union.

Our first general assembly will be next Wednesday at 8pm, Martin Hall 2121.

We hope to see you all there!

Saturday evening, August 18th was full of love, laughter, and a few tears for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who exchanged personal wedding vows in front of their closest family and friends at their home in L.A.

In an exclusive interview and photos, DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, share the most romantic moments of the night with People Magazine.

"What can I say? I'm the luckiest girl in the world," says DeGeneres. "She's officially off the market. No one else gets her. And now she'll cook and clean for me."

Amid candles and flowers by Mark's Garden, both brides, wearing designs by Zac Posen, sat on floor pillows along with author Wayne Dyer, who officiated the ceremony.

After exchanging Neil Lane rings, the couple and their guests sat down for an all-vegan menu prepared by their personal chef David Silberkleit while Sweet Lady Jane created a vegan red velvet cake for the celebration.

"The love we felt from the people surrounding us, and the love we have for each other, made this the most beautiful and emotional day," says de Rossi. "And one that we'll never forget."

Thailand's Kampang Secondary School has installed toilets for burgeoning ladyboys. Every year between 10% and 20% of his boys in this school consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls.

"They used to be teased every time they used the boys' toilets, so they started using the girls' toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uncomfortable. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their work." said headteacher Sitisak Sumontha.

So the school offered to build the transgender boys their own facility, and they welcomed it.

read the rest and watch the video here.

On August 14, 2008, Iowa Pride Network will be hosting its 4th Annual LGBT & Allied Leadership Training for high school and college students throughout the state. The training will be held in Des Moines at Drake University (Meredith Hall) from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Check-in will begin at 9:00 AM, and the conference will start promptly at 10:00 AM. Lunch will be provided. This is a FREE event!

NEW THIS YEAR:

The Gay-Straight Alliance Advisor Roundtable. Iowa Pride Network recognizes that as much as students need resources and support, GSA advisors also appreciate opportunities to network and gain resources. If you are an advisor or a faculty member who would like to help start a GSA at your school, please register for the training today! If you are a student please pass this information along to your advisor or an ally faculty member who might want to attend.

Registration Deadline: August 8, 2008
REGISTER FOR THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING TODAY!
http://www.iowapridenetwork.org/trainingreg.htm

MISSION:

The mission of the Annual Leadership Training is to provide LGBT & Allied High School & College students the resources they need to be effective leaders in their schools and communities. Students will come together to develop leadership skills and get a head-start on creating Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) as well as enhancing existing High School and College GSAs. Students will also have the opportunity to:

Learn how to create change on the local level
Receive resources and materials for you and your student club
Network with other students from around Iowa
Develop programming plans for your student club
Gain increased skill-sets regarding public speaking
Organize and run effective meetings
Make new friends

Again, this training is FREE and is sure to be a tremendous networking and community-building opportunity. If you or members of your group are able to attend please register online or download the Registration Form and mail it to:

Iowa Pride Network
3839 Merle Hay Rd. Suite #285
Des Moines, IA 50310

Further details regarding the training will be updated to the website. Check back often.

More questions or need more info? Call the Iowa Pride Network office at 515-273-1110 or email Rachel at rachel@iowapridenetwork.org

Due to the worsening flooding situation in Des Moines, Capital City Pride, in consultation with Des Moines authorities, has decided to postpone major weekend PrideFest 2008 events until September. All available city resources are needed for emergency preparations. Please watch for an announcement in the coming days about a rescheduled Saturday Night Street Party, Pride Parade, and Sunday Community Pride Festival.

For more information check out capitalcitypride.org

New York Governor David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

[Read the rest here.]


[Related article.]

California Supreme Court released their gay marriage decision! 4-3 they struck down the ban on same sex marriage.