"Study, reading, and sharing information keeps you young, vital, and interested in the world."

All quotes for this section are taken from: "A Book of Bliss: thoughts to make you smile." Sourcebooks, INC. Naperville, Illinois. 2002.

The LGBT Resource Center and it's staff would like to wish all a successful finals week, and remind everyone that while there may not be programming at the center this week, we are still open to serve as always.

Campus Pride, the leading national organization that promotes collaboration among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) student leaders and campus groups, has named Syracuse University one of only eight institutions nationwide to earn a perfect, five-star rating in its LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index. This honor exemplifies SU's commitment to LGBT students, faculty and staff through policy inclusion, support services and focus on academic and student life initiatives.

"For many years, Syracuse University has been working diligently to support all members of its community with regard to LGBT issues and educational opportunities. Chancellor Nancy Cantor has led us to even greater heights, fusing academic explorations with the experience of all community members to cultivate the opportunities presented by different manifestations of diversity," says Barry L. Wells, senior vice president and dean of student affairs. "This achievement is a testament to the kinds of collaboration that are made possible in this exciting environment."

Several SU organizations, offices and academic departments have worked closely together on LGBT issues. These include the ongoing coordination provided by the LGBT Resource Center, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs, along with the LGBT Studies Program in The College of Arts and Sciences; the student organizations Pride Union and Open Doors; and several other administrative and academic units.

"We have not done this alone. The five-out-of-five-star rating is a result of hard work and active collaboration with our faculty and staff colleagues across the University, as well as students and student organizations from a wide variety of backgrounds," says Adrea Jaehnig, director of the LGBT Resource Center.

"Syracuse University's leadership -- among students, faculty and staff alike -- has made great strides in our ongoing efforts to create an inclusive, nurturing learning and living environment for all students and community members," says Wells. "Achieving national recognitions like this gives us valuable third-party feedback on the progress we are making."

The LGBT Resource Center (http://lgbt.syr.edu) was established in 2001 with the unanimous support of the University Senate. The Division of Student Affairs was charged with creating and staffing the center, part of the Student Support and Diversity Education functional area, to provide safe space, support, education and advocacy for the LGBT community on campus. "Many alumni have commented on how much better their college experience would have been had they had the resources, courses and opportunities for involvement that there are now for LGBT and straight-ally students," says Jaehnig.

The LGBT Studies Program (http://lgbt- studies.syr.edu/) was created in 2006. With almost 20 courses from five different schools and colleges, it offers an 18-credit, interdisciplinary minor in LGBT studies, first-year forums for LGBT students and allies, and other academic initiatives such as conferences, speakers and SU Abroad offerings. "Many faculty, staff, and students worked for many years to start this new academic program," says Andrew S. London, associate professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, who, with Margaret Himley, associate professor of writing and rhetoric in The College of Arts and Sciences' Writing Program, holds the title of co- director of the LGBT Studies Program. "We are doing exciting things on this campus to create opportunities to learn about LGBT lives, experiences and perspectives."

Among the other SU initiatives leading to the Campus Pride honor are the establishment of an LGBTA Learning Community, the inclusion of gender identity and gender expression in the institution's non- discrimination policy, expansive programming offered around LGBT issues, and the Office of Human Resources' affirmation of equity in the processes and procedures surrounding domestic partner benefits administration. Released in October 2007, "The LGBT Friendly Campus Climate Index" (http://www.campusclimateindex.org) profiles more than 125 colleges and universities that offer resources and create a positive living and learning environment for LGBT students. Campus Pride developed the survey in collaboration with national leaders in the LGBT services field and ranked campuses on eight different factors, including policy inclusion, student life, academic life, housing and campus safety. Other institutions that received the five-star rating include the University of Oregon, the University of California- Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Pennsylvania State University, Oregon State University and the University of Southern California.

December 6, 2007 -- The Spencer-Van Etten School District has met a demand from the New York Civil Liberties Union that it send a message directly to its student body affirming students' constitutional right to free speech. The development occurred in response to the censorship of a Tioga County High School student for wearing a "gay? fine by me" T-shirt.

Heathyre Farnham, a 10th grade student, was sent home from school on Sept. 21 for wearing the T-shirt.

After the New York Civil Liberties Union intervened in October, the school district admitted it had violated Farnham's free speech rights and agreed to issue a declaration that all high school students are permitted to wear clothing that conveys controversial messages, including messages supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Barrie Gewanter, director of the NYCLU's Central New York Chapter, worked with NYCLU staff attorneys Matt Faiella and Palyn Hung to represent Farnham, who organized public opposition to the censorship with her mother, Brynda Beeman.

"Heathyre displayed enormous courage in refusing to surrender her First Amendment rights or the rights of her classmates," Faiella said. "These students stand behind an inclusive message of free speech, and I think that's great."

Gewanter delivered a presentation to the high school's faculty on students' First Amendment rights on Oct. 22. The following day, the school district's attorney publicly admitted that the censorship was a mistake. That evening, Gewanter addressed the district's school board, while Faiella continued to negotiate with the school district's attorneys about issuing a statement to the high school's students affirming their free speech rights.

On Nov. 2, the following message, most of which was proposed by the NYCLU, was broadcast over the schools public address system:

"The school dress code does not prohibit students from displaying controversial or political messages. There is a wide range of these types of messages that are acceptable, including messages supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The dress code does prohibit students from displaying obscene or profane words or images or messages promoting the use of alcohol, drugs or tobacco products."

The school district subsequently issued Farnham a private apology.

Gewanter said the statement and apology were necessary to repair the damage caused by the censorship.

"When you enact censorship like this, it puts a chilling effect on the student body, and you cannot cure this chill with silence," Gewanter said. "We appreciated the opportunity to address the faculty and school board, but the Spencer-Van Etten school district had the further obligation to inform students that they have First Amendment rights in their school."

This incident and the resulting publicity raised created an opportunity to educate the school board, faculty, and the community on students' free speech rights and the challenges some LGBT youth face within their schools.

"The NYCLU feels these are positive developments," Gewanter said.

WHY do people - gay or straight - need the state's permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn't, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents' agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity.

For 16 centuries, Christianity also defined the validity of a marriage on the basis of a couple's wishes. If two people claimed they had exchanged marital vows - even out alone by the haystack - the Catholic Church accepted that they were validly married.

In 1215, the church decreed that a "licit" marriage must take place in church. But people who married illictly had the same rights and obligations as a couple married in church: their children were legitimate; the wife had the same inheritance rights; the couple was subject to the same prohibitions against divorce.

Not until the 16th century did European states begin to require that marriages be performed under legal auspices. In part, this was an attempt to prevent unions between young adults whose parents opposed their match.

The American colonies officially required marriages to be registered, but until the mid-19th century, state supreme courts routinely ruled that public cohabitation was sufficient evidence of a valid marriage. By the later part of that century, however, the United States began to nullify common-law marriages and exert more control over who was allowed to marry.

By the 1920s, 38 states prohibited whites from marrying blacks, "mulattos," Japanese, Chinese, Indians, "Mongolians," "Malays" or Filipinos. Twelve states would not issue a marriage license if one partner was a drunk, an addict or a "mental defect." Eighteen states set barriers to remarriage after divorce.

In the mid-20th century, governments began to get out of the business of deciding which couples were "fit" to marry. Courts invalidated laws against interracial marriage, struck down other barriers and even extended marriage rights to prisoners.

But governments began relying on marriage licenses for a new purpose: as a way of distributing resources to dependents. The Social Security Act provided survivors' benefits with proof of marriage. Employers used marital status to determine whether they would provide health insurance or pension benefits to employees' dependents. Courts and hospitals required a marriage license before granting couples the privilege of inheriting from each other or receiving medical information.

Are you between the ages of 13 and 21? Do you sometimes question your sexual orientation, your gender identity? Do you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender / transsexual, intersex / hermaphrodite, or queer / questioning?

Do you use... LGBTIQQ-oriented? forums . chatrooms . mailing lists . blog rings . networking / dating sites . or other LGBTIQQ-oriented online communities for youth, including Facebook and MySpace?

Then you could help future generations of LGBTIQQ youth across the United States!

Help to provide information about the needs of LGBTIQQ youth of the technological generation by taking the following quick, anonymous and secure survey:

Click here, and forward to all your LGBTIQQ-identified friends !