"Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment."
~Oprah Winfrey~

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

Green tip of the week:

Reuse plastic water bottles.

Jeffrey will be joining us from the Masters in Higher Education program at the School of Education. He is doing the first of two practicums with us this semester, and we are happy to have him on board. If you see him out and about, or working hard in the office, please be sure to give him a warm welcome. Below is a few words about himself he would like to share with our readers.

I just moved to Syracuse in August of 2007. Currently I am studying Higher Education Administration program at Syracuse University. I became interested in student affairs while working as a Resident Assistant at Western State College of Colorado. While attending my undergraduate instruction I studied English Education. I have always been interested in the development of students. At Western I also worked as an Orientation Leader, Music Manager for KWSB, and I served in the Student Government Association for three years. After graduation I worked as a manger in a retail store, where I quickly realized that my passion was in student activities. I started applying to graduate schools and was delighted to come to Syracuse for my education!

At Syracuse University I also work with the Office of Residence Life as the Graduate Assistant for Leadership where I am a co-advisor for the Residence Hall Association.

For fun I listen to music, mostly "indie" and I enjoy reading. I also love to travel and I like to adventure around the area.

Planet Orange:

Sadly, there will be no Planet Orange this week. Instead we all have the honor of celebrating an American hero Martin Luther King Jr. We will resume with regular meetings on the 28th.

Transgender Discussion Group - First Meeting!
Tuesday, Jan. 22 - 8 PM
LGBT Resource Center @ 750 Ostrom Ave.
This new discussion group for trans-identified folks, their partners and friends, will kick off Tuesday, January 22nd and continue every 4th Tuesday of the month during the Spring semester. Please join us for this first informational meeting - tell us what you'd like to see!

Cafe Q:

When: Thursday, January 24th
Time: 8:00-10:30 pm
Where: The LGBT Resource Center
Cost: FREE
Who: EVERYONE
Why: This is an event not to miss!

Who would want to miss another exciting Cafe Q?! No one! So come enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and great company Cafe Q provides. Open to anyone and everyone, stop on by for a great time.

Fusion:
Make Your Own Sushi!

When: Thursday, January 24th
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Where: The LGBT Resource Center
Cost: FREE
Who: LGBT People of Color
Why: To gather and enjoydinner with your SU family

Fusion is a place for students, faculty, and staff of color to gather and celebrate the diversity within the LGBT community. Join us for our free family style dinners and good conversation!

Faculty/Staff Luncheon:

When: Thursday, January 24th
Time: 12:00-1:30pm
Where: Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center
Cost: Free

Join other LGBTQA faculty and staff for a special luncheon kicking off the Spring Semester. Sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center, LGBT Studeis Program, Senate Committee on LGBT Concerns, Office of the Senior VP for Student Affairs, Provost's Office, and Senior VP for Human and Government Relations. Please RSVP to lgbt@syr.edu.

Ally Development Facilitator Training:

When: Firday, January 24th
Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Where: LGBT Resource Center

Do you want to educate others about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues? Do you want to challenge homophobia and encourage others to act as Allies to the LGBTQ community? If so, then please become and Ally Development Facilitator! Facilitators who complete this training can the lead one-hour-long Ally Development workshops in classrooms, residence halls, meetings, etc. Please RSVP to Sean at swmalone@syr.edu.

When: Tuesday, January 22
Time: 5:00-7:00pm
Where: The Slutzker Center
RSVP: elcarras@syr.edu

A SPACE FOR STUDENTS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS TO WELCOME SU ABROAD STUDENTS BACK TO CAMPUS, PLAN FUN PROJECTS TOGETHER, TALK ABOUT WHAT'S ON THEIR MINDS AND ENJOY SOME REFRESHMENTS

When: Tuesday, January 22nd
Time: 11:00am
Where: Newhous I - A1

Dr. Speer is the author of Gender Talk: Feminism, Discourse and Conversation Analysis (Routledge, 2005) and numerous articles appearing in such journals as Critical Discourse Studies, Theory and Psychology, and Discourse and Society.

Sponsored by the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies - for more information contact - Kendall Phillips: kphillip@syr.edu

When: Mondays, 3:30-4:30pm
Dates: January 28-March 3
Where: Conference Room 001 at SU Health Services
Cost: FREE for SU Students
Register: students.syr.edu/health/ insightful_eating.html

Do you see yourself as 30 or more pounds overweight?

Are you ready to give up dieting?

Do you feel guilty or embarrassed about your eating?

Intimidated by the gym?

Are you preoccupied by negative thoughts about your weight?

Do you eat out of boredom, stress, or sadness?

Let's get real: diets don't work!

This semester, join Health Services nutritionist Michelle Gallant, MS, RD for Insightful Eating: A Six-Week Seminar on the non-Dieting Approach to Weight Management.

During IE seminar, you will discover how to be a healthy weight without the endless cycle of disappointing diets. You'll learn how to make food choices that leave you feeling satisfied, not deprived or guilty.

Meet and have fun with students who share the same concerns in a confidential and private setting while acquiring lifestyle skills that will help you manage your weight.

Where: Geneva, NY
Building: Warren Hunting Smith Library
Room: Sanford Room
Date: Monday, January 28th
Time: 7:30 PM

One of the youngest LGBT leaders in the nation will visit Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, will speak about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

NCTE receives calls regularly from transgender people across the country who have been "outed" to their employers by the Social Security Administration's unfair gender "no-match" employment letter policy. To help transgender workers, NCTE is releasing today a new resource: "Social Security Gender No-Match Letters and Transgender Employees - Information for Employees."

This new resource explains what Social Security no- match letters are and what transgender employees can do if the subject of one of these letters. Anyone who has been confused, curious, or concerned about Social Security gender no-match letters will find this information clarifying.

View the information on our webpage: No- Match Letters and Transgender Employees or download a printable version.

Washington, DC - Today the Department of Homeland Security issued final rules for the implementation of the REAL ID Act which became law in 2005. NCTE, in collaboration with many other organizations, has worked in opposition to this dangerous law that would create a national ID card and place significant personal information at risk.

We have worked since passage, particularly on the implementation rules, to ameliorate damage inherent in this bad and dangerous law.

Specifically to transgender people, NCTE was concerned that:

1) The REAL ID Act requires states to have gender as a mandatory field on driver licenses. The final rules unfortunately do not eliminate that requirement.
2) The REAL ID Act could have mandated a preemption of state gender change policies in favor of a federal standard or even federal definition of gender. We are pleased that the new rules would reserve gender definition and gender change rules for the states.
3) The REAL ID Act essentially mandates a national database (a network of state databases) that would include personal information that could lead to discrimination and violence against transgender and other people. These new final rules do not address these concerns and we continue to be very concerned about this privacy degradation.

Though NCTE's analysis of the new rules are not yet complete, since this 284 page document was only issued at noon today, we are also initially concerned about a requirement that states match their databases against Social Security Administration (SSA) databases. NCTE has been working with states, most of which already match with SSA, to understand that federal requirements do not mandate matching gender data with SSA.

Another notable point is that people born before December 1, 1964, will not be required to have compliant IDs until 2017.

NCTE will issue a more thorough analysis in the following weeks after consultation with other allies that are also performing analyses of the new rules.

A former faculty member at Tufts University is suing the college and a prominent professor for allegedly firing her in retaliation after she accused the professor of discriminating against female and minority employees and of singling her out for her sexual orientation.

When: February 6th-10th
Where: Columbia University

This year's conference is particularly special in light of recent decisions in the Jewish community allowing gay and lesbian rabbis in the Conservative community. These decisions were made at the Jewish Theological Seminary, which has opened its doors to us as an affiliate of Columbia University in this conference.

They have a great lineup of workshops including ones on music, gay men in historically Jewish fraternities, interpretations of Jewish writings and many more. They will also be taking a trip to Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the largest LGBT synagogue in the world.

To Register Click HER E.

The R. Scott Hitt Foundation is offering two distinct internships starting SUMMER 2008!

In a nutshell - the student picks an organization THEY want to work at, the organization agrees to apply with them as a sponsor, upon approval of their application we pay the organization to pay the student over the course of the internship!

The R. Scott Hitt Foundation is accepting applications for PAID INTERNSHIPS at pro-LGBT non-profit organizations that YOU want to work at!
HURRY! DEADLINE FOR UNDERGRADUATE APPLICATIONS IS MARCH 1ST 2008!

Two Unique Internships:
THE ANGLE INTERNSHIP:
Undergraduate Students or 2008 graduate
8 WEEK long Internship
Restricted to the Southern California Region
**Apply by March 1st, 2008**

THE SCOTT HITT INTERNSHIP:
Post-graduate Students Only
7-9 MONTH long Internship (depending on sponsoring organization)
Restricted to United States
**Apply by April 1st, 2008**

The Process:
1. Identify and meet with an organization that you would like to intern at that will sponsor your internship.
2. Submit your personal application essay by the deadline posted on the R. Scott Hitt Foundation website.
3. Submit the sponsoring organization's work-plan for your internship by the corresponding deadline (March 1st for ANGLE Internship, April 1st for SCOTT HITT Internship).
4. Applicants will be notified as to the status of application by the dates posted on the website.

The O&T Fellowship is a social justice fellowship that's fast and furiously intense. You'll learn to organize to defeat anti-LGBT ballot measures, get real campaign experience, and recruit hundreds of volunteers to build large-scale grassroots campaigns that change voters' minds and hearts about the lives of LGBT people.

Fellows will work as part of a dynamic field team in high priority campaigns around the country.

O&T fellows will:
· Recruit, train and motivate volunteers to understand and then carry out actions.
· Talk face-to-face with voters about issues of importance to the LGBT community.
· Create and lead training related to organizing action, in the field as well as at meetings, conferences and events.
· Collaborate with Task Force staff nationwide on Task Force priority projects.
· Travel an average of 15 days a month to local communities, helping them build political power.

Emial jsage@theTaskForce.org for more information!