On Saturday, May 9th the Sacramento area held its first ever Greater Sacramento Area Gay Straight Alliance Summit or GSA2.  The Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center really loved GSA Network's Youth Empowerment Summit and wanted a similar summit in their own local area.  So, as organizers would have it, GSA Network collaborated with them to build the GSA Summit!

Enrique Manjarrez, Youth Program Coordinator at the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center, deserves mad props for the hard work he put into organizing this summit.  Not only did Enrique work long, hard hours, but he is also an unpaid volunteer and organized the summit for no pay!  Way to go, Enrique!!

On the ridiculously hot May day, numerous high school students gathered to learn about activism, social justice, GSA organizing, safer sex, and their legal rights.  They heard great keynote speakers from the political sphere in Sacramento and members from the local Sac PFLAG chapter.

GSA Network provided 5 youth trainers who put on more than half of the workshops for this particular summit.  As Alex Adsit, a youth trainer from Oakland, shared  "I had a wonderful time this past weekend up in Sacramento helping to empower fellow youth. I think the most important thing is that this conference was in Sacramento . . . It was a powerful experience and Enrique the youth coordinator up in Sacramento did a really good job organizing it! It is always a fun experience networking with fellow queer youth from different places throughout the state and I found the youth from Sacramento exemplary activists. I was really proud of everything they took from it and I will be looking out for them in the future!"

Another great thing about this conference is that Enrique was able to get almost everything, including the amazing hotel space, donated!

The Sacramento Area, especially the surrounding towns and cities, can be quite conservative.  The summit was a great way to outreach to LGBTQ youth in the area.  As Kyle Bodolay, a Sac student says,  "Attending the Sacramento Summit gave me a better idea on how to run my GSA, and what I should do within it. Although the Sacramento Summit was small, I feel like I got more information because the group sizes were smaller. I cannot wait to attend the 2nd annual Greater Sacramento Summit!"

If you are interested in getting more involved with the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center please contact: Enrique Manjarrez at 916-442-0185 or [email protected]. 

And if you're interested in being more involved with GSA Network NorCal programs, please contact Kiely Hosmon at 415.552.4229 or [email protected].

Presented by the Gay Straight Alliance Network, The Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa, and Lavender Seniors of the East Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Inderkum High School GSA, along with their Black Student Union (BSU), Christians In Action (CIA), Club Live, and Think Globally, will be hosting our first youth awareness conference, SUFI. There will be guest speakers, an amazing catalog of classes to participate in, and a DANCE!

The event will take place on May 30th at

Inderkum High School
2500 New Market Dr.
Sacramento CA, 95835

for more information please contact:

Morgan Sonnenfeld at
[email protected]

 

 
Does your prom cost too much?
Do you want to go to a prom where you can be yourself and dress as you choose?
Do you want to enjoy your LGBTQQ community with others?
Want to play fun games and win cool prizes?
 
WELL COME ENJOY THE GAY PROM!!!

Project Eden Lambda Youth project would like to invite all LGBTQQ and straight ally youth to our 15th annual Gay Prom!!!
 
THEME: "A Walk in Wonderland"
 
WHEN: Saturday, June 13, 2009 from 7-12p.m.
 
WHERE: Centennial Hall in Hayward, CA; 22292 Foothill Blvd. Hayward Ca. 94541
 
HOW MUCH: $25.00 per person at the door OR advance tickets (pre paid) of groups 10 or more $20.00 (MUST CONTACT 510-247-8200 FOR ADVANCE TICKETS)
 
AGE: 20 and younger
 
CONTACT: Dana Johnson, MSW, 510-247-8221 or www.gayprom.org or www.myspace.com/gayprom
 
Note; If your GSA is interested in any special presentations please contact me ASAP!!!
 
THIS IS A SUBSTANCE FREE EVENT!!!!!!!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
For the full applicaiton or questions please contact: [email protected].

Please send completed applications to: CAPPAC, Attn: 2009 Scholarship Award, 1008 10th Street, Suite 255, Sacramento, CA 95814.

 

Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A high school student who says that she was harassed by her teachers in 2007, because she is a lesbian has won a legal settlement from the Vallejo City Unified School District, officials confirmed Monday.

Under the agreement, the district will pay $25,000 to Rochelle Hamilton, 16, who had come out as a lesbian at age 13. The district will also bolster its anti-gay-discrimination training and complaint procedures for all staff and students and be monitored by the American Civil Liberties Union for five years.

Superintendent Mary Bull said the school district agreed to the settlement without admitting any liability - and even though an outside investigator hired by the district could not substantiate the student's allegations.

"Even after California has passed so many laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation in our schools, the reality is that these laws are not being enforced in many school districts," said Elizabeth Gill, an ACLU attorney involved in the case.

Read the entire article at SF Gate here: