A transgender lecturer at the University of Arkansas won the right to use the women’s restrooms on campus after the Department of Justice got involved.

Jennifer Braly, 38, was a guest lecturer at UA as well as a student. She was told she could only use unisex/gender-neutral bathrooms at the school, essentially banned from using bathrooms designated female (or male, for that matter). 

She challenged the school’s position and was banned from lecturing for doing so. Eventually, the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights sent a letter to the school outlining Braly’s rights and their expectations. Braly is now permitted to use female-designated restrooms.

Can’t believe we still have to fight for these kinds of things, but every battle won makes a difference. 

A high school student in New York was suspended for creating a video and a Facebook page about a fictional student who was bullied and committed suicide, but upon outcry from the community, her punishment was lifted. 

Jessica Barba, 15, created a video about a fictional 12-year-old character named Hailey who was bullied, became depressed and committed suicide. She also created a Facebook page for Hailey where she posted self-loathing status updates, aiming to illustrate the effects of cyberbullying.

A parent who didn’t know the page was fictional found it and notified police and school officials, and Barba was suspended for five days and the page taken down. But her school rallied behind her, and after a suspension hearing her punishment has been lifted.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. I wholeheartedly applaud this girl’s efforts to raise awareness about a serious, dark issue like cyberbullying, and I don’t think she should have been suspended in the first place. But I wonder if creating a faux suicidal persona is taking it too far, clearly disturbing parents and perhaps triggering other students. What do you think?

Legislators in Illinois have rejected a bill that would strengthen anti-bullying measures because, as Sen. Kyle McCarter said, some of the provisions “have an agenda of being pro-homosexual.” 

The bill would have held school administrators more accountable for responding to bullying incidents and taking measures to prevent harassment in schools. It fell one vote short of passing in the Senate yesterday. More details from Advocate.com:

The Illinois Family Institute, working off of complaints by some conservatives that the legislation would be too pro-gay, asked for an “opt-out” provision, which would have allowed teachers or students to skip any bullying lessons that may have infringed upon their religious beliefs.

However Sen. Heather Steans said an opt-out provision would make no sense, and that lessons would not be concentrated on only LGBT students. Steans said she is optimistic that the bill could pass in the future, after 12 senators voted “present,” the same number that voted “no.” 

Wait. I’m sorry. No. You do not deny children the right to safe and accepting schools because you perceive those rights as “pro-homosexual.” Politicians, school administrators and other people who represent us are responsible for being pro-safety and pro-kids. If a bill protects the safety of students who happen to be gay, it is your responsibility to ensure that bill passes. 

This is infuriating. How dare he. How dare they. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center is fighting for students at Hardin County High School in Tennessee who were banned from displaying support for LGBT rights in any way.

Isabella Nuzzo and other students were told by an assistant principal that they could not wear rainbows or any other symbols of gay rights because those symbols “advertise or promote sex.” Wait, what?

The group also said the assistant principal terminated a student organized “Week of Pride” event to show support for gay rights and threatened students with suspension, class failure and disqualification from graduations.

“I and many other students were really upset with the school for shutting down free speech about a topic I feel strongly about,” Nuzzo said in the release. “I love my gay friends and life is hard enough without being judged for who you are or for believing in equality.”

I hope SPLC takes this up with a lawsuit, because this is absurd. A rainbow signifies sex? Really? Not only does this perpetuate the flawed but repeated idea that sex is bad bad bad and should never be talked about at school, it likens LGBT rights to purely sexual matters. This deserves attention, and this school deserves a national reality check. 

About a year ago, the Christian-affiliated Pepperdine University made the news for refusing to officially recognize a gay-straight alliance on campus.

Now, a school insider reports on Forbes that the university’s School of Law has officially recognized the on-campus LGBT Legal Society, a group for discussing LGBT legal issues and networking in the professional world. However, the university still refuses to acknowledge any sort of LGBT group for undergraduates. 

I’m deeply frustrated that any university would ever consider it a problem to have LGBT students and allies meeting up for some constructive conversation, but at least this is a baby step in the right direction. Next stop: the undergrads! 

A high school yearbook staff and adviser are coming under fire for publishing a feature about a gay student in the yearbook. 

The yearbook at Lenoir City High School in Tennessee ran a short piece about student Zac Mitchell’s experiences as an openly gay teen in a conservative area, under the headline “It’s OK to be gay.” After the yearbooks came out, a school board member and blogger called for a criminal investigation of the yearbook adviser for “inflicting their personal beliefs and sexual orientation decisions on impressionable students.”

According to the Associated Press, petitions are circulating for students to rip the page out of their yearbooks during graduation and even for Mitchell to be banned from going to graduation. 

This actually makes me sick. The fact that it would cross someone’s mind to ban a student from walking at their high school graduation for being openly gay is completely inexcusable and indefensible. Some individuals in this area are clearly living in a different time. 

If you are or were closeted in high school - or even if you are/were out, but your school has/had discriminatory policies in place - there’s a good chance your prom didn’t go perfectly.

To counter this, the University of Arizona’s (first incorrectly listed as ASU, corrected at 1pm CST) LGBT organization holds a “Second Chance Prom” for LGBT students to have a fun night at prom wearing what they want and bringing whomever they want. This year’s prom was Friday, and it seems to have accomplished its goal of creating a safe space where LGBT people can enjoy themselves.

For example, prom royalty was selected at random by drawing, and crowning was gender neutral, so anyone could participate.

“Prom is a huge cultural signifier of the teenager experience, and it’s really important that everyone gets that experience,” Przybylowicz said. “I liked the way that we did the royalty. It’s not a popularity contest and everybody has a chance.”

Mary K. Underwood, a sophomore and attendee, said she wouldn’t have changed a thing from the event.

“I showed up and wore exactly what I wanted, which was a bow tie, a vest and a button down,” Underwood said.

I live in Chicago, and I know our city-wide Queer Prom here is a really big deal. Does anyone else see the trend of LGBT-centric alternative proms popping up? Have you been to one? Is it a good idea?

A gay alumnus of a Catholic high school in Michigan learned this week that he’s no longer invited to speak at his alma mater’s graduation because school administrators found out he’s gay.

Dominic Sheahan-Stahl graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1998 and, now an actor, was invited and then un-invited to speak for this year’s graduating class, of which his younger brother is a member. He made a video about the incident, which you can see at the link above.

Principal Denny Starnes announced Friday that he supports the actor, but must abide by the Catholic diocese’s decision to bar Sheahan-Stahl from speaking at the commencement ceremony. William said that the student body expressed support toward his brother, as well. Sheahan-Stahl said he plans to still attend the graduation to support his brother, and he told the Saginaw News that he will give his address at Central Michigan University on May 20 after the graduation ceremony.

Ugh.