| September E-Newsletter |
| Volume III / Issue 9 / September 10, 2007 www.respectsacramento.org |
| 2. Next meeting September 12 at The Lavender Library Our regular monthly meetings have returned to the Lavender Library Archives and Cultural Exchange at 1414 21st Street. Our meetings will continue to be held on the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Hope you can make it! |
| 5. GSA Network News Welcome Back Youth Activists & GSA Advisors!! The GSA Network staff is ready to start another great year of activism in schools! The start of the school year is a great time to get educated, get organized, and get all the necessary tools you need. Check out the exciting opportunities below to help you get started! New resources are on the way! We listened to your needs and have created brand new resources you can use to change your school's climate and educate your peers during the upcoming school year. Get ready! Topics include: * How to create LGBTQ visibility & awareness at your school * Tips & strategies for GSA advisors * GSAs & the marriage equality movement * How to fight LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum * How to combat white privilege * New condensed & easy to use versions of our Take It Back, Make It Real, & Beyond the Binary campaign manuals In late September, we will mail out copies of the new resources to all current CA GSAs and make everything available for free download at http://www.gsanetwork.org/resources/index.html. |
| 4. Community Announcements Hate Crimes Update Remember to report Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents: CRIMES IN CITY OF SACRAMENTO Sacramento Police Department Emergencies 911 or 732-0100 TTD for Hearing Impaired 911 or 732-0110 Bias & Hate Crime Hotline 916. 808-2427 Reports Filing by Telephone 916. 264-5868 Reports Filing TTD 916. 808-0639 Non-Emergency Response 916. 264-5471 CRIMES IN COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO Sacramento County Sheriff Hate Crime Reporting 916.875.8811 E-mail Bias Crimes Unit ryen@... Emergencies 911 Sheriff's Non-Emergency 916. 874-5115 Please take the time to report hate "incidents," such as drive-by name calling, throwing of objects, spitting or other inappropriate behaviors that are committed against you or others. Gather information such as what the person(s) looked like, what type of vehicle, date and time, what was said or done that is the suspected behavior. Your information is important, even if there is no immediate resolution in your case. With information from other reports, patterns and similarities may emerge that could lead to future prosecutions. Bias & Hate Crime Hotline 916. 808-2427 TAKE THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE ONLINE FORM: www.sacpd.org/crime_reports/start-report.asp SIGLFF The Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF) is looking for volunteers for the October film festival. See lots of films, meet the artists; use your talents, be appreciated; be on the inside of one of Sacramento's biggest LGBT arts event; meet and connect with interesting people; learn new skills; build relationships, network; play & have fun. Contact Diva at phyllips@comcast.net if you are interested in learning more or visit the website at http://www.siglff.org. The Sacramento Chapter of the National Organization for Women (Sac NOW) Sac NOW meets every 3rd Thursday of the month to plan feminist actions at 7:00 PM at the Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St, 27th & J. New members and interested community members are always welcome! NOW's goal is to take action to bring about equality for all women. Members of all genders, orientations, cultures, abilities and ages are welcome! For more information, go to http://www.sacnow.org/. |
| That's enough for now. Did I leave anything out? Please drop me a line. Do you have an announcement or item that you'd like to include in our newsletter? Would you like to write an opinion piece about something in the LGBT education area? Tell us about what's going on in your GSA! Send complaints, comments, or submissions to admin@respectsacramento.org and I will be happy to place it in our newsletter, which is composed at the end of the current month and sent out in the first week of the subsequent month. Make this your newsletter by contributing to it! See you at our next meeting on September 12 at the Lavender Library, 1414 21st Street at 6:30 pm. Jerry O'Connor Respect Sacramento Board Member Respect Sacramento PO Box 191678 Sacramento CA 95819 (916) 733-2135 info@respectsacramento.org www.respectsacramento.org |
| 1. From the Editor: New school year, returning concerns Welcome back to a new school year! If your school has a GSA or is interested in starting one, we can help. There are plenty of people in our organization and our community who are able and willing to assist students and their advisors in this endeavor. We would also like to continue to support efforts to stage activities for GSAs throughout the region, such as the spring GSA Dance. But we will need students and advisors who want to help to contact us at info@respectsacramento. org. The new school year brings excitement, and we hope that safety and acceptance will be the order of the day for students everywhere. However, we realize that not all schools are safe places for sexual minority youth, and we anxiously await our government and school officials to pass the laws and enforce the policies that will secure for LGBT youth the equal right to a safe place to learn. SB 777 - Student Civil Rights Act We need to get this bill passed in the Assembly and to the Governor's desk by September 14. To help do this, please go to Equality California's website to join their Take Action legislative center (it's free). You can use their tools to send emails to legislators and the governor. The Student Civil Rights Act would create uniform nondiscrimination standards within the state’s education code so students, teachers and school administrators clearly understand the protections that are provided within California’s publicly- funded schools and programs. Status: Introduced February 23, 2007. Passed Senate on May 24 by a 23-13 vote. Passed by Assembly Judiciary Committee by an initial 7-3 vote. Passed Assembly Education Committee by a 7-3 vote. Lead Author: Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) Sponsor: Equality California SB 777 Fact Sheet |
| In this edition 1. From the Editor: New school year, returning concerns 2. Next meeting September 12 at The Lavender Library 3. Charges filed in killing of Satendar Singh 4. Community Announcements 5. GSA Network News |
| 3. Charges filed in killing of Satendar Singh From Stonewall Democrats: Last month, charges were filed related to the death of Satendar Singh, following an assault on July 1 at Lake Natoma Park. Andrey Vusik, age 29, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Singh, and with committing a hate crime. Andrey Vusik has fled the U.S. and is currently in Russia, where he is being sought on those charges. The other suspect in the case is Aleksandr Shevchenko, 21, of Sacramento, who surrendered voluntarily at his home Monday. He is charged with intimidation and interfering with a victim's rights -- another hate crime. |
