10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 25, 1998

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Educators begin new school year with gathering

Columbus-As schools begin a new year, the local chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) is gearing up to continue their efforts against anti-gay bias.

GLSEN Central Ohio will hold a social gathering on September 26, to provide networking for teachers and to inform concerned individuals about their mission.

The chapter will also focus on specific issues such as the Columbus Public Schools' anti-harassment policy and House Bill 700, which deals with teen suicide.

In addition, GLSEN Central Ohio will an anti-gay bias in high schools that teaches

work to document cases of harassment and discrimination within the schools. These ends will be achieved in part through coalitions with advocacy organizations

GLSEN

such as BRAVO, the Buckeye Region AntiViolence Organization, Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition, Parents Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays and Stonewall Columbus. Recent studies have shown that there is

heterosexual students that hating certain groups is acceptable. One out of five anti-gay crimes were committed by young people in 1995. The GLSEN Central Ohio kick off party is open to anyone interested in improving the climate for gay, lesbian and bisexual people in school settings.

The social will begin at 5:00 pm on

September 26 at the home of Paul Froehlich and Mark Campbell. A buffet dinner (including vegetarian options) will be provided, as well as games, door prizes and a raffle. GLSEN members will also offer an informational presentation about the group and how people can get involved.

For directions or information, call 614253-5033, or e-mail pnsw85@prodigy.com. The kick-off party is made possible in part by a grant from the Lesbian Business Association.

Why is attendance down at the health conference?

by Pan Cunningham Cleveland-The 20th annual National Lesbian and Gay Health Association Conference met this year in San Francisco in late July. As usual, people from all across the country came to learn about health issues affecting lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and questioning people, including youth.

In addition to myself, there were several Cleveland members in attendance: Shawn Pierce and Nancy Mendez from the AIDS Taskforce, Brian Gill from University Hospitals, Richard Romaniuk from Meridia Hospital, and comic and author Karen Williams.

Both Mendez and Pierce had gone to the previous conference in Seattle two years earlier, and were discouraged by this low number.

"There were at least 700 people at the Seattle conference," they said. Throughout the conference, we kept experiencing the same frustration regarding low attendance. Are we, as a nation, beginning to care less about AIDS?

AID S

Here's a few examples that made us wonder: A workshop on legal issues facing lesbian health was cancelled. A workshop on Latina health only had six participants. A workshop on women of color who have sex with women of color had ten participants. A workshop on male sex workers only had five participants.

TASKFORCE

OF GREATER CLEVELAND

However, it seemed that the actual number of participants was only a fraction of the number of attendees reported-1,500. It was our perception that there could not have been, at any one time, more than 400 people at the conference.

But workshops focusing on gay white men were well-attended. Why was that? It seemed like gay, white, male health is-

"UPROARIOUS!"

L 21

ROLL

-ROB ELLSWORTH, DETOUR

EDWARD FURLONG & CHRISTINA RICCI IN JOHN WATERS'

PECKER

JOHN WATERS

FINE LINE FEATURES POLAR ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION EDWARD FURLONG CHRISTINA RICCI PECKER BESS ARMSTRONG MARY KAY PLACE MARTHA PLIMPTON BRENDAN SEXTON III MINK STOLE LILI TAYLOR STEWART COPELAND CT PAT MORAN HOPKINS SMITH BARDEN JANICE HAMPTON ROBERT STEVENS A MARK ORDESKY JONATHAN WERSGAL JOE REVITTE JOE CARACCIOLD, JR. JOHN FIEDLER MARK TARLOV

JOHN WATERS

FINELINE FEATURES

a Save Mente L

EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT

CEDAR TEE

NOW SHOWING

sues were still the only real issues in the HIV/AIDS field.

There are other issues as well. Statistics in Ohio show that AIDS is the number one killer of African American males between the ages of 25 and 44. Latinos are overrepresented in cases of HIV infection, and approximately 80% of all women infected with HIV are women of color. Facts disprove the myth that AIDS is mainly a gay, white, male disease, yet these were the most popular workshops. Why?

In addition, I was surprised to learn that there has been a decline in attendance at this conference over the past few years. I do not know for certain why this is, but I know from talking to friends in Cleveland's LGBT-and-questioning community that AIDS is no longer seen to be the vital issue it once was.

"Now we have protease inhibitors," I've been told. "But HIV positive people are living for years," I heard.

True enough. Yet we're now seeing

that protease inhibitors only work effectively for about 50% of HIV positive patients. People are living longer, but longevity is not the only issue-quality of life is also critical.

Now there is documentation of new HIV infections that are resistant to many HIV medications-including protease inhibitors. It appears the epidemic isn't over, not by a long shot.

If participants at the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association conference are becoming apathetic, it shouldn't surprise us that society is as well. After five years, I'm starting to get tired, too.

But we have to live in the real world, and in the real world, this is not a time to relax. This is a smart virus. Don't underestimate it. If it's ever going to leave us, we must show it the respect it's forcing us to give it.

Pan Cunningham is the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland's outreach educator for men who have sex with men.

They want your vote—

see which ones deserve it

by Richard Oldrieve

Cleveland-It's getting to be that time of year again. Yup, the Indians are getting tuned up for the playoffs, the leaves are starting to change, and candidates are soliciting our votes.

As has become a tradition, Stonewall Cleveland and Buck Harris through his Gay '90s radio show will be hosting a candidates' night so that we can determine which candidates are favorable

to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Please reserve Sunday, October 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. on your calendar, daybook, or computer

scheduler.

way to get to know each other one-on-one.

Our October 4 candidates' forum will feature Buck Harris interviewing candidates running for offices ranging from governor to county commissioner to Congress to the Ohio Senate and House.

The event will be broadcast live on a special two hour edition of Harris' The Gay '90s on WERE 1300 AM. Nevertheless, to create the biggest impact, we need 200 to 300 people to attend in person at the Zion

STONEWALL

CLEVELAN D

A lesbian gay political organization of Northeastern Ohio

Now, listening to a bunch of politicians spout hot air might not seem exciting to you, but there are plenty of rights still to be won by our community, and there are plenty of candidates and voters who would love to take a few away. The only way to continue our slow slog forward is to keep holding politicians accountable in public forums and to give financial and electoral support to candidates who are willing to enact ground-breaking legislation.

Just a few months ago, twenty-seven candidates of all political persuasions came to a pre-primary candidates' reception sponsored by Stonewall Cleveland and the Log Cabin Republicans. Both candidates and guests appreciated the low-key event as a

Community Groups

United Church of Christ, 2716 West 14th Street in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood. This is a few doors south of our previous forums that were held at Pilgrim United Church of Christ. Sure, the free air time on the radio is what attracts the big name candidates, and certainly we want you to listen to 1300 AM if you can't make it to the church, but having a sizable live audience reminds the candidates we aren't just faceless abstractions but real living, loving, and caring individuals.

And just remember, watching Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, and Kenny Lofton at Jacobs Field might be more exciting, but the playoffs won't have started yet. Our event is free, you don't need to win a lottery to find a seat, and our guests will end up writing the laws that change our lives.

Richard Oldrieve is executive secretary of Stonewall Cleveland.

The "Community Groups" columns on this page are published by the Gay People's Chronicle free of charge, as a public service. They are written by members or officers of each non-profit organization, reflecting the views of their group.

If your organization would like to submit a column for this page, contact the Chronicle's managing editor, Doreen Cudník at 216-631-8646, toll-free 800-426-5947, or e-mail editor@chronohio.com.