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Recursos en español ________________________________________________________ Justice for Gwen Delayed, Not Denied Coalition of Eight Local, State, and National LGBT Groups Frustrated by Mistrial, But Optimistic San Francisco, CA - Twenty months after the brutal slaying of Gwen Araujo, a transgender teenager from Newark, the jury deadlocked on whether her attackers were guilty of first or second degree murder. According to Alameda County District Attorney's Office, none of the jurors were willing to settle for the lesser offense of manslaughter - despite efforts by defense attorneys in the case to argue that Gwen's killers were somehow justified because she did not disclose her transgender identity to them. The prosecutor already has stated that he will re-try the three defendants, Michael Magidson, Jose Merel, and Jason Cazares, for murder. To read more from the press release, please visit the GSA Network News archives. Give to the Gwen Araujo Memorial Fund for Transgender Education. The Gwen Araujo murder trial has strongly underscored the need for education around transgender issues, and the community is responding by making donations to this fund, which will provide small grants to school programs that promote understanding of transgender people and issues among youth. To date, the fund has collected over $15,000 from individuals in the Bay Area. http://www.horizonsfoundation.org/news/releases/araujofund0304.php   Is your school safe for LGBT youth?Take a survey to tell us what's like at your school! You can make a difference in only 10 minutes by improving our understanding of safety and discrimination in our schools. GSA Network and the California Safe Schools Coalition are surveying high school and middle school students across California, with a focus on LGBT students, to learn more about safety, discrimination, and harassment in schools. Last year we reported on the survey in the Safe Place to Learn report. If you took the survey last year, take it again this year and help us see if schools are changing! The GSA Activist Camp is a youth-planned and youth-led 3-day event that features intensive com-munity building, skill-building, political education, and leadership training for GSA members and potential members. Click here to apply. Tell us what you think! Fill out the GSA Network Year End Evaluation. Outright! Read the Spring 2004 edition of GSA Network's newsletter, Outright. Groundbreaking Safe Place to Learn Report Released: Largest Ever Study of Anti-Gay Harassment in Schools Shows the Problem is Widespread, Dangerous, and Preventable. Despite an anti-harassment law that took effect four years ago this month, harassment and bullying based on sexual orientation remain persistent and pervasive in California schools. 7.5% of California's middle and high school students, more than 200,000 students every year, are targets of harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation. The Safe Place to Learn study found that such widespread bullying has dangerous academic, health and safety consequences for students. The study is among the first to document that schools can take concrete steps, such as establishing and supporting GSAs, to reduce harassment and improve student health and safety. GSA Network is a co-founder and leader of the California Safe Schools Coalition, which released the report on January 12, 2003. View the full report and press release. Liberation Ink posters NOW AVAILABLE FREE for registered California GSAs!! Seven poster designs are available for GSAs, organizations, and individuals to make change by building a presence of youth voices for justice, peace, and youth empowerment and against hatred, harassment, and discrimination of all kinds. Click here to place an order. Take It Back: A Manual for Fighting Slurs on Campus The GSA Network is excited to release a new publication for GSAs to use against slurs made in their schools that create a hostile and unsafe environment for all students. The Take It Back manual is full of actions that you can take as an individual or as a group, combatting homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of injustice. Guides for school district officials and administrators The California Safe Schools Coalition developed two Question and Answer guides for school district officials and administrators. These guides explain their responsibility to protect students from harassment and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and address issues regarding parental permission and notification for education on tolerance and diversity. Download these guides. GSA Network News Sign up for GSA Network News, our weekly email list for news and announcements affecting California GSAs. Read archives of GSA Network News. Gay-Straight Alliance Network Statewide Office: 160 14th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 ph: 415.552.4229, fax: 415.552.4729 Central Valley Regional Office: 4403 E. Tulare Ave., Fresno, CA 93728 ph: 559.453.9040, fax: 559.453.9060 info@gsanetwork.org GSA Network is a project of the Tides Center. Feedback? Send an email to: webmaster@gsanetwork.org Search WWW Search www.gsanetwork.org Web Hosting donated by Hurricane Electric Internet Services

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