2012 MAY NEWSLETTER

Marriage Matters Community Conversation Wednesday, May 23 6-8 PM 6 PM Refreshments & Social Time 6:30 PM Program Begins St. Stephen’s Church, SW 9th & Hurbert, Newport Hear why Marriage Matters. Hear what’s happening in Oregon. Hear why Oregonians will have to vote on it. • Marriage says “we’re family” in a way that no other word does • Marriage is the ultimate expression of commitment and responsibility • Marriage is the best way to protect and care for the one you love Right now, in 2012, thousands of gay and lesbian Oregonians are denied that right. The Marriage Matters campaign helps Oregonians talk about marriage equality and work together to make it happen in Oregon. Sponsored by Basic Rights Oregon, , PFLAG Oregon Central Coast & Rural Organizing Project For more info and to RSVP call 541-265-7194, or email pflagocc@gmail.com or mike@basicrights.org

The Film “Bully” playing at the Bijou Theatre in Lincoln City May 11-17. The film, BULLY is showing at the Bijou in Lincoln City during the week of May 11-17. Weekend shows are at 2, 4:30 & 7:30 with no 2 PM on week nights. Interfaith Community for Peace & Justice (ICPJ) churches are supporting bully prevention efforts and want their members to be aware and engaged. A coupon for $1 off the ticket price is supported by PFLAG.” We’ll help you see the Bully film Lincoln County’s Bully Prevention Project and PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) want to help buy your ticket to see this important documentary about the effects of bullying on children, families, and communities. Showing for one week only (May 11-17) at the Bijou Theatre in Lincoln City, this film will help raise awareness and commitment by students, staff, families, and community leaders. The film is rated PG and will be shown daily this weekend at 2, 4:30, and 7:30 PM. Beginning Monday, May 14th, the show will run at 4:30 and 7:30. Coupons for $1 off will be widely distributed by PFLAG Oregon Central Coast, or you may make your own coupon reading, “PFLAG SENT ME TO SEE BULLY”. The first 250 coupons will be honored. Coupons for $1 off at the concession stand will be sent home with all students at Newport Intermediate and Isaac Newton Middle Schools who can name the four antibullying rules as part of the school’s Bully Prevention Program. NIS family involvement money will also be used to charter a bus for the 11:00 am showing on May 11th and the 7:30 p.m. showing on May 17th. Call the school for more details. Anyone who has ever been the target of a bully’s abuse knows the pain it causes. Students who are singled out for taunts –perhaps because of their race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disabilities, or just because they may be “different”– are more susceptible to dropping out of school or attempting suicide. According to PFLAG Chair Jeanne St. John the local chapter obtained an Equity Foundation grant to help provide schools with a bullying prevention program. LCSD teachers and staff have been going through the training, led by Majalise Tolan, principal of Isaac Newton Magnet and Newport Intermediate Schools. Tolan was certified as a trainer by the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, internationally recognized as effective in changing the school culture to prevent bullying. All staff at NIS and INMS have been trained and began using the program when school started this year. An important feature of the program is the engagement of bystanders, and improving the level of support for students most at risk for bullying. St. John is a Community Representative on the district’s Bully Prevention Leadership Team. This first year’s results are very encouraging with a remarkable drop in bully reports and dramatic improvements in attitudes about student safety and satisfaction. Students are becoming “upstanders” not “bystanders”. Other schools in Lincoln County are currently exploring adoption of this program. For more information on community support for Bully Prevention, you may contact St. John at 541-265-7194 or by email at pflagocc@gmail.com. For information on LCSD’s Olweus Bully Prevention Program, contact Tolan at 541-265-6601.

Same-sex Relationship Development Study The Today’s Couples and Families Research Program at the University of Cincinnati Psychology Department, under the direction of Sarah Whitton, Ph.D., is recruiting participants for a new study that focuses on how same-sex relationships develop, how same-sex partners symbolize their commitment to one another, and how different relationship formation processes are related to relationship stability and emotional wellbeing. The important information gathered from this survey will be used to inform policy and relationship education programs designed to help same-sex attracted individuals initiate and maintain healthy relationships. The reaearch program is looking for 1,000 participants to take an online survey. The reaearch lab’s website is at this link: http://homepages.uc.edu/~whittosh/TCF/SSRDS.html Straight Allies at May PFLAG Program A panel of “Straight Allies” will talk about their experiences being family members and friends of LGBT folks. Straight Allies are an important part of PFLAG’s membership and support network. Panelists will share their experiences with LGBT friends and family members during different seasons of their lives—and how they became advocates and outspoken supporters of the LGBT community. Oregon Central Coast PFLAG meetings are 7:00 p.m. the 2nd Wedneseday of each month at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Newport. LCSD’s Bully Prevention Program At the April PFLAG meeting Majalise Tolan, principal of Newport Intermediate and Isaac Newton Middle Schools, shared the excellent progress these schools have made in reducing bullying and improving the school cultures. Teachers, staff, parents and kids are all excited by the results of this first year with the Olweus Bully Prevention Program. Other schools are planning to start the program with the Fall 2012 school year. Day of Silence The annual Day of Silence was observed in several LCSD schools on April 13. Hundreds of students remained silent all day to focus attention on the lives of silence endured by LGBT people who must hide their sexual orientation or gender identity to maintain their safety. Newport and Toledo GSA members shared a Night of Noise party at the conclusion of their National Day of Silence events. Nike LGBT Youth Forum At least three of Lincoln County’s five Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) groups attended the Nike event which hosted over 400 LGBT teens from across Oregon at their annual April LGBT Youth Forum. A collaboration between Nike and GLSEN Oregon, this event helps GSA leadership learn to create positive change in their schools. The Forum featured local LGBT leaders who talked about their roles as change agents in their organizations. PFLAG OCC assisted local GSA groups with travel expenses. GSA Spring Mini-Conference All five Gay/Straight Aliiance (GSA) clubs in Lincoln County sent representatives to the April 28 Conference at Newport High. Presenters included Jeanne St.John, Chair of PFLAG OCC, who presented the “Genderbread Person,” a tool for GSA members to share information with their schools about Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Biological Sex, and Sexual Orientation. Other invited presenters included Daniel Beck and Jonathan Reitan of Coastal AIDS Network; University of Oregon’s LGBT Support Services, Oregon Safe Schools Project, and GSA Club members. PFLAG Board Announces Annual Schedule PFLAG OCC Board Members have planned the programs for 2012 to include a wide variety of topics and activities. Included events are: Marriage Equality will be the topic of June’s “Wedding Shower” party and the Absolute Harmony Chorus will hold a fundraising concert in October at the start of Coming Out Week. Welcome to “Out Oregon Coast”! We are a social group for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities on the Central Oregon Coast. We are just getting this group started, so please feel free to let us know what events you’d like to see happening in Lincoln County from Yachats to Newport to Lincoln City. Our first gathering is a Lesbian Coffee Hour from 9am to 10am Tuesday, May 8th at The Coffee House on the Bayfront. The second one is OUT at Mundo, which is open mic night at Cafe Mundo on May 31 at 7pm. Join us to help kick off LGBT social events around the county. We invite you to join our email list so we can let you know when and where the events are happening. To add your email go to www.outoregoncoast.com. You can also follow us on Facebook –just search for Out Oregon Coast. We’re looking forward to seeing you! Marriage Equality Town Hall on Wed., May 23 Basic Rights Oregon and PFLAG OCC are hosting a Town Hall at St. Stephen’s Church, SW 9th & Hurbert in Newport on Wed., May 23. Refreshments and social time starts at 6 PM with the program beginning at 6:30. Join us for an update on plans to build support across the state and to win marriage equality in Oregon. See you at Saturday Market on May 12! OCC PFLAG will be there on the opening day of Newport’s Saturday Market–and hope to see you on the second Saturday of each month. We’ve got a few openings for table staffers, especially for the 8:30 to 10:45 shifts. Respond to this email to let us know which month you would like to volunteer.