Category Archives: Youth
Q The Series – Online Video Show From Columbia Students
It’s a comedy about queer life on campus that addresses a wide range of topics in the LGBT community and how our generation deals with them — the main characters include trans, bisexual, pansexual, and homosexual guys and girls.
Being a comedy, the show focuses on the positive aspects of living in a community and generation that’s closer to accepting queer lifestyles, but also addresses the natural tensions that can arise.
Currently, it is still in production (for an online release and advanced screening next spring), but they are trying to get awareness out now and already have a trailer for the series up online.
The show is produced completely by students in the city, mostly from Columbia University, and is a non-profit endeavor. Funding has been generously provided by the Gatsby Foundation (providing many on-campus arts grants), and equipment has been donated by Columbia University Film Productions (an undergraduate film club). The remaining funding will hopefully be raised through our Kickstarter account.
It’s the aim of the cast and crew to spread awareness of the different lifestyles that exist in our generation — we really want to show the fun side of being a young adult in this new cultural era. Our production team is working to make the best show out of everything we’ve got.
The show will be shooting over the month of January, and is planned for release over the months of March and April. The first few episodes of the show will be screened to our supporters and crew in New York City before the release of the series.
Check out Q The Series ! Also join them on Facebook !
Best Gay New York
DIGNITY FOR ALL STUDENTS! Gov Paterson Signs Act To Protect
Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the nation’s leading organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, made the following statement in response to Governor David Paterson’s signing into law the inclusive Dignity for All Students Act in New York:
“Today, Governor Paterson signed into law an assurance of protection from bullying and harassment for all students, regardless of real or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, and sex in publicly funded schools in New York.
The law would make New York one of more than 40 states with anti-bullying laws, 14 of which plus the District of Columbia provide inclusive protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. When youth are threatened at school, or their property gets stolen at school, and they fight at school, the odds that they will attempt suicide more than double. Considering more than half of sexual minority youth in schools have been verbally harassed and one in ten is physically assaulted, the Dignity for All Students Act with the inclusion of gender identity and expression will be a giant step to reducing instances of self-harm and suicide that result from harassment by school peers.”
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources and advocacy. The organization was founded in 1998 by three filmmakers whose film, “Trevor,” a comedy/drama about a gay teenager who attempts suicide, received the 1994 Academy Award® for Best Short Film (Live Action). For more information, visit Trevor project .
True Colors LGBT Homeless Youth Residence Breaks Ground
West End Intergenerational Residence HDFC, Inc. has closed financing and commenced construction on an exciting new housing development effort: True Colors Residence, located in Central Harlem.
True Colors Residence will be New York City’s first permanent housing facility with support services for 18-24 year old lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth with a history of homelessness. The undertaking was conceived by West End Executive Director Colleen Jackson, and by musical artist Cyndi Lauper and Ms. Lauper’s manager Lisa Barbaris. The project entails the construction of a new, energy-efficient multifamily building containing 30 studio apartments, indoor and outdoor community space for residents, and a computer room and resource library. The building is named in honor of Lauper’s support for the project and for West End, and references Cyndi Lauper’s hit song, “True Colors.”
“Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth living on the streets and in foster care need our support more than ever,” said Cyndi Lauper.
“In New York City, the True Colors Residence is going to play a big role in providing these young people with the leg up and encouragement they need. I am thrilled that construction has already begun and I am honored to be a part of this important project.”
The Best of Gay New York
Bridging the Gay-Straight Divide – Beyond Tolerance March 28th
When a boy in second-grade class announced to his friends that he did not like girls, a classmate told him that someday he would marry one.
An assistant teacher at a school in NYC, intervened, noting that sometimes two men get married and sometimes people don’t marry at all. She was later reprimanded for her actions.
A group of gay-rights activists are now involved in planning Beyond Tolerance 3, a March 28 event devoted to the creation and maintenance of GSAs city-wide. The event is sponsored by NYQueer, a working group with the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE)..
Beyond Tolerance 3 will be aimed primarily at giving teachers the resources they need to promote GSAs at their schools, but will also be providing tools to students so that they can feel empowered to be active and participate in causes they believe in. The event will include workshops and forums for educators and students to voice their concerns, both to themselves and to each other.
NYQueer is working together with representatives from the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, Connect to Protect, PFLAG and other organizations to organize Beyond Tolerance 3.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Beyond Tolerance 3
Saturday, March 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 230 West 13th Street, Manhattan NYCORE / NYQUEER
National Day of Silence
Students across the country will take a vow of silence April 17 to bring attention to anti-LGBTQ behavior in schools. Day Of Silence
Equality and Justice Day
Hundreds of gay-rights activists will go to Albany for a day to lobby elected officials April 28. Register at Beyond Tolerance 3, March 28. Pride Agenda
The Best of Gay New York
