Occupy Seattle: SCCC Faculty Member Speaks Out

Occupy Seattle is bracing itself for its eviction from the grounds of Seattle Central Community College today, as the administration of SCCC, after lengthy deliberation, has discovered legal pretext to remove the protester's encampment from the south plaza. Despite Occupy Seattle's attempted injunction against the school to prevent an eviction notice from being delivered today, it appears that the camp may finally be forced to move elsewhere.

As tents come down and tactical moves are considered, a member of the faculty of SCCC has released a scathing refutation of the charges leveled against the movement, congratulating the school administration on its coup de grace:

Now, let’s be honest, our “College of the Year” drops the ball now and then. Not this time, though. Home run! Rats, trash, and needles stuck in the public imagination like pedophilia to Penn State. Big schools like UC Davis are drowning in bad press (hapless pepper-spraying cop), but Seattle Central showed commanding form. With breath-taking efficiency and a cost-effective approach, the Occupy tribe were branded half-human drug addicts and drop outs. And they brought rats, the college said. You might call it propaganda with panache. Touche. 

For sure, rats are a cherished institution at our institution. They’ve been crapping on my desk for years. Rats and the college go back a long ways, a Tom and Jerry kind of thing. Some old-timers might even remember a City Collegian article about rats in the culinary dept. kitchen, nibbling through flour sacks. (Funny, admin stamped out the 42-year-old student paper shortly after. Wonder why!)

Jeb Wyman, an English professor at Seattle Central, insists that it's not just rats that were already present on campus:

Of course, if you spend much time at Seattle Central, you’ll get cozy with needles, too. Since 1994, I’ve parked in the lower level of the garage. On most mornings I detour around a puddle of sour pee (that bracing odor wakes you up!) in the stairwell. I’ve stepped over many a hypodermic needle on those stairs. And over broken gin bottles, stolen purses, beer cans in paper bags, empty plastic baggies. My car has been broken into three times. The garage was once equipped with security cameras, but they were—you can’t make this up!—stolen years ago. 

A few years ago, the campus president locked up all first-floor bathrooms after too many homeless took sink baths and too many overdosed dope addicts were found sprawled in the stalls. 

And in mid-October—that’s, uh, a few weeks before Occupy moved in—our facilities director put out an email blast (with great accompanying pix!) bemoaning that graffiti, vandalism, trash, needles, and “cleaning up the feces, and urine, and vomit left almost daily at our doorsteps” cost the school about $200,000 a year. 

Sorry to gross you out, but I’m just quoting directly. 

The point is, facts and first-class propaganda have nothing to do with each other. Only a fool would deny that. Quite the contrary, our administration knows what they’re doing. We’re not talking amateurs. This is poetry in motion. Salute!

Click on over to the New City Collegian, Seattle Central's guerilla student-run newspaper, for more.

HIV Positive Student Denied Admission To Private School

Today is World AIDS Day, and I spent a good couple hours of my time today holding signs, raising awareness, and gathering signatures for a pledge to help end HIV.  It was a positive (hehe) experience and a great way to commemorate this global day of education.

One of the reasons we have World AIDS Day is to raise awareness, which is the easiest way to dispel the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.  Unfortunately, we still come across ample examples of why education is needed, like this troubling story coming from a Pennsylvania boarding school.

The Milton Hershey School was founded by the chocolate tycoon as a school that "nurtures and educates children in social and financial need to lead fulfilling and productive lives."

But it seems that fulfillment won’t be coming for a 13-year-old honor student from Delaware County who is infected with the virus that causes AIDS. 

"I feel no other teenager should go through this, being denied just because they have HIV," the boy said in an exclusive interview with NBC Philadelphia’s Denise Nakano.

Watch:

  

It's sad that clear cases of discrimination against innocents who live with this disease still happen.  If the school's administration was educated about the actual methods of spreading HIV, they likely would not have denied this boy a chance for an education.

Daniel Hernandez Running For Local School Board

Here's some good news!  Daniel Hernandez Jr, the openly gay campaign staffer that kept Gabi Giffords alive following the fatal attack on her supermarket event in Arizona this past January, has decided to run for the Governing Board of his local school district:

So go ahead to his website, found here, in order to support this hero of the LGBT community in his efforts.  Do it!

"It's Nerd Day, Not Cross-dress Day"

One 17 year old in Douglas, Georgia, may not be able to graduate from high school on time due to an arrest and suspension for disrupting the learning environment. What disruption was so severe that he got carted off from school to a jail cell? Wearing a skirt.

Coffee High School told Eric Bivens that he could not wear his skirt during Spirit Week-- even being told it was "Nerd Day, not Cross-dress Day"-- but Bivens stood up for his right to wear whatever the hell he wants and now may face serious consequences for his continued education.

"He was all like come with me sir and I am like what did I do wrong, I am in dress code, I checked and he is all like we need to make sure you can wear this because it is nerd day not cross dress day," says Bivens.

Bivens did change his clothes and went to the principal to explain why he felt his rights as a student were being violated. Female students, he argued, dress like boys all the time. When he didn't receive what he felt was a satisfactory answer from administration, he changed back into his skirt and was arrested.

But Bivens put the skirt back on later in the day, and that got him in trouble.

Principal Greg Tanner says Bivens was being defiant and that's why he was suspended.

"From freshman year to senior year they pulled all my referrals and apparently I had 24," says Bivens.

Due to Bivens's discipline history and being insubordinate to administrators and faculty, he was arrested and charged.

"Cost me my education, my future," says Bivens.

Bivens says he just wants to get back in school so he can graduate on time and if he could do it over again he would stick to wearing pants.

Regardless of whatever disciplinary problems Bivens has had in the past at Coffee High, I find it sad that the principal of that school was able to do what he set out to do: Stifle one student's chosen mode of expression.

Thanks to reader Gini B. for the tip.

OneAngryAlly: Justice in the Heartland . . .

The family of a Missouri seventh-grader continue their legal battle against the girl's school district this week, the latest development in an ongoing traumatic saga for the young teen, a rape victim and special education student. Yes. You read that right. Not only does this youth face an inherent uphill battle in school and life, but she also was raped, and it is around this incident that the lawsuit is centered. Where was she raped? At school.

The girl was first raped at Republic Middle School in the spring of 2009, according to the lawsuit. After the mother notified the school, the girl described the rape and "multiple sexual assaults" she'd experienced at school that year to Duncan, Mithelavage and Ragain [school officials who are named in the lawsuit]. They then told the mother that they thought that her daughter made it all up.

Even after the girl provided details about her attack and named the attacker, the school officials, who ought to have been her protectors, dismissed her allegations as false; not only that, but they forced her to apologize to her accuser, and then punished her for filing a false allegation.

Following instructions from the school, the girl wrote an apology to the boy she accused of raping her and had to personally give it to him, according to the lawsuit. She was then expelled for the remainder of the 2008-09 school year. The school also told "juvenile authorities" that she filed a false report.

After she came back the following school year? Guess what happened next. The same boy raped her again. Now her family is suing the southwestern Missouri school district, Republic School District.

Pretty much everything about this story is appalling. The thought of any sexual assault happening at school is chilling. Public school is the only safe haven that some children have. And to see behavior like that in a middle school is all the more unsettling. Speaking from experience, a thirteen-year old girl may be one of the most vulnerable beings on the planet, and to see her violated physically breaks my heart. To have that violation compounded by trusted educators is offensive beyond all imagining. I only hope that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri agrees.

For the record, a physical confirmed that she was indeed raped, but the school district refuses to budge. How can there be any sense of justice when things like this can happen in our country?

Library Strikes Blow Against Censorshit, Donates Banned Book To Students

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, thanks to a donation from an anonymous donor, is sending 150 copies of a book recently banned in the Republic, MO School District to students in that district in a clear statement on this recent case of blatant censorship.

"Julia Whitehead, the Executive Director of the Vonnegut Library, told HuffPost that the gift was part of an effort to raise public awareness of the school board's decision, and that she hoped parents in the school district might get involved.

"'All of these students will be eligible to vote, and some may be protecting our country through military service in the next year or two,' Whitehead said in a statement. 'It is shocking and unfortunate that those young adults and citizens would not be considered mature enough to handle the important topics raised by Kurt Vonnegut, a decorated war veteran. Everyone can learn something from his book.'"

Of course, if they'd sent ME this book during high school, I probably would have been like, "WTF!  More summer reading?  FML."  But whatevs, it was a nice gesture.

Today In Censorshit

A school board in Republic, Missouri has capitulated to Christian demands in their community by banning two books, one being the Kurt Vonnegut classic Slaughterhouse-Five, because it contains ideas contrary to Biblical teachings.  The complaint was leveled against three works, including Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer (now banned) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, which was kept on library shelves.

"Wesley Scroggins, a Republic resident, challenged the use of the books and lesson plans in Republic schools, arguing they teach principles contrary to the Bible.

"'I congratulate them for doing what's right and removing the two books,' said Scroggins, who didn't attend the board meeting. 'It's unfortunate they chose to keep the other book.'

"Superintendent Vern Minor said the vote brings a conclusion to the complaint filed a year ago. Scroggins told the News-Leader he has yet to give any thought to pursuing this further."

I've never read Slaughterhouse-Five, but the Vonnegut novel has been hailed for decades as a classic challenging the ideas of fate and free will.  I can see Scroggins' objection... clearly the book suggests that God isn't necessarily the one in charge of our ultimate fates.

Of course, if we were to throw out all material in public schools that contradicted Biblical thought, we would have to get rid of most of the science curriculum, but whatevs.

Discussion: Celebrity Impact On HIV/AIDS

In a recent Queerty piece, Daniel Villarreal bemoaned the lack of HIV-positive celebrities in Hollywood. At one time, we had a slew of famous people coming out as poz in order to put a face on a deadly disease and give the virus the attention required to halt the spread of a horrible epidemic.

During the '90s, brave men like Rock Hudson came out as HIV-positive and combated the stigma of the disease as being "other." In recent times, who fills this role? We have this notion that HIV is manageable, much like cancer, yet still, there's no-one living openly with HIV who can "put a face on it."

I agree with Daniel. Who really thinks there aren't any celebrities with HIV currently working today?

The conversation evolved off the blog though, and Daniel asked me a complicated question that I've had to address before: Is it really wise to even term HIV manageable? While it's certainly treatable, isn't it counterproductive to prevention to allow educational campaigns to stress that it is no longer necessarily deadly?

The Catch-22, of course, being that hiding that information can promote unnecessary stigma against people living with HIV. So what's the solution?

It's a subject I've had to address before. In May, Dan Savage gave an interview to Hivster in which he rashly claimed that we should be hiding the facts about HIV:

"HIV [prevention campaigns] are fatally compromised, terribly conflicted. They seem designed, first and foremost, to avoid making the already HIV+ guys feel bad about being positive. That fear—that this, that, or the other HIV education campaign might stigmatize having HIV and hurt the feelings of guys who have HIV — is paralyzing and it leads to neutered, ineffective, flaccid campaigns. They can’t say, 'Don’t get HIV! It’s life-altering, it’s hard!' and 'HIV is not big deal! You’ll be fine! Guys with HIV are living wonderful, rewarding lives!' at the same time."

I respond to statements like this very simply: you can't win by lying or hiding the truth. You can't educate with obfuscation. The reason I'm progressive is because I believe in telling the truth. Changing the perception that HIV is manageable flies in the face of the purpose of education and promotes negative stereotypes of people living with HIV.

Is Dan suggesting that we should be making HIV-positive people feel ashamed of their serostatus? I reject that notion, as do most HIV advocates. Stigmatizing poz people as a method of prevention is a dangerous campaign which turns people living with HIV/AIDS into casualties of opinion. Clearly, unfounded bias is in of itself flawed.

Even more simply? People don't say "Oh, well, cancer is manageable. I'm going to go get loaded on carcinogens." I have never ever known someone living with HIV who said "Well, I figured I would just take a pill, every day, for the rest of my life, so catching HIV didn't matter." Really, which HIV prevention programs are saying "HIV isn't a big deal!"?

Finally, the best way to prevent HIV and still mitigate the problem of serophobia is most easily addressed by tailoring campaigns to include the consequences of HIV. While my disease is manageable, there are still serious daily consequences and fears I must face every single day. I take pills, I have side effects, I have to constantly worry about my medical coverage. All year long I have frequent doctor's visits where multiple vials of blood are drawn.

So no, Mr. Savage. HIV prevention campaigns are not flawed by telling the truth. They are perfected by telling the truth. Education cannot be founded on bias and fear campaigns. It is unacceptable to create unreasonable fear through misinformation! Since when is censorship of the facts a tool for HIV prevention?

It only served to underscore Daniel's point: HIV-positive celebrities who come out as poz could provide not only a face that validates the need for prevention (people are still catching it, guys!), but could educate the public as to the consequences of their serostatus. Happily, for people like myself who face stigma related to our disease, this would serve the piggybacked benefit of humanizing once more this virus which has become increasingly "other" with lack of visibility.

Will the Rock Hudson of the 21st century please stand up?

Miami-Dade Adds Transgender Protections To Anti-Bullying Laws

With new amendments to the district's policy, Miami-Dade School District has added transgender protections to its anti-bullying policy.

"Miami-Dade School District, the fourth largest in the nation, has added gender identity to their harassment and anti-bullying policy.

"Equality Florida along with and members of our Miami-Dade Safe Schools Coalition have worked for more than a decade to expand these vital protections and Miami remained one of the few large Florida cities without such a policy, until now."

This brings the number of students protected from bullying to 1.55 million in the state of Florida, representing 60% of the population.  Sweet!

Increasing HIV Rates In South Tied To Lack Of Education

A few weeks ago I posted on Hivster about the AIDSvu map published by Emory University, which illustrates for the first time rates of infection county-by-county in the continental US.  Now USA Today has analyzed the information and has found disturbing yet familiar information: HIV/AIDS rates of infection are rising among poor communities uneducated about the virus, especially in the South.

Long considered a "gay disease" centered in urban environments on the coasts, HIV has become firmly entrenched in the heartland, with rates of infection skyrocketing in rural and impoverished areas of 11 Southern states.  Due to racially-oriented divides in socioeconomic status, the virus is disproportionately affecting communities of color, an alarming trend that black and Latino community leaders would do well to heed.

From USA Today:

"Harold Henderson, an HIV expert at the University of Mississippi, says Southern states suffer from a host of health issues, including HIV, for reasons that extend from poverty to a lack of education and fragile families. He added that many children in the South lack sufficient sex education.

"'The age when kids first become sexually active is pretty young in the Deep South,' he says. 'That has a lot to do with the fact parents don't do a good job of (educating their kids about sex). And if you happen to live in a broken home, with drug use and poverty involved, you may not be getting the parental supervision you need.'

"The new analysis identified 175 counties that rank among the top 20% for both HIV and poverty, all but six in the South. Two of the six are the boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx in New York City. Seven states — Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virgnia — did not share their county-level data."

People ask me all the time-- as HIV/AIDS is a subject I harp on frequently-- what the best course to arrest new infections in this country, and I'm almost exasperated by how many times I've had to shout "EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION!"  In fact, studies show that black Africans who were barely educated but had heard of the local HIV/AIDS advocacy group even then stood a much higher chance of avoiding the virus.

With sex ed being one of our top weapons in defeating HIV, wouldn't it be nice if our legislators stopped slashing education?

Liberty Council: Public Education's Goal Is To Teach People To Read The Bible

Right.  In today's economy, with undereducated and underqualified workers being turned away from previously attainable jobs, the only point to public education is to allow people to read the freaking Bible.