just news JoAnn Loulan Schools task force given go-ahead Lecture The Task Force on Adolescent Sexual Minority Issues formed in response to a school counselor s concern that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens were being overlooked An evening of Provocative Humor and Lesbian Sex Education Saturday, February 24th, 8 pm Northwest Service Center 18th and NW Everett JoAnn Loulan is a dynamic speaker who inspires, entertains and informs. She speaks to lesbians worldwide about their relationships, sex practices and concerns-and brings this new information to us in her typically humorous, provocative style. W orkshop Sex and Intimacy in Recovery Sunday. February 25. 10am - 5pm Northwest Service Center 18th and NW Everett A day long workshop for lesbians recovering from addictive substances and behaviors. Recovery is a self defined term, and does not necessarily mean being in a 12- step program. Topics include: Codependency, sex and love addiction, alcohol and substance abuse issues; Is this sobriety or just plain boredom?; Singles, dating and AIDS. h Tickets for the lecture are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. They are available at A Woman's Place Bookstore, Artichoke Music, Music Millenium, and Mother Kali's in Eugene. (Handling charge may apply). Workshop tickets are sliding scale $45 to $75. Available at A Woman's Place Bookstore or through the mail. Call 284-1110 Space limited fo r the workshop • Please fill out attached form and mall by Feb. 15 w ith payment. N a m e____________ __ _____________________________________________ A d d re ss-------------- --- ---------------------------------------------------- Pho ne ___________________ _ ______________________________________ Please send — tickets for the Feb. 24 evening performance ($10)__ Please send — tickets for the Feb. 25 day-long workshop ($45-75)__ Make checks payable to A Woman's Place Bookstore, include .50 cents for postage and handling, and mail to : A Woman's Place Bookstore, 1431 NE Broadway, Portland. OR 97232. For more Information call 264-1J JO. ju st out T 10 T February 1990 B Y A N N D E E H O C H M A N task force that aims to boost resources and support for gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers has earned a tentative go-ahead from Portland Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Prophet. The superintendent, while not making any commitments to specific ideas such as holding sensitivity trainings for staff or adding sexual orientation to the schools’s non-discrimination code, did encourage the task force to continue its work and requested a timeline of recommendations, according to members of the group. Prophet’s response during a meeting last month on the issue was “encouraging,” said a member of the task force who did not want his name used. “He didn’t make any clear commitments. But even the meeting taking place would be controversial to some people.” The Task Force on Adolescent Sexual Minority Issues includes representatives from Multnomah County and the school system, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and the American Friends Service Committee, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Lesbian Community Project and interested individuals. The group formed late last year in response to a school counselor’s concern that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens were being overlooked. Judy Chambers, alcohol and drug specialist for the Portland school district, said she was prompted to launch the task force after talking with members of a substance abuse prevention committee of Multnomah County. That committee, assigned to consider minority issues, focused only on ethnic A Marine Corps admits error in sodomy prosecution n a brief filed on December 27, 1989, the United States Marine Corps conceded that the prosecution of lesbian Corporal Barbara Baum on sodomy charges last year was constitutionally flawed. The Corps has asked that Baum’s conviction, for which she served six months in prison, be voided and that the case be sent back for a new trial. “While we are thrilled that the military has finally begun to recognize the injustice dealt Barbara Baum, it does little to mitigate the horror of the six months she spent in prison,” stated Brendan Collins, an attorney with the Washington, DC law firm of Arnold & Porter, who represented Baum in her appeal. “We are filing a motion to dismiss the charges,” Collins stated. “Dismissal of the charges against her — which were outrageous to begin with — is the only appropriate remedy for the egregious and unconstitutional I ju st out minorities and was reluctant to discuss gay and lesbians teens. “A number of different things have been reminding me of the disproportionate burden sexual minority youth face,” Chambers said. Statistics demonstrate just how large that burden is. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in Oregon, and gay/lesbian/bisexual teens are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers. Sexual minority teenagers feel the impact of society’s homophobia at a time when they are most vulnerable, members of the task force said. They have little access to information about homosexuality and few adult role models. They suffer from "hiddenness — invisibility and the rash of harassment, and oppression as they become more visible,” Chambers said. The task force is examining projects in other school districts designed to reduce harassment and create resources for gay and lesbian students. Members hope to work not only with the public schools but with the city, Multnomah County and private youth-serving agencies. While their progress may be slow, several task force members noted that the existence of the group showed a new level of conscious ness and tolerance. “Imagine sitting in a room with people from the gay and lesbian community and the public school system, ironing out an agenda that is supportive to gay and lesbian youth,” said Donna Russell Red Wing, executive director of the Lesbian Community Project. “It was astounding to me.” _ conduct of the military in the case.” The Marine Corps acknowledged that the judge in Baum’s court-martial erred in not excusing, or more extensively questioning, a juror who was tainted with prior knowledge of her case. The juror had been present at Baum’s “Article 32 hearing,” a procedure similar to a grand jury hearing, and thus he was familiar with facts in the case. According to the Marine Corps, the m an’s subsequent service as a juror at Baum’s trial raised the “vivid appearance of impropriety.” His “extrajudicial knowledge of essential facts” in her case, the Corps stated, “may well have prejudiced appellant’s right to a fair trial.” In a case closely related to Baum’s, the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project represents a second Marine, former Staff Sergeant Christine Hilinski, who was penalized solely for testifying as a character witness for one of the lesbians court-martialed at Parris Island. The ACLU has filed a complaint on behalf of Hilinski which alleges that her sanction was unconstitutional and seeks to have her military records corrected. The officer who was responsible for Hilinski’s discipline. Colonel Nunnally, was juror in the Baum court-martial, which was another ground upon which Baum’s conviction has been challenged. ▼ O rogon's m onthly new sm agazine