may 6-2005’ JttSt OUtg
nTTTTTOETïlne ws briefs
P owerful T estimony for E quality
the Oregon Revised Statute to include sexual
orientation and gender identity wherever the
law prohibits discrimination against people
based on race, class, creed, color, gender, etc.
Thus it would bring all of Oregon’s laws in line
with a nondiscrimination policy mirroring what
the states largest employers, Nike and Intel,
already have codified in their policies, and what
some communities in Oregon (such as Portland
and Bend) have codified in their kx:al law.
Oregon’s first lady, Mary Oberst, made her
first appearance before lawmakers to testify in
favor of the bill.
“In effect, without Senate Bill 1000, we are
telling these citizens that they can give but not
receive,” she said.
“They can give Ore
gon their tax dollars,
they can give Ore
gon their votes...but
they cannot depend
on receiving equal
treatment.”
Although speak
ers in support far out
numbered speakers
in opposition, the
testimony from those
opposed was vitri
olic. If there was any
doubt in the minds
of the assembled that
homophobia is alive
and well (and well
spoken) it was dis
pelled.
Just Out will pro
From left, Liz Cahil and Diane Groff, both teachers from Milton-
vide ongoing cover
Freewater, join Roey Thorpe of Basic Rights Oregon in testifying in
age
of the legislative
favor of Senate Bill 1000.
More than 350 supporters of Senate Bill
1000 gathered May 4 in Salem, and many stayed
until midnight in order to give testimony before
the committee chaired by Senate Majority
Leader Kate Brown.
•
The bill that is before the Democrat-con
trolled chamber has two parts. The first would
extend to same-sex couples the same rights
under civil unions that married couples get
through marriage. The second would prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity in matters of employment, hous
ing and public accommixlation.
The second provision of the law would affect
progress of SB 1000. To read the text of the dix:-
ument, visit www.leg.state.or.us.
C ascade AIDS P roject
N ets $600,000 at A ri for L ife
In a spectacular show of support from the art
and philanthropic communities, Art for Life
netted $600,000 April 9, setting a new record
for H1V/A1DS fund raising in Oregon. The
event raised $395,000 in 2004, and Cascade
AIDS Project had budgeted to raise $415,000
this year.
The event could not have been so successful
if it weren’t for co-chairwomen Mary O’Connor
and Kathleen Lewis, Andy Davis and the entire
Art for Life steering committee. In addition,
adulation is due to honorary chairmen Craig
Hartzman and Jim John, producing sponsor
Howard Hedinger, contributing artists and gal
leries, corporate sponsors and the events staff
team led by Roma Peyser.
Executive director Thomas Bruner noted:
“Art for Life ’05 was our greatest success because
it brought over 2,000 people—from beautiful
drag queens to handsome guys and gals to hun
dreds of dedicated art lovers—together to sup
port the work that CAP does every day to pre
vent H1V/AIDS and to support those who are
affected by the epidemic. We couldn’t be more
thrilled, because that support is absolutely cru
cial to underwrite such key activities as our
men’s program and the HIV/A1DS hot line.”
C areer M oves : O regonian
L ands NPR F ellowship
University of Oregon senior journalism stu
dent Doug Hopper became the envy of his peers
when he scored a Kroc Fellowship with Nation
al Public Radio.
He was one of three selected from 300 appli
cants. When asked how he stixxl out from the
competition, Hopper gandered it might be his
sexuality.
“They thought my queer experience was
actually an advantage because of the perspective
it’s afforded me. 1 think it says something about
the values at NPR,” said Hopper.
This realization was reinforced when Hopper
volunteered for a photography project in Kenya,
documenting the humanitarian work of Watoto
Wa Dunia, a nonprofit focused on feeding the
hungry, addressing AIDS and creating a com
munity leadership structure.
“My experience being queer has motivated
me to use the media to create space for people to
be heard. Being queer and feeling silenced and
marginalized growing up in the Midwest
inspired me in some ways to do the work 1 did in
Kenya. The people I met there were classic
examples of marginalization,” he said.
Hopper’s experience in Kenya, combined
with a stint as a photojoumalist with Just Out,
shaped his passion for communication.
Hopper is among the inaugural fellows. The
program was created recently after a sizable
donation to NPR from Joan Kroc.
“It’s pretty extraordinary to even be able to
apply for such a fellowship. 1 feel really lucky
we’ll be setting a stage, and NPR will kx>k to our
successes as a measurement of the fellowship,”
he said.
The fellowship will afford Hopper opportu
nities to work in all aspects of public radio jour
nalism—writing, reporting, pnxJucing and edit
ing, for both radio and the Web. He will begin
working Aug. 15 for one year at the NPR head-
Continued on Page 10
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