24 . JU StfiUt
!' ! IMBUÌ L
"When adults
open up and
ask questions,
• especially about
trans issues,
it makes me
feel great because
people are
learning. "
—Niks DePue
for queer youth to gather, he believes that, despite
popular belief, “a lot of the queer community
meetings. “We do talk about stereotyping, respect doesn’t like going to clubs and prefers different ways
to be social.”
and support.” Wolter said students also gain more
It took him almost three months to contact 12
self-confidence through GSAs. “I’ve seen kids really
queer campus groups before the first GPICQS event
blossom from their freshman to senior year.”
last spring. According to Maguire, 100 to 150 stu
In 2002, Wolter met Gloria Holland-Smith at
dents from other campuses came out for the event.
a PFLAG meeting, and the two decided to get
“But GPICQS is not a Reed-ocracy,” Maguire
more training through Oregon Safe Schools and
Communities Coalition. “We’ve given 12 presen clarifies. “Ideally each college will pick representa
tives from their campus groups to attend GPICQS
tations in middle schools, high schools and univer
meetings and will hold one to two GPICQS-open
sities to educate people about GLBTQ issues,” said
events per semester.”
Wolter. To date, they’ve presented at schools in
Maguire, who is getting his van driver’s license
Salem, Independence and McMinnville as well as
so he can help get students home after late-night
at Willamette University and Western Oregon
GPICQS fun, is planning the fall’s first event for
University.
early October. “It’ll be open and free to anyone with
For more information on Oregon Safe Schools
and Communities Coalition and the fifth annual
a college ID.” Maguire said there will be speed
Oregon Safe Schools Training, Nov. 3 to 4 in
dating at the event, to which he added, “We’re still
working it out for the bisexuals.” This will be
Eugene, visit www.oregonsafeschools.org.
Family Pride published a pamphlet Aug. 22
followed by food and dancing at The Escape.
titled Building Family Equality in Every Classroom,
For more information about GPICQS and its
which gives strategies to educate school communi events, contact Maguire at maguirej@reed.edu. For
ties about the unique needs of children of sexual | the newest information on queer-friendly campus
minority parents. To obtain a copy, call | es, check out Advocate College Guide for LGBT
202-331-5015 or go to www.familypride.org.
Students (Alyson Bwks, 2006; $21.95 softcover).
Continued from Page 22
IW£ CoLL£6£ STUD£Hr
I came upon a studious Jeff Maguire at a I
Niks DePue trains people to become
queer allies.
GLSEN Oregon co-chairman Larry Smith
believes in queer youth.
Southeast Portland cafe as he was preparing for the
Medical College Admission Test. A senior at Reed
College, he is a history major from Louisville, Ky.
He transferred from Boston University, where he
said there’s a “huge gay scene for any age,” because
he wanted to be more academically challenged.
“Reed is one of the most liberal colleges I’ve
been in,” said Maguire, who is co-signator of the
school’s Queer Alliance. He points to the interest
ing and even ironic phenomenon that gay students
at his school tend not to have other gay friends.
“The community has no reason to unite because
being gay is so accepted."
Last year, Maguire and co-founder Erin Giblin
started the Greater Portland Intercollegiate Queer
Society (GP1CQS). In addition to creating more
community at Reed, Maguire is working to create a
larger social network in the Portland area.
“A lot of people come out in college, though
the age is getting younger,” said Maguire. “Or at
least in college they can finally do something about
it, and there’s no way to meet people.”
Though Maguire acknowledges that the
Portland underage dub The Escape offers a venue
IW£ TRAiM£R
It makes me smile to imagine someone like
Niks DePue standing in front of my high school
health education class and letting me know it’s OK
to be me. The genderqueer 18-year-old, who grew
up in Southeast Portland, is an active trainer of
Bridge 13. A community education program of the
Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center, Bridge 13
is “a dedicated group of youth who are trained to
lead workshops about the issues faced by lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning
communities."
“In eighth grade, 1 transferred from Sellwood
Middle School because of harassment and getting
beat up,” said DePue. “1 started at Mount Scott
Center for Learning and graduated last June.” The
move really changed things for DePue, who had
100 percent attendance and a 4.0 grade point
average the last two years and graduated second in
her class.
On joining the SMYRC community and becom
ing a Bridge 13 trainer, DePue said: “It’s been one of
the most enriching and fulfilling experiences in my
life. It’s taught me to he proud of who I am and to
get over my fear of speaking in public—especially
about things no one cared to hear about before.
“I started going to SMYRC my freshman year. It
helped me figure out who 1 was, connect with my
family more and do better in school,” said DePue.
“I wanted to give back.”
According to community education coordina
tor Mehera Scheu, Bridge 13 trains 500 people a
year. “The program’s main mission is to educate
community members, to create supportive allies,
decrease harassment and discrimination against
sexual minority youth and to empower youth to
tell their stories,” says Scheu.
DePue, who co-taught the health class at
Mount Scott because of her work with Bridge 13,
enjoys the interactive nature of the presentations.
She was surprised by a visit to the Oregon
Department of Human Services in which the staff
asked many questions. “When adults open up and
ask questions, especially about trans issues, it makes
me feel great because people are learning.”
For more information about Bridge 13 trainings
or to become a trainer, contact Scheu at
503-872-9664, ext. 38, or meheras@cascadiabhc.org.
TW£ FAGiLirAFOKS
There’s no place like a home away from home.
That’s how 1 felt when 1 walked into SMYRC,
located at 2100 S.E. Belmont St. SMYRC
program director Jonathan Weedman gave me a
tour of the fantastic facility where youth can hang
out, play pool and Foosball, silkscreen T-shirts,
make snacks, work out and see performances.
Weed man and Stephen Dunlevy, who is a
mental health counselor with Multnomah County’s
School Mental Health program, both have master’s
degrees in social work and have facilitated a
number of local GSAs.
They talked with me about the importance of
GSAs—how the clubs provide a bridge between
queer and straight youth. “Just by existing in a
school, GSAs bring up more awareness and
dialogue that wouldn’t happen otherwise,” said
Dunlevy.
According to Weedman, local GSAs range in
size (from five to 30 members) and in focus (from
social to support to advocacy). He said much of the
clubs’ viability depends on the involvement of a
dedicated adviser and the school’s climate.
The two began the Portland Metro GSA
Network two years ago when they recognized a lack
of opportunity for facilitators and youth of the
various GSAs to get together. Their goals are to
identify which schools have GSAs (so far they have
found 25 in the 41 high schools of Multnomah,
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