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| NUMBER 185 | THE NEWSPAPER OF EDUCATION RIGHTS | JUNE 2001 |
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Tufts University Hosts 2nd Annual Gay 'Teach-Out' |
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MEDFORD, MA - The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) held its second (now annual) gay sex conference at Tufts University on March 24. Despite the parental outrage and nationwide negative publicity that followed last year's event, when a concerned parent's audiotapes of the sexually explicit sessions became public (see Education Reporter July & Sept. 2000), this year's conference was reportedly larger. An internet "News Alert" from the Parents Rights Coalition of Massachusetts (PRC) called the conference "a thinly disguised sex festival and recruitment fair, with even more students bussed in this year than last."
The Massachusetts News estimates that 400 students and 250 teachers and administrators attended this year's "Teach-Out." According to the newspaper, public funds helped the private sponsor, GLSEN, pay for the event. At least two public school buses were used to transport children. The pretext for this year's conference was student safety and overcoming homophobia, but Planned Parenthood set up a booth and distributed what were presumably "safe" sex kits containing one latex glove and lubricant, with instructions for their use. All tape recorders and cameras were banned as a result of last year's bad publicity, and conference attendees were frequently reminded of this rule. The PRC stated in its alert that Tufts University police "prevented parents and journalists from observing events at the conference." The press was allowed to peruse the display tables, attend lunch, and witness the final event of the conference, a play that was reportedly "substantially cleaned up" from last year, with the sexual innuendo and crude jokes removed. A new workshop entitled "A Look At Last Year's Setbacks in Massachusetts, What We Have Learned and How We Can Move Forward" was added to the agenda. The description read in part: "Over the past year, one of the nation's most successful safe schools programs for GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender) youth has been beset by attacks from reactionary forces both inside and outside the public education bureaucracy." It claimed that "backsliding" is now evident in parental notification policy, teacher certification standards, students' rights regulations, and parameters for HIV/AIDS instruction. The work-shop's aim was to explore responses to such "challenges." Other workshops included: "Addressing GLBT Issues in Preschools, Daycare and Kindergartens: A Networking Summit and a Chance to Share Experiences," "Gay Rights 101, Incorporating the Basics of the Gay Rights Movement Into Your U.S. History Curriculum," "From Lesbos to Stonewall: Including the History of GLBT Individuals in a HS or Middle School World History Curriculum," "Incorporating GLBT Inclusive Literature in the High School English Curriculum," "Using the Arts to Express and Explore GLBT Issues in Your School," and "Homophobia in School Athletics." Literature available to students at the conference included a brochure entitled "Be Yourself," published by the gay activist group PFLAG. Citing the discredited Alfred Kinsey as its source, this brochure states: "Most people have some attraction to the same sex during their lives," and "Being gay is as natural, normal and healthy as being straight." A pamphlet by a group called "Political Research Associates," entitled "The 'Ex' Files," called the ex-gay movement "a new threat to democracy and diversity," and offered information on how to "challenge" those who have turned away from the gay lifestyle, either by choice or through spiritual intervention.  |
