17‘:-' I1
2 nutmtli

 the rest of our world

 

1 WASHINGTON, DC
-Red Cross

Changes its
Mindon Blood
’Do1_1ations3 5

to reverseva 23-year-, ' I

dpolicy banning “donations

of blood bymen —who have had
sex with other rn'a’n,,th‘e- Rad

.055 '

    

  
  
 

   

  
 

.,.:»P'§l'l?‘fi5éfif..d.
ional, séientificai

 
 
   
  

 «those in i¢'ng4:¢rm,
relationshipsnlie pol  , ‘
blood ‘donation by,h_et_erosexual _

  

protected oral, analand vaginal “
9, sex andymultiple sgeipartners,"
' who have unknown HN

I ,Advocates for.-changing the
‘rule note that all bloocl is tested
for HlV anyway,’ and the test is
consideredto be “extremely .
reliable.”

The FDA is expected to re-
view the ban later this year.

 

 MASSACHUISEITTS5 I

; 
 Urged to Ban Gay
 Marriage  I

i Opponents of same-fSe>’< mar-

‘ iriage, led by Catholic Church ,

« leaders» and right-wing groups
such as Focus on the Family want
a constitutional 'arnendr_nent to

1” ban same-sex marriage in the «

' only U.S.'_state, that currently
allows lesbians and gay men to

 

. Legislators are scheduled to
hear the case on May 10, accord-
ing to a MassEquality Campaign . I

’ eanwhile, the state's at-
torney general, has launched a
riminal investigation into equal
marriage opponents’ VoteOn-
Marriage siglnaturei campaign,
with help from,MEC inldocu~
vmenting more than'2,00,0 cases
: of fraud and forgery. I

I , recently passeda constitutional
’ .st'§t_é. l’au’c‘V_oters willde icléin

announced in: Merchil: now .

; ers to educate neighbors about
- the ban, rights advocat ;i
’ -The Fair’ Wlsconsirrc

3  organizing to ldefeat the" measure _

 
  

" = ,1_yéars_educatingthousan

“cynjicat political garnes.” said
_ ‘ .; HRC President Joe Solmonese; ‘
 men and‘.womeh W59 have un-V I  ’ T

' ionizing boycotts of Souiih .
'“and—state agencies haye been

' groups reportedly called for

7 according to Planned Parent-

   Mbiré ass.-if‘ or cue woalo on PAoe’l4rl§

 

Wl s c o N Si N
Voters to Decide
Marriage. Issue

The Wisconsin legislature.

   
  

. amendment banning gaygmar
riage and~ciVli.'_unions;»inthat , I

   

‘ November whether the ‘mea-, A
sure becomes‘ law. An intensive
statewide campaign’ isplarmed
‘to defeat the amendment; Op‘-
position includes’tl1"e'support,of
faith organizations"representing

. half a, million‘ citizens ancljrhe’ .
training of more than ?Q0f{speak~

  
        
      
      
     

     
 
 

      
 
 

  

' a’ coalition of. rights ‘groups,’ are

 
 

d .h'avz"e' worked the pastftlwo
ds’ ; ,

  

 
   
  
 
    
 
  
   

 
   
   
  
 
  
 

 say. lesbia ..
sexual‘ ;§fid.l:ransgender. people =
vvefeguseid as a wedge issue in-

  

> "This year, we are goingftolstop .
‘ this onslaught on American fami-
lies and Vwsconsinites arealreadys ~
running a strategicand; effective ., :
campaign to defeat thi‘sl”s’hamef_ul~

  
   
 
   
 
 

attempt to discrimin

   

 
  
 

  
  

souTHl,bAi<_’o{T 
B0¥°°,ttserIProte
Abortion Ban

Protesters no lfirne:

 
        
     
  
  
   
   
 
 

abortion ban, legalized injMaJ", 1
when Gov. Mike ’Rounds signed
legislation outlawing near_lya_all ' —
abortions. . . ,   .-

_ The Associated Press ‘re; *
ported last month that}-pojliticians

"bombarded" witlithousands of
phonecalls, letters and emails .
not only from U.S. citizens but
from around the world. Some

tourism boycotts of the Midwest-
ern state. The ban, scheduled to
go into effect on July 1, bans all
abortions except to save a wom-
an's life. No exceptions are made ,
for women whose pregnancies 5
result from rape or incest. ’ ,
The law is seen as a'viola’u,'on V
of Roe v. Wade and‘ is an attempt
to overturn the 1973 Supreme
Court decision allowing abortion,

hood of New England. I

 

 

. _..H‘ H H 
emnuntnihs l APRIL 2005 I MOUNTAlNPRlDEMED|A.ORG

COMMUNITY NEWS

New Director Takes the Helm at Crisis Center

BURLINGTON -— Cathleen W11-
son, a longtime worker with the
Women’s Rape Crisis Center, is
now serving as the organization’s
executive director.

“I’m most excited about 
being able to continue my work,
in making sure services are
available to smvivors of sexual
violence,” said Wilson, who suc-
ceeded Celia Cuddy as head of
WRCC in February.

The center’s services include
advocating for survivors in get-
ting medical help, reporting in-
cidents to police and dealing
with the court system. Six of the
centers 11 pa.rt- and full-time
staff focus on this direct serv-
ice to survivors. WRCC, which
serves Chittenden County, also
holds workshops for junior high,
high school and college students
as well as for professionals who
work with survivors. Four of the
staff at WRCC provide this edu-
cational work, including one per-
son who works fulltime at UVM,

MPM NEWS

._______.____’.—:.—_./ 

So Long, Michel!

 

Michel DuBois is leaving OITM
as operations manager and
shared these thoughts upon his
departure.

“Upon the occasion of my
long—plam1ed transition from Out
in Mountains, 21 single word best
summarizes my feelings: Grati-

, rude.

It has been an unrelent-
ing pleasure to serve you, dear
reader, as your operations man-
ager (read “factolum") for nearly
three years. The lessons gleaned
from my involvement with this
worthwhile effort will remain
with me for at least as long as the
positive influence of the many
wonderful people whom I have
had the privilege to meet and to
support.

To the many, dedicated volun-
teers across this great state who

 

 

where students are at “high risk"
for sexual violence, Wilson said.
WRCC is planning several
events in April, including co-
sponsoring the Take Back the
Night March with Safespace.
W1lson said during the last
year there has been a sharp in-
crease in the number of sexual vi-
olence incidents, and an increase
in the brutality of such attacks
as well. More survivors suffered
“extensive” physical injuzy, W11-
son said. Also, the victims are
getting younger, she said.
WRCC has grown and changed
over the yeaxs. The number of
male survivors requesting help
has been “climbing steadily,” and
last year amounted to 14 percent
of the total of people served by
WRCC, Wilson said, with the
remaining 86 percent of people
served being female. Last year,
there were no transgender per-
sons requesting help from WRCC,
she said. '
A big change for the center

have given of themselves so gen-
erously a.nd consistently, please
accept this expression of my
heartfelt thanks. We are deeply
proud that such a large number
of volunteers works on this
project month—to-month, year-
to-year, decade—to-decade. And I
am proud that soon I am to count
myself_a.mong your ranks.
Thanks for evelytlung “Out in
the Mountains!” And thanks also
to you, our cherished reader!” V

Thank you, Michel, for your
dedication to OITM, and stay in
touch.

Michel DuBois served as OlTM's
Operations Manager from
August 2003 to April 2005.

Welcome, Greg!

Greg Thompson has been cho-
sen by the Mountain Pride Media
board to be the new operations
manager of OITM. Greg, whom a
few volunteers have met. already,
will be taking care of the business
side of the paper, including mak-
ing sure all those copies gel Lo you,
our readers. Here's what. Greg had
to say about his arrival] here:

“I moved here last April

    

.1
i
l
l
l
l
l

is the addition of male staff and?
volunteers. Nationally people are:
more aware that men and boys
can be and are survivors of sex-,'
ual violence, Wllson said. 

Wilson is also part of a taskl
force known as the “Joyful Sexu-.
ality Work Group” which focusesl
on the positive aspects of sexu-?:
ality. She said she looks forward
to continuing working with thisl
group as part of her newjob with;
WRCC. '

Wilson began working with
WRCC four years ago as developl
ment director. She served as as;
sistant director for about a year;
and a half before being chosen asi
the center's executive director. V

If you or someone you know 
is a survivor of sexual violence;
and needs support, call , l
WRCC’_s 24-hour hotline at 
862-1236. Anyone interested l
in volunteering is encouraged‘
to call the office at 864-0555.” "

I

after many years in LA to bei
closer to loved ones and beg
cause of the beauty of Vermonflsl
outdoors. The cold is taldng‘
some getting used to, but I do ap
preciate the seasons. ,

Being at Out in the Mouu-i
taius is presenting some excit—l
ing new challenges. The people;
I have met at the newspaper are 
respectful and conscientious and
I know I will enjoy working with
all of them.

To the readers of Out in
the Mountains, I am pleased to
come aboard. I will do my best
to insure the continued success
of this paper. And I urge all to
stay — or get involved in our‘
community." ' g

Well said, Greg, and welcome
to Out in the Mountains! V