«-.,- .---. .... /_,..-(4., ...- 11' ». 'Out in the Mountains Harassment Victims Win Huge Settlements Two recent court cases, one in Wisconsin and the other in Michi- gan, awarded major monetary settlements to victims of gay-bashing. The case of Jamie Nabozny, a former student in the Ashland WI School District, drew national attention to the perils and traumas which often face gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teens in the schools. With representation from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Nabozny challenged school administrators who had failed to intervene on his behalf when classmates harassed him on the basis of his sexual orientation (see Legal Briefs, page 9). Nabozny had suffered both physically and emotionally at the hands of his multiple assailants. He had been pushed and shoved through- out his stay at high school, had been urinated on, and had even en- dured a mock “gay rape” in front of his classmates. One attack was so brutal that it sent Nabozny to the hospital with internal injuries. School officials responded to the incidents by suggesting that Nabozny himself was at fault for the harassment. They told him that he had made the decision to be an openly gay student at the school and that “boys will be boys.” Obviously distraught by such treatment and unwilling. to withstand the torment any longer, Nabozny made several unsuccessful suicide attempts. When it became clear to Nabozny and his parents that the youth would not be able to perfonn to his full potential in the high school environment, he dropped out. Nabozny originally sought $350,000 in damages against the school officials, but the case was thrown out of court by a trial judge on the grounds of insufficient evidence. A federal appellate court later forced the judge to hear the trial. Following a determination that Nabozny had indeed suffered greatly on account of the school officials’ “inten- tional discrimination,” representatives for the guilty parties agreed to an out-of—court settlement of $900,000 in damages plus a possible _ $62,000 for medical costs. “Bringing the lawsuit was my way of fighting back," said Nabozny. “I feel like I havejustice, and that this meansjustice for all the other kids out there who aren’t sure if they should stay in school or stay alive.” Nabozny has since obtained his Graduate Equivalency De- gree and hopes to use the settlement to attend college. He plans to master in social work and commit himself to helping other gay and lesbian teens. “I can now go on with my life,” Nabozny said, “and have the normal educational experience that I waited a long time for.” In Detroit, Michigan, a $10,000,000 settlement was awarded to a Sean McBride, a gay man who had filed suit against Pinkerton’s Se- curity & Investigation, Inc. McBride claimed that a security guard had stood by and even laughed as three men verbally abused him for being gay. Later the same night, the three men followed McBride and ambushed him, beating him and shooting him six times. As a result, McBride is now paraplegic. The events took place in and around McBride’s apartment build- ing, which contracts with Pinkerton’s for the protection of its resi- dents. The company claimed that their security guard acted appropri- ately and would have been unable to prevent the attack. Jurors in the case awarded McBride $6,000,000 for his paralysis and $4,000,000 in other damages. Only two of his three assailants have been apprehended and convicted. One will serve up to four years for assault and weapons charges; the other, a juvenile, will be re- leased from custody next July upon turning 21. V Psychotherapy Body Centered I Psychotherapy Q L. Leah Wittenberg MACP V Lesbians Considering Parenthood " the choice ‘ the process ‘ the challenges Body Centered Psychotherapy Keeping your body in mind 2 Church St. Burlington (802) 865-4568 Outright Vermont Searches for New Director BURLINGTON -- Karin Eade, who has served Outright Vermont for three years as Executive Di- rector, has announced that she will be leaving her position at Outright at the end of March, 1997. Eade informed the Outright Vermont Board of Directors at its October meetingein order to give the organization as much time as possible to find a suit- able new Executive Director. Outright is currently advertising this position through various organiza- tions and in the local press. Ken Wolvington, the Board Secretary, has been named Chair of the Search Committee. 0 In a letter addressed to the Board‘ of Directors, Eade outlined the many accomplishments that Out- right has achieved since its inception and under her tenure. She praised the excellent facilitators as well as other volunteers, the solid Board membership and participation, the hours of work the Speakers’ Bu- reau has provided, and the work of staff member Tage Lilja. ‘ Eade also wrote, “We have not developed to this point easily, and we are in no way ‘out ofthe woods’ in terms of struggles, particularly financially. Ho- mophobia, heterosexism, and oppression in general make our jobs harder than they need to be. How- ever, I feel that with the right leadership and strate- gic planning, programmatically and financially, we will overcome these barriers.” Eade went on to write, “It is so simple to say that this agency would not exist if it were not for the efforts of its many volunteers. This simple fact makes me the most proud to have been a small part of the wonderful life of Outright. I remember Howdy Russell speaking once of timing and how Outright has always seemed to go through exactly what is needed with exactly the right people, and the thought excites me to meet the next Executive Director, to watch, offer help when I can, and to celebrate ev- erything they will offer to Outright. Hats off ‘to the ' future!” Outright Board Chair Stan Baker stated, “We are sorry to be losing Karin Eade as Executive Director. Her long service to Outright has brought our agency to its current ability to offer a broad array of ser- vices to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning youth. She has provided needed vision, knowledge, and enthusiasm. I am grateful that she has given us plenty of time for a smooth transition, and that she will be present to help the new Executive Director begin his or herjob. I know that Karin will remain available to Outright for consultation and support and that she will hold us close to her heart as she begins new endeavors. We all wish her well, and are immensely appreciative for all she has done, for who she is, and especially for her gift of caring given so freely to all the youth of Outright Vermont.” Outright Vermont serves gay, lesbian, and bi- sexual youth. The organization provides support groups, a chat line, an infomtation line, and one—to— one support for youth. The organization also pro- vides education, outreach, and support to schools and other agencies in Vermont about the needs of queer youth. Outright Vermont asks that resumes and refer- ences be submitted by January l5, 1997, to the Search Committee, c/o Outright Vermont, PO Box 5235, Burlington VT 05401 -5235. Outright will con- tinue to issue press releases to keep the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community appraised of the search process. Featuring: Women's Cabaret every 3rd Sunday Lipliner Drag Show every 2nd Sunday The Cherie and Yolanda Show every 1st and 3rd Wednesday Men's Health Project Tea Dances throughout the year. JC‘(l/‘/ ALSO INCLUDING THE SHOEBOX THEATRE 135 PEARL STREET 0 BURLINGTON VERMONT- 802.863.2343 Out in the Mountains to Increase Outreach, Accessibility BURLINGTON -- Out in the Mountains recently received a substantial grant from the Vermont chap- ter of the Haymarket People’s Fund to increase its interaction with a number of minority and disad- vantaged populations with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities. The newspaper has already begun to develop a strategy for further outreach to African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American com- munities in the hopes of bringing increased visibil- ity and sensitivity to issues affecting those groups. "These are vital and vibrant members of our state- wide community,” said Hugh Coyle, Editor of OITM. “It is our goal to both honor and incorporate a wide range of backgrounds and traditions, par- ticular as the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgen- dered communities continue to develop their own.” Out in the Mountains will also investigate alter- native production formats. “Our Web Site has al- ready opened doorways to a number of people who couldn’t otherwise read the paper,” said Kathie Saw- yer, who manages the site (http://members.aol.com/ oitm/) with her daughter, Tracy Buttles. “With the proper tools, readers who are visually impaired can now have computers read the paper aloud. We're also redesigning the site to make it more accessible to those working with assistive technologies.” In coming months, OITM hopes to provide fur- ther information about those tools and how its read- ers might gain access to them. It also plans to work with its advertisers and contributors toward includ- ing accessibility information whenever possible, from TTY phone line numbers to wheelchair acces- sibility at a site. The newspaper welcomes the efforts of any and . all who would like to work toward making these projects a reality. “The goal,” says Coyle, “is not simply communication. It’s involvement. We don’t just want to find out what we have to do out there; we want to get out there and do it." For more infomation about this new initiative, contact Out in the Mountains by mail at PO Box 177, Burlington VT 05402; by e—mail at oitm@aol.com; or by phone at (802) 388-6503. V It’s almost TAX TIME... Robert S. Elliott CPA, PC Certified Public Accountant Member American Institute of Certified Public Accountants l5 East Washington Street Rutland, Vermont 05701 (802) 773-4030 Fax: (802) 747-4999 Elizabeth Anne Campbell Certified Public Accountant ‘'1 buy all my stuff at the Peace &just1'ce Store, where else?" ~Lois, DTWOF 0 ll ..,g.,::.*:.~-~ "X ._—f'’, _/ ~.——? é u—— 1 \- Peace 8; Justice Store 2| Church St.. Blll‘llll_‘,,{lUll 863-8326 Open 7D‘.I_\.\