HRC Blog

As a college alum you know you are going to get fundraising appeals from the school – it’s a rite of passage into the real world! Sometimes, however, there are even better ways that you can give back to your alma mater. In the case of Georgia Tech alums, it means making it possible for current students to attend the HRC Atlanta dinner. Georgia Tech Pride Alumni wanted current LGBTQ and allied students at Tech to experience the community and pride at the HRC Atlanta dinner. It turns out that not only did they have a fabulous evening but the students were able to start putting together their plan of action for the fall.

The perception many have of the Greek community is that fraternities and sororities are not open minded and accepting of anything different; especially gays and lesbians. Last week this perception was blown to bits when David Turley from HRC, veteran Walker Burttschell, and I went to two fraternities and one sorority at Florida International University to speak about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

HRC's Candace Gingrich-Jones live blogs the "Second-Chance Prom" hosted by the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition.

Like the nation's top private companies, colleges and universities are removing discriminatory transgender exclusions from their health insurance plans in order to provide more inclusive insurance for students and staff. On many campuses today, much of the activism is centered on transgender and genderqueer issues, such as adding gender identity to the school’s non-discrimination policy and implementing gender-neutral housing and locker room facilities. A newer area of focus is ensuring that health insurance policies provide transgender-inclusive coverage.

Yesterday, the Virginia Tech and New River Valley communities came together for another leg of the Voices of Honor tour here in Virginia. The event, which was preceded by a campus flag display on Tuesday, brought out over a hundred students and local residents. Volunteers from the Virginia Tech Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance helped install the 800 flags, which symbolized the 800+ specialists with mission-critical skills who have been discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.