Dear Colleagues,
For over 50 years, the month of June has been dedicated to honoring and commemorating members of the LGBTQ+ communities. Pride Month is an important time to celebrate, but it is also a time to consider the challenges still faced by LGBTQ+ people around the world.
On Thursday, June 30 at 12 PM, I invite you to join me and members of the UUP statewide Sexual Orientations United for Liberty (SOUL) Committee who will lead a meaningful discussion on WORDS MATTER: The Erasure of LGBTQ+ Lives. More than a dozen states have proposed the Don’t Say Gay bills that mirror the controversial Florida law, which bars discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation topics for students in kindergarten through third grade. Panelists will consider how such bills will impact the youth they target, and whether those bills rob students’ rights to freedom of speech and confidential health care.
Panelists include:
Kelly Keck: UUP SOUL Committee chair; UUP statewide Executive Board member; Delhi Chapter President
Jess Blake: EOP Counselor at SUNY Delhi; co-chair, SUNY Delhi Faculty & Staff of Color Association
Mattie Cerio: Social Worker, Upstate Medical University
Luca Jurich: LGBTQ Patient Services Coordinator, Upstate Medical University
Sean Massey: Associate Professor, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Binghamton University; former Binghamton Chapter President
London Wright: Staff Therapist and Outreach Coordinator, LeMoyne College, Syracuse
We urge you and your colleagues to register in advance to attend this meaningful virtual event (see attached flyer).
We also encourage you to utilize the UUP Pride Month Social Media Toolkit by sharing the images on your personal and chapter’s social media outlets during the month of Pride and please consider displaying the UUP Pride virtual backgrounds while on meetings. Both resources were developed in coordination with the SOUL Committee.
Please share this information with your colleagues. I hope to see you on June 30 for this important discussion.
In solidarity,
Frederick E. Kowal, Ph.D.
President United University Professions