Professor Levi testifies in Maine

On Tuesday, April 12, 2011, Professor Jennifer Levi testified before the Maine Judiciary Committee in opposition to a bill that would remove certain protections for transgender people that have been in place for the last five years through the Maine Human Rights Act. This is the second time this month that Professor Levi, the director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project, has testified before state legislatures regarding transgender rights. Earlier this month, the testified before Connecticut's Joint Committee on Judiciary in support of a bill that would add "gender identity" to CT's non-discrimnation law.

Read Professor Levi's testimony here.

Watch video of the testimony here. (Starts at 47 minutes.)

Read The Advocate's coverage in Maine here.

WNEC Law Trustee nominated to be first openly gay member of Massachusetts SJC

WNEC Law trustee Barbara A. Lenk was nominated on Monday by Governor Deval Patrick to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in the Commonwealth. Justice Lenk will be the first openly gay member to serve the SJC.

Read the full New York Times article here.

April 1st: Illich Symposium @ WNEC Law

WNEC Law is hosting an all-day symposium featuring our own incredible professors as well as guests speakers such as Shannon Minter, the Legal Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Dr. Paisley Currah, a transgender rights scholar. This will certainly be an exciting and interesting symposium. Please join us!

Radical Nemesis: Re-envisioning Ivan Illich's Theories on Social Institutions
Western New England College School of Law
April 1st, 2011
Registration & Schedule

WNEC Law Announces New Concentration: Gender & Sexuality Studies

WNEC OUTlaw is excited to share with our readers that on Friday November 12, 2010 the proposed Gender & Sexuality Studies concentration was passed by the WNEC Law faculty with a unanimous vote. Professors Taylor Flynn and Jennifer Levi will be the co-advisors of the new concentration. Any interested students can attend a general interest meeting about the new concentration hosted by OUTlaw. The date and time are to be determined. Please check back for additional information.

Western Mass AIDS Foundation's Walk/Run

Team up with WNEC Law's running club to support the Western Mass AIDS Foundation!
On Saturday, September 11, WNEC Law's running club will participate in the Western Mass AIDS Foundation walk and 5k run in Forest Park here in Springfield. Professor Buzuvis has invited OUTlaw to join the running club to raise money for this great cause. You can learn more about the walk/run and register to join the team here. Registration is free, but each team member is encouraged to donate or raise a minimum of $25.

WNEC OUTlaw member selected as Intern for Trans Bodies, Trans Selves.

A WNEC OUTlaw member, was selected as the student intern for the upcoming book Trans Bodies, Trans Selves. Christian will be working on transgender legal issues for the book alongside two renowned trans attorneys, Kylar Broadus and Shannon Minter.

"Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a resource guide for transgender and other gender-variant people, covering health, legal issues, cultural and social questions, history, theory, and more. It is a place for transgender people, their partners and families, students, professors, guidance counselors, and others to look for up-to-date information on transgender life."

Congratulations to Christian from all of us at OUTLaw and best of luck to him as he takes on this exciting project!

Welcome Back Cocktail Party at ONYX

OUTlaw is set to host a Welcome Back cocktail party at ONYX by the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 28th at 9 p.m.  There will be live music at the beginning of the night on the patio with a DJ taking over later. (Weather permitting, otherwise, music will move inside.) There will be beer and martini specials as well as reserved patio seating for WNEC Law students. The dinner menu at Onyx is available until 10 and the lounge/bar menu is available until 11.

Please email Erika Scibelli at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com with any questions.

A big thanks to Onyx for accommodating our event. We can't wait to see you all there and celebrate the start of the new school year.

First OUTlaw meeting and elections

OUTlaw will hold its first meeting of 2010-2011 on Tuesday August 24th at noon in Room 2. We will be holding elections as well as discussing upcoming events for the new academic year. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

OUTlaw back up on TWEN

If you haven't added OUTlaw as a "course" on TWEN, it's now available for you to do so. By adding OUTlaw, you'll have access to the event calendar, meeting minutes, bylaws, OUTlines and more.

WNEC Law's Non-Discrimination Policy

WNEC Law was one of the first law schools in the nation to adopt a non-discrimination policy that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Here's WNEC's policy:

"Western New England College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. The College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities."

Also, if you haven't been to WNEC Law's LGBT Life page, you can check it out here.

Congratulations to incoming 1Ls!

Congratulations to all the 1Ls who will be attending WNEC Law beginning in August! WNEC is a tight-knit community and those of us at OUTlaw are looking forward to meeting you. Please feel free to email us with any questions, concerns, or comments at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com. We will be sure to keep you updated as we start planning events for the upcoming academic year.

2010-2011 Academic Year

Course schedules have been posted for the 2010-2011 academic year. Registration starts July 7th at noon on ASAP.
Fall 2010
Spring 2011

Last meeting and Finals!!!

Elections have been postponed as we would like to have the input of next year's 1Ls. OUTlaw will be busy over the summer and we look forward to a productive fall. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please feel free to email Erika Scibelli at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com.

That being said, it's just a few days until finals here at WNEC Law! You can expect more posts after finals are over :) Best of luck to everyone!

Day of Silence Speaks Volumes

Today is the Day of Silence. It is a day intended to raise awareness about the silencing effect that bullying and harassment have on the LGBTQ community. As students at WNEC Law, we are grateful for an accepting and friendly community, but we remember that there are countless LGBTQ people from all regions of the world who live in silence and in fear. Today, we remain silent for them to encourage awareness, acceptance, and peace. We hope that our silence will speak volumes.

Day of Silence: April 16th

Recently, some members of OUTlaw participated in a photo shoot for WNEC's Day of Silence. The photo shoot was organized by members of WNEC's undergrad GSA and all photography was done by Ben Lussier Photography. Please join the event on Facebook to view all of the photos! You can find it by searching "WNEC Day of Silence (Hosted By Gay/Straight Alliance)".

Here is a quote from the GSA's page:

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO END THE SILENCE?

The Day of Silence was founded in 1996 at the University of Virginia. In 1997, the Day of Silence became a national movement and had over a hundred schools participating. GLSEN ( Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education network) adopted the Day of Silence in 2001 and became the official sponsor. Currently over 8,000 schools participate.The Day of Silence is one of the largest, student organized, non-violent protests. The purpose of the Day of Silence is to bring attention to anti-GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) name calling, bullying, and harassment. Participants spend the day being silent to symbolize the silencing felt by GLBTQ students and their allies.

Last year, WNEC had over 100 participants and this year we hope to double our numbers. This year the Day of Silence is April 16th. Those who sign up can chose to be silent to the best of their ability for the day, or simply just to show support. Supporting the cause can be as simple as being respectful of those wearing the Day of Silence shirts who are choosing to be silent."

All photos by Ben Lussier Photography.

Thanks again to 16 Acres Garden Center!

OUTlaw wanted to send another big thank you to 16 Acres Garden Center for donating carnations to our fundraiser for Haiti. 16 Acres increased its donation to about 50 carnations after OUTlaw received requests for flowers that exceeded the initial donation amount. Thanks again to the great people at 16 Acres for making the fundraiser a success! It would not have been possible without them!

Wanted: Genius Ideas!

OUTlaw seeks to maintain a friendly, welcoming, and accepting community for all students at Western New England College School of Law. We'd like for you to be involved and share your ideas with us. Below are a few questions for you to answer that will help us stay on track and accomplish our goals.

-- We want you to be involved and to get to know OUTlaw better. Do you know what OUTlaw all about? If not, how can we fix that? Are the meetings sufficiently advertised? If not, how can we more effectively get the word out about our meetings?

-- OUTlaw is a focused, determined, and fun-loving group. Is there a social event or speaking event that you would like to see OUTlaw organize?

-- Contributing to the community outside of WNEC Law is also important to OUTlaw. Are there any LGBTQ related organizations in the area that you know of that could use some help from OUTlaw?

-- OUTlaw hopes to offer a modest scholarship to an incoming student in the fall. Do you have a brilliant idea as to how we could raise the funds?

Thank you-- Your input is appreciated! Please share your thoughts via comment or contact OUTlaw at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com.

Robert M. Cover Public Interest Retreat 2010: Turning Point

This weekend WNEC Law organized the 23rd annual Robert M. Cover Public Interest Law Retreat at Camp Sargent in New Hampshire. WNEC organizers Imran Siddiqui, Maren Law, and Erin Wilson worked extremely hard to put this all together. This year's retreat was dubbed "Turning Point" and it was a truly incredible experience. Students and practitioners came from all over to participate: North Carolina, California, Hawaii, New York, Connecticut, Georgia... the list goes on. WNEC sent around 20 students, several from OUTlaw and we were all buzzing with energy.

The trek to Camp Sargent on Friday was long and treacherous for some. As snow quickly blanketed the area, drivers were faced with zero visibility and unplowed roads. There were flights delayed, flights cancelled, and several cars that became stuck in the snow en route. Most people, however, were able to fight through the weather to get to the retreat with perseverance and a lot of patience (and some help from tow trucks and muscle power). Those who could not make it were sorely missed.

The weekend was a great balance of workshops and plenty of time for networking and socializing. Four to five workshop topics were available per session and offered a range of subjects from Guantanamo to Disability Rights, Native American Law to Governmental Accountability, and everywhere in between. Especially pertinent to members of OUTlaw was the LGBT session hosted by WNEC Law's very own Professor Taylor Flynn and Jennifer Pizer, Senior Counsel and Marriage Project Director at Lambda Legal. Jennifer Pizer was also the keynote speaker on Saturday evening. She flew in that afternoon from Hawaii, just for the day, to speak at the retreat and was on a plane back to the west coast in less than 24 hours. We were (and are) very grateful that she so literally went out of her way to come and speak to us. The LGBT discussions were centered around the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case challenging the passing of Proposition 8 in California. The topic was used as lens through which we could better understand the LGBT movement: its history, where it stands currently, and where we are headed in the future. Particularly interesting was the discussion regarding impact litigation and the importance of bringing a case at the right time: though there is a heated and immediate demand for equality, we must patiently persevere in order avoid devastating set-backs. The message overall, however, was that we will get there.

The energy in a room full of extraordinary people who are absolutely determined to change the world and are so focused on the human face of the law is an experience beyond words. We left with a renewed clarity of direction, feeling energized, inspired, and eager to get to work. It was our Turning Point and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of it.

-Erika Scibelli, 1L

If you would like to know more about the retreat, please feel free to contact me on Facebook or at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com.

Civil rights attorney Helen Trainor to speak at WNEC Law

On Wed. March 3rd at 4:00 pm in Room C, civil rights attorney Helen Trainor will speak about her role in helping to close the so-called "butch wing" at Fluvanna Correctional Center, a prison designated for women in Virginia. For more than a year, prisoners who were gay or perceived to be gay were housed in a separate unit called the "butch wing" and taunted by guards. After the story was reported by the Associated Press, in part thanks to Helen's efforts, the practice was discontinued.

Thanks to Professor Shay for this information!

Flyers for sale: OUTlaw fundraiser for OUTnow at Diva's

Stop by the OUTlaw table outside the cafeteria on Tuesday or Wednesday to purchase your flyer for the fundraiser/social event. The flyer is $1 and will get you a reduced cover charge at Diva's on Thursday, February 25th (the cost of the flyer + the cost of discounted cover is STILL less expensive than Diva's usual cover!) All the proceeds made from the sale of the flyers will be donated to OUTnow, an LGBTQ youth organization in Springfield, MA.

Throw on your best cowboy attire and have a great time while supporting an even greater organization!

(If you're not from WNEC and would still like to support a great cause, please contact Erika Scibelli via Facebook or email at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com)