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At Town Hall Meeting October 28, Community Will Hear Gay Students Experience at Lubbock High School and Discuss the Need for a Gay Straight Student Group

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Lawsuit on behalf of students suing the school district for the right to form a GSA proceeds
October 20, 2003

(Lubbock, Texas, October 20, 2003) - Lambda Legal and the Lubbock chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will host a community town hall meeting Tuesday, October 28 about the need for and importance of a Gay Straight Alliance student club at Lubbock High School.


“We know some people in Lubbock are uncertain and have questions about this student group - and the Oct 28 town hall meeting is a chance for everyone to share their opinions and learn more,” said Brian Chase, the Dallas-based Lambda Legal attorney handling the case. “People will hear directly from students about what it is like to be gay at Lubbock High and how much a GSA helps them, and then people can make up their own minds.”

The town hall meeting centers around a lawsuit filed this summer by students who want to form a GSA at Lubbock High but were barred by school officials. Both Lambda Legal, which represents the students in the federal lawsuit, and the school district have filed motions for summary judgement. Replies to those motions are due to the court on November 10.

Ricky Waite, 18, who graduated from Lubbock High School in May, began to organize the Gay Straight Alliance in the fall of 2002. The group’s purpose is to provide support for gay and straight students and promote equality in the school system and community. Mirah Curzer, 16, a straight member of the group and plaintiff in the case, joined to support her friends and to show other straight students that fairness is important to everyone. After constructing a number of procedural roadblocks to try to prevent the Gay Straight Alliance from forming, school officials formally denied the group’s application.

The event is co-sponsored by Lambda Law Students, a Texas Tech School of Law student group, and the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas.

The community town hall meeting on Tuesday, October 28 is from 7-9 p.m. at the Texas Tech School of Law, The Forum, 1802 Hartford Ave in Lubbock, Texas.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, and people with HIV or AIDS through impact litigation, education and public policy work. ### Contact: Lisa Hardaway, 212/809-8585 ext. 266; pgr: 888-987-1971

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