Bloomington, national PFLAG gives scholarships

The Bloomington chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays takes pride in its promise. According to PFLAG's Web site, www.pflag.org, its mission is to provide a safe, supportive place where sexual minorities -- lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders -- and their family members and friends can come together to share experiences, work through problems and educate themselves and their community. Early this year, the Bloomington office and the national office of PFLAG announced the creation of two scholarship programs to provide educational opportunities for sexual minorities.\n"(PFLAG) is a great organization," said Doug Bauder, coordinator of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services. "It is very active in the community and has been doing great things for probably 10 or so years. It supports parents and gay students both."\nThe Bloomington PFLAG plans to offer two scholarships of $150 to Monroe County high-school graduating seniors who plan to continue their education. Both students must directly involved with the GLBT community and those in support of it are welcome to apply. Children of Bloomington PFLAG members are ineligible. \nThe National PFLAG includes nine $2,500 scholarships and 14 $1,000 scholarships funded by the Palmer B. Carson Trust and The Dow Chemical Company. Self-identified GLBT high-school graduating seniors planning on higher education for the fall of 2004 are eligible to apply for the Palmer B. Carson-PFLAG scholarships, while self-identified GLBT seniors and students who are supportive of or involved with the GLBT community are eligible for the Dow Chemical Company scholarships. \n"Bloomington PFLAG has worked constructively with local schools to improve the lives of GLBT students and their families," said Bloomington PFLAG Board Chair John Clower. "This new scholarship program is a logical continuation of our commitment to the welfare of GLBT youth."\nWhile many GLBT students endure a great deal of harassment in high school, the creation of the scholarships will hopefully encourage them to continue their education. \n"Social factors can substantially influence class performance," said Kerry Spalding, co-coordinator of IU's Amnesty International. "Amnesty International recognizes the rights of GLBT individuals to study in a discrimination-free environment as human rights. It fights to protect GLBT individuals from human rights violations." \nAccording to the summary of incidents reported to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Anti-Harassment Team, harassment on campus has decreased from 132 reported incidents in 2000-2001 to 61 reported incidents in 2002-2003. \n"Harassment of GLBT students continues to be an important problem that demands our attention until the number of harassment incidents for GLBT students is zero," Spalding said.\nFor application materials for the Bloomington PFLAG scholarships, students may ask their school counselors or download from www.pflagbloomington.org. The application deadline is April 16. Students may also download application materials for the national PFLAG scholarships from www.pflag.org. The application deadline is March 15.\n-- Contact staff writer Laura Bare at lbare@indiana.edu.