UMissouri Deletes Facebook Page with Anti-Gay Comments Over E. Patrick Johnson Visit

By Rod 2.0

University of Missouri administrators decided to delete an entire Facebook page after students' complaints about anti-gay comments. The Facebook page alerted students to this week's visiting performance by E. Patrick Johnson, the popular Black gay academic, author and performance artist. Johnson is the chair of the department of performance studies at Northwestern University.

The thread included at least one negative comment by an anti-gay Republican state legislator, reports The Missourian.

The presentations were titled "Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales" and "In Search of Countess Vivian: Queerness and the Making of Southern History." The events were presented in conjunction with MU's Pride Month and co-sponsored in part by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Resource Center, among other campus groups and organizations.

"Some of the comments were offensive to Mizzou students and fans. Comments that violated our posting policy — those that contained profanity or personal attacks, for example — were removed swiftly. Those that did not, remained on the Facebook page for more than 24 hours," the message stated.

One such comment that sparked a heated response was from Missouri state Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles. "Really?? This is educational?," Conway wrote. "Just what is the percentage of the population that this could possibly apply? .0001%?" Conway could not be reached for comment.

Mizzou administrators say "many of the comments" violated the university's posting policy.

Administrators also add the page was thread was ultimately deleted because the event was over.

"Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales" is a critically-acclaimed and commercially successful stage adaptation of the Johnson's oral history Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South. The one-man show has been staged across the country.

Person of the Week: A Black Valedictorian Is Recognized 75 Years after Graduation

Pittsburgh School Denied her the Honor in 1936 Because of Race, Family Says

Fannetta Nelson Gordon was finally recognized yesterday as the valedictorian of Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh—an honor denied her in 1936 because of her race

Gordon died three years ago at age 88, but her sister, Sophia Phillips Nelson, 93, attended the ceremony sponsored by the Westinghouse Alumni Association.

"It was just so emotionally heartfelt to see the 93-year-old woman take the award for her sister," says lawyer Reggie Bridges, head of the alumni group. "The room was in tears."

"I wish Fannetta could have been there," said Phillips Nelson. "She was a brilliant girl and determined."

So determined, her family says, that Gordon overcame the wrong that was done to her when the school principal pressured music teacher Carl McVicker to change Gordon's grade from an A to a B so she wouldn't be first in her class—an honor that her older sister, Sophia, had achieved two years earlier. The principal didn't want two black valedictorians within two years, the family says.

Gordon—whose official transcript ranked her fourth in the 155-student class—went on to become the accompanist for the National Negro Opera Company and played at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Hall. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, she became a high school German and English teacher and later was named by the governor as a senior adviser for English and foreign languages in the state Education Department.

But she never got over being deprived of her rightful status as valedictorian, her family says. "It was one of the most painful episodes of her life," says her niece, Gloria Wofford. "He erased her A and gave her a B because she was black."

Phillips Nelson said she and other students were aware of what had happened at the time. "We knew. Unfortunately, they were principal and music teacher—we were just youngsters."

The reality at the time for African-Americans, she said, was to tolerate injustices: "Just take it."

The recognition ceremony Thursday came about when Bridges reviewed the transcript and other records. "As clear as day you can see where the grades were changed in music," he said. "You can see erasure marks. " Her earlier music grades were all As, he said.

The Pittsburgh School District has not officially recognized Gordon as valedictorian. "It does appear there were erasure marks on the transcript—we can't confirm the back story" because the principal and music teacher are dead, said spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. "What the district does recognize is that Fannetta Nelson Gordon was a high-achieving student."

In the 1930s when the sisters attended the school, Westinghouse High School was about 5 to 10 percent African-American, whereas today the school is 97 percent black. The school—whose famous alumni include supermodel Naomi Sims and jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, the soloist at Sophia's graduation—will become two single-sex academies next year.

"Our school is in trouble," says Bridges. "This is just the kind of thing to remind [today's students]—quit making excuses. If these sisters could do it in the 1930s, you can do it."

"We hope that they will take a lesson from this and not let anything stop them," says Gloria Wofford.

MCNY Adds a Second Day to 2nd Annual Short Film Festival April 7th and 8th 2011

Moviemakers and MBA students collaborate once again for the Metropolitan College of New York’s 2^nd Annual Media Management Short Film Festival from 6-9 p.m., April 7^th and 8^th in the school’s Conference Center at 431 Canal Street, New York, NY.

“Telling Stories – Shaping Dreams” is the theme for this year’s festival, which includes a moderated movie industry panel and a filmmakers roundtable on April 7^th, followed by the screening of the selected short films on April 8^th. The festival, which grew out a classroom project, has crystallized into a platform for burgeoning filmmakers, and provides real time project management experience for the school’s media management students. The event is a win-win situation for the featured filmmakers and the school says Dr.Tilokie Depoo, Professor & Director of Business Programs for MCNY.

“I am looking forward to this year’s festival and it’s maturation into an established annual industry event,” Depoo says. “This event represents an opportunity for the concretization of theoretical MBA competencies by our students, from the demonstration of their leadership skills, to their ability to work as a team, to their use of organizational and fiscal management skills, while it showcases the wonderful collaborative efforts of our students and the media industry.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information please contact George Kevin Jordan at 917-701-5540. Information is also available on our Facebook page for “Metropolitan College of New York 2nd Annual Short Film Festival.”

ABOUT MCNY

Founded in 1964 by educational pioneer Audrey Cohen, Metropolitan College of New York has been dedicated to helping students achieve their academic dreams for over 46 years. The only one of its kind in the country, the one-year Master of Business Administration in Media Management at MCNY is a unique Purpose Centered Education program geared towards achievement-oriented, media professionals. The curriculum balances traditional MBA competencies with those particular to the media industry. To accommodate working professionals, classes meet on evenings and weekends. For more information about the school or the Media Management program visit us at www.mcny.edu or call 1-800-33-THINK.

Harvard University Announcement - No tuition and No student loans

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, "When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free... no tuition and no student loans!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year, visit Harvard's financial aid website at: www.fao.fas.harvard.edu or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

The LGBT College Presidents: 'It Gets Better' (VIDEO)

Their group is just six months old, but members of the LGBTQ Presidents In Higher Education are presenting a strong front in support of gay and lesbian university community members.

LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education mission is to advance effective leadership in the realm of post-secondary education, supports professional development of LGBTQ leaders in that sector, and provides education and advocacy regarding LGBTQ issues within the global academy and for the public at large.

The second Meeting of the LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education took place in Los Angeles on the AULA campus on November 21 and 22, 2010. President Neal King was especially pleased to host the distinguished group of educational leaders.

“Pioneers and progressives by nature and history, and long an extremely LGBTQ affirmative university, AULA was honored to host this august group of courageous men and women who walk their talk and provide needed and impactful leadership in American Higher Education in the area of LGBTQ rights, scholarship, and advocacy,” commented Dr. King.

The aim of this year’s meeting was to make preparations for a panel presentation at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American Council of Education (ACE) to be held March 5-8, 2011. Over the course of the two-day meeting, the presidents’ presentation addressed the issue of diversity and leadership in higher education. As a participant in the ACE conference, the LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education will contribute a unique voice to the conference agenda.

Joining the ranks of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, the group sat together -- some with their partners -- to share their challenges and triumphs as openly gay university leaders. Watch below.