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News Release

Last modified: Monday, February 9, 2009

Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference meeting at IU on Feb. 13-15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 9, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC) will hold its 17th annual conference Friday through Sunday (Feb. 13-15) at Indiana University Bloomington.

Bloomington, home of the world-renowned Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, recently was ranked by The Advocate as the nation's No. 1 gay-friendly small town vacation destination. IU was included in The Advocate's top 20 list of schools for LGBT students nationwide.

MBLGTACC keynote speakers are ESPN columnist LZ Granderson, Indiana State University Professor Kand McQueen and "The L Word" writer/director/producer Rose Troche.

Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, as well as a regular contributor for ESPN's "Sports Center," "Outside the Lines" and "First Take" programs. Perhaps the most visible openly gay sports journalist in the nation, Granderson broke the Sheryl Swoopes coming out story in 2005 and has been at the forefront of discussion surrounding gays in sports for much of his 13-year career, ruffling the feathers of liberals and conservatives alike with his matter-of-fact approach.

McQueen holds a doctorate degree from IU and currently teaches at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. McQueen's research interests include assessing attitudes toward the atypically gendered and deconstructing the two gender paradigm.

Troche is an award-winning writer, director and producer of both film and television. Troche's first feature, "Go Fish" was released to wide acclaim and has become a seminal film in the history of queer cinema. "The Safety of Objects" received stellar reviews and went on to open the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and win awards for best feature and best actress (Patricia Clarkson) at the Deuville Film Festival.

In 2004, Troche completed the pilot for Showtime's "The L Word" and went on to direct, write and produce for the show's six seasons. Troche also directed the pilot for the popular teen series, "South of Nowhere," and has gone on to direct several episodes. Most recently, Troche completed an episode of the award-winning series, "Ugly Betty."

Featured conference entertainment will be provided by OUTmedia's Queer Riot!, featuring comedians Julie Goldman, Marga Gomez, Vidur Kapur and Jason Stuart and dragapella beautyshop quartet The Kinsey Sicks.

MBLGTACC will host workshops led by students, faculty and professionals to educate and motivate students to action. Participants will attend five sessions from a list of more than 90 workshops concerning topics such as safe sex, activism basics, creating change on your campus and ally community building. Featured workshop presenters are Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) President Neil Giuliano and filmmaker Beverly Seckinger.

Dean is an author, speaker, educator and hip hop leader who has worked in the entertainment industry for more than 10 years, with companies such as B.E.T., Savoy Television, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Pictures, Buena Vista Television, Sony Pictures and, most recently, MTV Networks. Dean's memoir, Hiding in Hip Hop: On The Down Low in the Entertainment Industry -- from Music to Hollywood, was released last year.

Giuliano, currently the president of GLAAD, has appeared on "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," "ABC World News Tonight," "Showbiz Tonight" and "Access Hollywood" and has been quoted in numerous national, state and regional media outlets discussing LGBT images in the media and issues. Giuliano is considered among the nation's most visible and effective leaders of the movement for LGBT equality.

Prior to working with GLAAD, Giuliano served for 10 years as the mayor of Tempe, Ariz., and also had a 25-year career as a senior administrator at Arizona State University. Giuliano served as lead organizer and co-chair for the final 2004 Presidential Debate held at ASU, which was viewed by more than 57 million people nationwide and around the world.

Seckinger, an independent producer based in Tucson, Ariz., also a professor and interim director of the School of Media Arts at the University of Arizona. She teaches courses in media production, documentary studies and LGBT Studies. Seckinger's work has been screened at international festivals in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin America. Some of Seckinger's titles include "Mommie Queerest," "Laramie Inside Out" and "Bottoms Up."

Additional MBLGTACC events and activities include a dance party, "Queer Shabbat," tours of the Kinsey Institute and the IU Art Museum, a Lilly Library exhibit on gay and lesbian literature, a Wandering Turtle Art Gallery GLBT exhibit and reception, screenings of the movies "Kinsey" and "No Dumb Questions," and productions of "The Vagina Monologues" and "Stop Kiss." Featured presenters Dean, Giuliano and Seckinger will appear at a resource fair, which also will provide students opportunities to network with schools and organizations and more.

Online registration for the conference is now closed. Onsite late registration will be available for $75 on Friday (Feb. 13) and Saturday (Feb. 14) in the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. Members of the public who are not interested in attending the entire conference may purchase tickets for the lectures and entertainment acts separately from the IU Box Office or Ticketmaster. This conference will be wheelchair accessible and will have ASL interpreters at main events.

More information about the MBLGTACC is available online at https://www.mblgtacc.org.

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