Issue 17 Volume 39
Celebrating 38 Years!
rachel Maddow p. 16
ERW/Olympia p. 17
lea delaria p. 25
Seattle Gay News
FRIDAY April 29, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Controversy continues SGN INTERVIEW: New UW in Kennewick over president Michael Young will Gay-straight alliance support LGBT clubs, faculty
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Muhammad Rizki
The Board of Regents of the University of Washington (UW) announced this week their unanimous decision to appoint Michael K. Young, 61, as the next president of the university. When reports came in that Young was a devout Mormon and former Bush administration official, the Seattle Gay News staff began to field phone calls and emails from community members expressing concern about his nomination – after all, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) hasn’t exactly been a strong advocate for LGBT equality, and Young is a special advisor to the top leaderKennewick High School ship of the church. Though he may by Mike Andrew resources. be the perfect solution to the uniSGN Staff Writer Their vote did not end the con- versity’s fiscal problems, at first troversy, however. Instead, new glance it may seem that Young’s The Kennewick School Board charges are being leveled by the involvement with the LDS church voted on April 21 to give a Gaystraight alliance at Kennewick High School equal access to school see young page 18 see kennewick page 20
Michael Young talks to reporters on April 27, 2011, after he was introduced as the new president of the University of Washington in Seattle.
SGN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Gay City’s Magic Pill forum educates about new HIV drug Election 2011: Tacoma
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor In an age of instant communication, the lines can sometimes get crossed. Reporting on complex events – such as the medical tri-
als of a new HIV/AIDS prevention pill – can get a bit tricky if not handled with care. Does the reader need an opinion piece, or just info? Should a blogger be telling someone whether or not they should take certain medications?
City Council’s Ryan Mello missioner in 2005,” he tells SGN, “and I beat an 18-year incumbent. I was also the Pierce County Referendum 71 chair.” “Campaigning’s in my blood,” he adds. In his 15 months on the City Council, Mello has built an impressive record of public service, taking on some of the most difficult committee assignments. He is currently vice chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Puyallup River Watershed Executive Task Force. Mello has also served on the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Government Performance and Finance Committee, and the Public Safety, Human Services and Education Committee. “Those are the meaty committees,” Mello says, “the heart and soul of local government – the baryanmello.com
courtesy seattle lesbian
Gay City Executive Director Fred Swanson
Remember the game Telephone, where you whisper a sentence into one person’s ear, and by the time the sentence reaches the end of the group, it comes out completely altered from its original content? Well, that same thing can and does happen with information coming from researchers and drug companies when it is reported by opinionated media outlets. With that in mind, Gay City officials decided this week that the best way for LGBT Seattleites to get information about oral preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – a pill touted as helping to keep men HIV-negative – was to hold a community forum and invite a panel of experts. On April 27, Gay City, in association with HIV Vaccine Trials Unit Seattle and Seattle Gay News, presented the community forum “The Magic Pill?” at ACT Theater in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The premise of the forum was for the community to come together to learn about PrEP, a medication some have dubbed the “magic pill” for its apparent ability to help prevent HIV. Although its success
Ryan Mello
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Ryan Mello is running for his first full term on the Tacoma City Council. He was appointed to his at-large Council seat in January of 2010. This is not his first political campaign, however. “I ran citywide for Parks Comsee magic pill page 21
proud to Be Different
We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.
see mello page 19
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