In Brief

Staff Reports

California Principal Who Thwarted Gay Teen's Pageant Candidacy Returns To Duties

Fullerton Union High School

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA -- Officials in Fullerton California's Union School District say that the Fullerton Union High School assistant principal who was removed from the campus after he disqualified a gay student from the school's Mr. Fullerton pageant will return to his job on Wednesday.

In a written statement Tuesday, District Superintendent George Giokaris said Joe Abell will remain as an assistant principal at Fullerton Union High through the end of the school year. Giokaris added Abell will be reassigned to another district school next fall, where he will serve as a classroom teacher:

"Mr. Abell will return fulltime to his regular duties as assistant principal at Fullerton Union High School (Wednesday). In addition, in January, 2012, Mr. Abell requested in writing reassignment to the classroom as a teacher for the 2012-13 school year so that he can spend more time with his wife and three young children."

Superintendent Giokaris maintains that Abell's reassignment was not prompted by controversy due to Abell's actions two weeks ago when he disqualified a student, Kearian Giertz, 17, from a school pageant when Giertz was asked where he saw himself in 10 years and answered that he hoped to find the love of his life, marry him and hoped same-sex marriage would be legal.

The superintendent has since apologized for the action, saying Abell should not have disqualified Giertz. Abell himself also apologized the next day to the student and over the public-address system to the Fullerton Union High School student body. Fullerton Union High Principal Catherine Gach also issued a letter apologizing for Abell's actions and promising to make sure similar incidents do not happen again.

Superintendent Giokaris met with Giertz and his grandmother Monday, but would not disclose what they discussed.

USAF Enlisted Man Discharged Under DADT Reinstated

SSGTAnthony Loverde 

WASHINGTON -- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the law firm of Morrison & Foerster announced Tuesday that Staff Sergeant Anthony Loverde, discharged from the  U.S. Air Force  in 2008 under the now repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" DADT law, will be reinstated in the Air Force and will return to active duty in May 2012. Loverde is scheduled to take his oath in Sacramento in May 2012 and will be assigned to the 19th Operations Squadron at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. The reinstatement is set to make Loverde the second service member reinstated to active duty following the repeal of DADT in September 2011.

"I am honored and humbled to return to the service of my country and the job I love. I am grateful to my legal team and all of those in the armed forces who helped to facilitate this reinstatement. I am eager to take the oath and get to work," said Loverde.

Loverde's reinstatement is the result of a resolution on his behalf in the historic case, Almy v. U.S., filed in 2010, which challenges the constitutionality of the three plaintiffs' discharges under DADT and seeks their reinstatement to active duty. A resolution was reached in December 2011 on behalf of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jase Daniels, who was reinstated in the U.S. Navy as a linguist. A resolution on behalf of the third plaintiff in the case, former Air Force Major Mike Almy, is expected soon.

"This historic reinstatement again reminds us that today's military is a welcoming place for qualified patriots whose careers were cut short by the unjust 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. This victory is unique because it is a reinstatement - not just a reentry - meaning that Sergeant Loverde will return to his previous rank and be able to continue his career as if it had never been interrupted. As a nation, we can never restore what was fully lost by this service member and many like him as a result of DADT, but at SLDN we are working day and night to ensure that those who wish to serve their country again may do so on active duty, in the reserves, or in the guard," said SLDN Legal Director David McKean.

"This is a great day for Sergeant Loverde, but also a great day for our Armed Forces, which will now have a highly qualified service member back in its ranks. I am pleased that following the repeal of DADT, we have been able to reach a resolution for Sergeant Loverde that is in his best interest and in the best interest of justice," said M. Andrew Woodmansee, Daniels' attorney at Morrison & Foerster, which provides pro bono representation to Loverde and other clients in this case.

Loverde entered the Air Force at age 20, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant before he was discharged seven years later under DADT. He is an expert at calibrating weapons systems and had been in charge of cargo on more than sixty flights into Iraq. Following his discharge, he was hired immediately by a military contractor and sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, largely doing the same job he had done in the Air Force before his discharge.

"This underscores just how absurd the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law was and why repeal was the right thing to do," said SLDN's McKean.

Transgender Students Can Now Use Preferred Gender Name On University Of Texas Records

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- The University of Texas at Austin is set to implement a new policy this summer that will allow transgender students to list their preferred names on all of their official University records. [ A name that may be different from their legal name.]

Under the new policy, a student’s preferred name will appear on class rosters, identification cards, medical files and other UT records. While transgender students were first allowed to use a preferred name on their official documents beginning last fall, this new policy will also update the preferred name to their medical records.

Patrick White, a student member of the LGBT presidential task force, said the task force plans to inform transgender students about the policy through orientation this summer and programs next fall. This policy was initiated by the LGBT presidential task force, a committee of faculty and students who advocate for LGBT rights on campus. Transgender students were first allowed to change the name appearing on their records in September 2011, but had to personally request the change at the UT Gender and Sexuality Center.

Jeffrey Graves, associate vice president for legal affairs, told the student newspaper, The Daily Texan, UT considered many factors before approving the policy. Graves said preferred names cannot go on diplomas or transcripts without a legal name change. He said one of the legal issues UT faced was putting preferred names on UT ID cards.

In cases such as police stops or when asked to surrender an ID card, Graves said, UT officials need to be able to confirm a student’s official name with the name on record with the University regardless of their preferred name. To address this, a student’s preferred name goes on the front of the ID card and the official name goes on the back.

“The whole point of the policy is to assist transgender students in transitioning to the University in a way that will correspond with how they live and how they identify,” Graves said.