LGBT Youth Center in NYC Wiped Out by Sandy; Ex-Convicts Disenfranchised in Iowa

Campus Power Plant Protests Inspire Theater.  Rachel Lepell, of Chabot College's  theater department, has written and directed a student play, "Particulate Matter," that was inspired by student protests againts the building of a power plant just a mile from campus just a year ago. The comedy drama strives to explores the relationships of those involved in the power plant's political battle, and many of the characters are inspired by actual activists who opposed the power plant. During the demonstrations, campus organizations held "teach-ins" to rally the public, and teamed up with a state senator to file a lawsuit to stop construction. Then-Chancellor Joel Kinnamon called the tactics, "Dirty politics for a dirty power plant." "Particulate Matter" opens on November 7 at the college's performing arts center in California.  [Mercury News]

Iowa Felon Voting Laws Cause Confusion. Last year, Gov. Terry Branstad (D-Iowa) signed legislation that reversed Iowa's automatic reinstatement of felon voting rights upon completion of their sentence. The order, which has left an estimated 13,000 former felons disenfranchised, has made the process "about impossible" for ex-cons. The new requirements include lengthy paperwork, fees, criminal history checks, and even credit reports. The change in Iowa's policy made it one of only four states that require felons to apply for voting rights reinstatement. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Sandy Wipes Out An NYC LGBT Youth Center. For the already under-funded LGBT youth community center, Hurricane Sandy was exactly what The Ali Forney Center didn't need. Located half a block from the Hudson River, the Center, which provides crucial resources like meals, showers, clothing, medical care, HIV testing and treatment, and mental health and addiction services for homeless LGBT youth, is uninhabitable and destroyed. In an official statement, executive director Carl Siciliano wrote, "This is a terrible tragedy for the homeless LGBT youth we serve there. This space was dedicated to our most vulnerable kids,...Basically a lifeline for LGBT kids whose lives are in danger." Now rebuilding from ground zero, the Center is asking for monetary donations to fund site cleanup and has temporarily moved to the NYC LGBT Center until a future date. [Towler Road]

Catholic University Revokes Fellowship for LGBT Ally. Tina Beattie, a British professor of Catholic Studies at London's University of Roehampton, was welcomed as a fellow at the University of San Diego's Frances G. Harpst Center of Catholic Thought and Culture. That is, until she signed a letter in The Times of London newspaper stating her support of civil marriage rights for LGBT couples in the United Kingdom. USD, which has not released an official statement on the matter, revoked her fellowship because her outspoken views dissent from the catholic church's teachings. The invitation's withdrawal creates concerns about the school's "commitment to academic freedom," Beatle said. The Center's director Gerard Mannion said that he was "very surprised, shocked and deeply disappointed" with the university, and told press to expect a series of protests from USD students and faculty. [LGBT Nation]

Jennifer Hicks is a Communications Intern for Campus Progress.

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