Much ado about Mauckingbird Theatre Company’s latest Shakespeare incarnation
Family Portrait: Jenn Anderson
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Cluck, cluck, cluck: More crowing about the Chick-fil-A saga PAGES 10, 11 Aug. 10-16, 2012
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Vol. 36 No. 32
Milton Hershey school issues apology, invites HIV-positive boy to attend By Sarah Blazucki sarah@epgn.com
PHILLY PROTESTERS CONVERGE ON CHICK-FIL-A: Over 70 people gathered Aug. 3 outside Chick-Fil-A on Columbus Boulevard, joining other same-sex couples and supporters around the country for a “kiss-in” protesting the company’s funding of antigay organizations. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Trans woman assaulted in Center City
The president of a private boarding school announced Monday it had reversed last year’s decision to ban an HIV-positive student. School president Anthony Colistra said in the statement, “Milton Hershey School will no longer refuse admission to otherwise qualified students who have HIV.” In the statement, Colistra said the school had extended an apology to the student who had applied last year, known as Abraham Smith, in a July 12 letter, as well as instituting an “Equal Opportunity Policy clearly stating that the school treats applicants with HIV no differently than any other appli-
cants” and new training for staff and students on HIV issues. In December 2011, the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on behalf of Smith on the grounds that the school’s refusal violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ronda Goldfein, executive director of ALP, said that despite this “important step in the case,” the lawsuit is moving forward. “If we think about how society works, and how the law works, there are laws and we have to follow them,” Goldfein said. “We cannot say, ‘Well, you know, this is the law and I’m not going to follow it and when I get caught I’m going to follow it.’” Goldfein said the school, which is open to youth from lowPAGE 22
Philly marks 30 years of gay-rights protections Part two of a two-part series
By Sarah Blazucki sarah@epgn.com
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
A trans woman reported she was assaulted by several men in the early-morning hours Aug. 5, 1982 of July 26 at the corner of 15th and Sansom After years of advocacy, Philadelphia’s streets. proposed gay-rights ordinance made it The woman, 28, told PGN she had left a to the full City Council for a vote Aug. 5, nightclub event and was outside smoking a 1982. cigarette around 2:40 a.m. when several men�� The energy in chambers was palpable the in their mid-30s to early-40s approached day the vote was scheduled. and started talking to her. “It was really charged,” said Scott Wilds, “I don’t remember what they said,” a member of Philadelphia Lesbian & Gay she said, except one man kept screaming, Task Force, the leading proponent of the “We’re going to fix you,” and she remem- bill. “The room was filled with supporters bers one man swung a traffic cone and hit but there was also a large group that had her in the face. PAGE 22 been bussed from a conservative Baptist
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church in the Northeast. It was quite a scene.” As lawmakers readied Bill 1358 for a final vote, Councilwoman Joan Krajewski attempted to stall by introducing a measure to recommit it to committee. Krajewski argued that opponents were unaware of a hearing held in late July, and brandished a letter from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia calling for further study of the legislative topic. The Archdiocese also argued that its officials deserved time before Council to clarify its position on the measure, after pro-gay testimony was submitted by Catholic clergy not affiliated with the Archdiocese.
Future mayor and then-Councilmember John Street railed against Krajewski’s motion. “What we have here is a situation where people neglected their responsibility to come in and state their views and at the last minute they’re trying to use a scam,” Street said. Wilds said that advocates were concerned that Krajewski’s tactic would be effective. “We didn’t know that we had the votes to stop it and we were afraid that, if a delay happened and it stretched over the summer, that it would just get stuck,” he said. However, Krajewski’s measure ultimately failed: She PAGE 19
for your faves. Entertainment, nightlife, people, VoteDetails on shopping, community and eats. page 30.