Expect Respect in Michigan Rally
Press Release: Rally Friday in Lansing in Support of Michigan’s LGBTQ Community
For Immediate Release
Contact: Adrian Delmont, Event Organizer
Expect Respect Michigan
adelmont@umich.edu
Rally Friday in Lansing in Support of Michigan’s LGBTQ Community
Capitol East Steps, October 8, 2010, 1:00-2:00 PM
On Friday, October 8, 2010, a student-organized community rally will take place on the East Steps of the Capital Building in Lansing, Michigan, in support of the University of Michigan’s Student Assembly President, Chris Armstrong. Escalating attacks on Chris’s public and private reputation, by a State official, coincide with a shocking spike in Gay teen suicides over the past month. Many of these deaths have been attributed to on-line bullying. This coincidence cannot help but give us pause.
“Along with many student peers, I was simply dumbfounded watching CNN last week. Who wouldn’t be shocked that a member of Michigan’s Attorney General’s office would obsess on college politics for no better reason that an apparent hatred of gay people? This is exactly the kind of rhetoric that makes teens think it’s OK to bully their peers, and contributes to an increased risk of suicide in LGBT youth,” says Adrian Delmont, founder and event organizer for Expect Respect in Michigan.
This state-wide rally aims to demonstrate the clear message that the members and allies of Michigan’s LGBTQ community Expect and Demand Respect by all elected officials, and their employees, in a manner befitting the office. “Expect Respect in Michigan” is a student-organized group formed to convey that simple message, to mourn the loss of too many young people for such a personal experience, and to parrot the voice of many others to let them know, “It Gets Better.”
Press will be able to both cover the event and speak firsthand with the roster of presenters about this nationwide crisis, as well as their particular connections to the cause.
Who: Expect Respect in Michigan
What: A rally in support of Michigan’s LGBTQ community.
When: Friday, October 8, 2010, 1:00 to 2:00 PM
Where:
East Steps, Michigan State Capitol
Lansing, MI 48922
Why:
The members and allies of Michigan’s LGBTQ community Expect and Demand Respect by all elected officials, and their employees, in a manner befitting the office. Expect Respect in Michigan mourns the loss of too many LGBTQ young people, and, to parrot the voice of many others, wants to let them know, “It Gets Better.”
To demonstrate:
That the nationwide crisis of LGBTQ teen suicide carries a local analogue, and a local community that demands better of its leaders.
Directions to event: The event will take place on the East Steps of the Michigan State Capital Building.
If westbound from I-96 or I-69: exit onto US-127 and proceed to downtown Lansing via I-496. From I-496, take the Walnut Street exit and proceed north.
If eastbound from I-96: exit east on I-496. From I-496, take the Walnut Street exit and proceed north.
