The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the director of the Duke Catholic Center has lodged a complaint with researchers. The Rev. Joe Vetter says the study doesn’t promote relationships.

The study asks female students over age 18 to attend the events that are similar to Tupperware parties but with erotic toys, lingerie and games. The women complete surveys about their sexual attitudes before and after the parties and get product discounts.

A spokesman for Duke said the sex-toy party project went through the peer review process. Vetter says he plans to discuss the topic at Sunday mass.

But how do you think yesterday’s election results will influence gay travel patterns? Will queer innkeepers in the very LGBT-friendly and gay-welcoming town of Ogunquit, Maine suffer thanks to the same-sex marriage defeat? Will you change your Ogunquit travel plans and head to Provincetown instead, since Massachusetts has legal gay marriage? Does that even make sense when planning your vacation?

Ben Finzel is senior vice president and head of the public affairs practice at Widmeyer Communications, and has specialized in LGBT communications practice and travel, working with tourism bureaus and following travel trends. “Travel is a personal decision, particularly for our community,” offers Finzel. “Maine is a naturally beautiful state with many wonderful attractions and lots of great people – many of whom are LGBT. I think gay travelers need to make up their own minds to either choose to travel to Maine to demonstrate the positive power of our travel or choose to stay away to demonstrate the negative financial impact we can have on destinations that oppose LGBT equality. You can make a strong case for either position.”

Finzel continues: “Whether or not gay travelers choose to visit Maine in the future, I think we should all make a point of being out, visible and vocal in our travel decisions. Choose service providers that engage with our community and tell them that’s why we chose them. Consider whether or not we feel comfortable visiting specific destinations and engage people in those destinations as we’re considering where to go.”

Need some new possible places to consider as a result of Tuesday’s elections? Quite a few cities saw some gay victories. Chapel Hill, North Carolina will have a gay mayor as the newly elected Mark Kleinschmidt takes office. And Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, could have an openly lesbian mayor; Annise Parker scored the most votes in her race against her opponent; she now faces a heated run-off come December. These are good steps.

Meanwhile, other gays candidates won never-before-held city offices in Detroit, Akron, Ohio and St. Petersburg, Florida. And bless Kalamazoo, Michigan for passing a highly debated ordinance protecting LGBT rights. Now in Kalamazoo it will be illegal to discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals in the areas of hiring, housing and public accommodation in the Michigan city. And Washington State saw its domestic partnership laws upheld, too.

But what does this mean for LGBT travel. Do election results influence where you go?

Certainly, the LGBT community always pays attention to how gay-friendly a destination is, legislatively or culturally. And we’ve gotten quite good at picking out which companies we travel with based on their queer-friendly practices. That needn’t change.

“Increasingly, gay travelers are thinking much more strategically about where we spend our travel dollars,” says Finzel. “We look at the level of engagement that airlines and car rental companies have with our community, we consider the role of hoteliers in anti-gay ballot initiatives and we consider how gay-friendly a destination might be based on factors such as safety, role of pro-gay companies in their communities, etc. With so many travel providers and destinations taking an active role in proactively and positively seeking our business, we are realizing we have choices and can choose not to support anti-gay companies or destinations with our travel dollars.”

“I think the next big trend is going to be our community looking for, and demanding, that companies and destinations that want our business earn it with active involvement in opposing anti-gay ballot initiatives and related efforts,” Finzel says. “It won’t be enough for travel industry leaders (or other corporate leaders, for that matter) to say they are gay-friendly: they’ll have to demonstrate they mean it by actively supporting a No On 1 effort (Maine) or a Yes on 71 effort (Washington) and speaking out against attempts to legislate hate.”

Hear that gay-positive travel companies? We commend you on your great LGBT-supportive business practices. But, it’s time to take your gay investment up a notch. It’s getting personal.

So… See you in Maine next summer! Maybe.

Mark Kleinschmidt will be the next mayor of Chapel Hill, with about 49.5 percent of the vote compared to Matt Czajkowski’s 46.5 percent.

The numbers indicate a hard-fought race as Czajkowski’s support from the business community rivaled Kleinschmidt’s support from the town’s traditional political forces.

The bill requires that incidents of bullying be reported by students, teachers, and volunteers. The details of the reporting procedures and punishments, however, would be defined by each school district.

House Republicans opposed the bill, saying that it set a precedent for expanding gay rights into state personnel laws, anti-discrimination laws and hate crimes statutes. They wanted the categories of vicims – like gay students – to be stripped out and replaced with a general bill that protected all students and defined the punishments for the bullies.

“Yesterday we talked about the need for this bill because these kids, these youths in school are doing vicious things,” said Rep. Tom Tillis, a Republican. “Vicious enough to convince somebody to take their life. Today we’re saying that’s not enough to mandate consequences.”

House Democrats said that the punishments, which included corporal punishment, were intended to derail the bill.

No changes were made to the bill, however, and House Democrats passed the bill 58-57. Six Democrats joined 51 Republicans in voting no.

The bill now needs the signature of Gov. Bev Perdue to become law. Only seven other states have identified gay students among potential targets for harassment.

Read the full Charlotte Observer story here.

The House Education Committee approved the measure Thursday over the opposition of conservative lawmakers who claimed it would special status to gays.  The bill now moves to the House Judiciary committee before going to the floor of the House for a vote.

It passed the Senate on May 6. A similar bill died in the legislature last year.

The legislation covers race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. It would require any school employee who witnesses or knows of harassment or bullying to report the incidents to school officials.

North Carolina’s two Roman Catholic bishops have denounced the bill as a prelude to legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Christian Action League of North Carolina this month urged its members to call or send e-mail to lawmakers telling them to vote against the measure.  And the Family Policy Council of North Carolina said that if the bill passed it would lead to the expansion of the state’s hate crime law and anti-discrimination laws to cover gays.

But supporters of the bill pointed to a growing number of students in other states who were bullied because fellow students thought they were gay.

There have been at least four suicides of middle-school aged children linked to homophobic bullying according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old from Springfield, Mass., took his life April 6 after enduring constant bullying at school, including anti-LGBT attacks. Carl did not identify as gay, his family said.

Also last month, the parents of a Mentor, Ohio, high school student filed a federal lawsuit in connection with their son’s suicide. Eric Mohat, 17, went home from school on March 27, 2007, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

In a federal lawsuit, his parents allege that he regularly “was called ‘gay,’ ‘fag,’ ‘queer’ and ‘homo’ among other names” and that the school did nothing to prevent it.

A 2007 study by GLSEN of more than 6,000 LGBT students found that nearly nine out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half reported being physically harassed and about a quarter reported being physically assaulted.

Maybe it’s because he made a life as a writer in a southern town for the past 50 years. Could be he is simply a private person who wanted to spend his artistic life on other topics. Whatever the reasons, I hope I wasn’t the only one who was surprised to find out that writer Reynolds Price is gay. Or queer to use the term he prefers.

The North Carolina native has a new memoir—his third. Called “Ardent Spirits: Leaving Home, Coming Back,” the book chronicles his life in the 1950’s when he was starting out as a writer and getting some booty at Oxford University. What male sex he did get (to hear Price tell the story he got more than his fair share), it wasn’t from his fellow Oxford students.

“I literally knew no other student who claimed to be queer (or appeared to be — it was some time before queer confessions became as common as weak jokes),” Reynolds writes. “And I couldn’t have told you, till late in my third year, whether or not there was a queer pub or other gathering place in the city.”

Some will be unhappy that a writer of Price’s stature kept his powder dry on gay issues and politics. I understand that impulse but if the struggle is  about individual rights, it’s hard to get funky about someone who lived a life based on his individual status. Also Price has earned my devotion after writing a line a friend told him about the word gay.

“Please don’t call me gay. If you need an adjective, call me morose.”

Somebody put that on t-shirt!

(Raleigh, North Carolina) An anti-bullying bill that includes LGBT students has been given final approval in the North Carolina Senate and now heads to the House. Supporters of the measure say they believe the measure has enough support to pass.

A similar bill died in the legislature last year.

The legislation covers race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. It would require any school employee who witnesses or knows of harassment or bullying to report the incidents to school officials.

The bill received final approval without debate.  On Tuesday, it gained preliminary approval with a 25-22 vote following impassioned arguments on both sides.

The inclusion of sexuality and gender identity was strongly opposed by conservative lawmakers and activist groups.

North Carolina’s two Roman Catholic bishops denounced the bill as a prelude to legalizing same-sex marriage. The Christian Action League of North Carolina urged its members to call or send e-mail to their senators telling them to vote against the measure.  And the Family Policy Council of North Carolina said that if the bill passed it would lead to the expansion of the state’s hate crime law and anti-discrimination laws to cover gays.

But supporters of the bill pointed to a growing number of students in other states who were bullied because fellow students thought they were gay.

There have been at least four suicide of middle-school aged children linked to homophobic bullying, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old from Springfield, Mass., took his life April 6 after enduring constant bullying at school, including anti-LGBT attacks. Carl did not identify as gay.

Also last month, the parents of a Mentor, Ohio, high school student filed a federal lawsuit in connection with their son’s suicide.

Eric Mohat, 17, went home from school on March 27, 2007, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. In a federal lawsuit, his parents allege that he regularly “was called ‘gay,’ ‘fag,’ ‘queer’ and ‘homo’ among other names” and that the school did nothing to prevent it.

A 2007 study by GLSEN of more than 6,000 LGBT students found that nearly nine out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half reported being physically harassed and about a quarter reported being physically assaulted. 

The bill received preliminary approval in the Senate on Tuesday on a 25-22 vote. It must go through a second vote before being sent to the House.

Supporters of the bill believe they have enough support for passage. A similar bill died in the legislature last year.

The legislation covers race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. It would require any school employee who witnesses or knows of harassment or bullying to report the incident to school officials.

The inclusion of sexuality and gender identity was strongly opposed by conservative lawmakers and activist groups.

North Carolina’s two Roman Catholic bishops denounced the bill as a prelude to legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Christian Action League of North Carolina urged its members to call or send e-mail to their senators telling them to vote against the measure.  And the Family Policy Council of North Carolina said that if the bill passed it would lead to the expansion of the state’s hate crime law and anti-discrimination laws to cover gays.

But supporters of the bill pointed to a growing number of students in other states who were bullied because fellow students thought they were gay.

There have been at least four suicide of middle-school aged children linked to homophobic bullying according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old from Springfield, Mass., took his life April 6 after enduring constant bullying at school, including anti-LGBT attacks. Carl did not identify as gay.

Also last month, the parents of a Mentor, Ohio, high school student filed a federal lawsuit in connection with their son’s suicide. Eric Mohat, 17, went home from school on March 27, 2007, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

In a federal lawsuit, his parents allege that he regularly “was called ‘gay,’ ‘fag,’ ‘queer’ and ‘homo’ among other names” and that the school did nothing to prevent it.

A 2007 study by GLSEN of more than 6,000 LGBT students found that nearly nine out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half reported being physically harassed and about a quarter reported being physically assaulted.

I know the majority of you could care less and want to read something newsy and gay. Well in my life gaysey news takes second to a few things: jazz, Charles Johnson,  the New York Mets, cherry pie, and basketball. Last night UNC took Michigan State to the woodshed, beating them 89 to 72.

As the story went a Spartan win was to make up for a Michigan economy on the skids. That is one of the reasons I hate sports writers. They take a game that big children play and infuse it with meaning. When Jackie Robinson came to the plate in 1947, that had significance beyond the box score. And when that first out player sinks a 3-pointer, that will count for something off the court. Excluding those exceptions games are just that. But to hear the sports news world, a Michigan State win would cut the state’s unemployment in half and bring GM back to the top. Tom Izzo’s team is very good, but they are not wizards.

The Tar Heels, thankfully,  didn’t let the miracle story get in their way.

“If you would tell me that if Michigan State wins, it’s gonna satisfy the nation’s economy, then I’d say, ‘Hell, let’s stay poor for a little while longer,”’ said UNC coach Roy Williams.

Sorry to any Spartan fans ( hey Chitown Kev: do you want to take back that prediction?), and don’t worry. There will be no gloating from me. Well at least not publicly. TAR HEELS BABY! Okay. I’m done.

PS: Happy birthday Billie Holiday.

PSS: University of Connecticut goes for an unbeaten season tonight. This game could be over in the first 2 minutes.

If you are  of  a certain age, black, and wanted to be your lawyer your role models were Barbara Jordan and Thurgood Marshall. If you dreamed of writing, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes were the authors you copied from. If history was your thing, you looked to W.E.B. DuBois and John Hope Franklin.

Franklin was a scholar and activist. His books on southern history have become a standard for anyone looking to learn about the South. He even admitted that he thought a historian had to be involved in the worlds of scholarship and policy making. He worked with Marshall and a team of lawyers to strike down “separate but equal” in  Brown v. Board of Education. He marched with Martin Luther King in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

But the activism never made the academic work second rate. Sure he got slammed (rightfully in my opinion) for the report written by President Bill Clinton’s 1997 Advisory Board to the President’s Initiative on Race, but outside of that blemish his work got respect from peers and the general public.

My mom will hate this story, but she’s not here to defend herself. She saw Franklin on C-SPAN and called me. Ma was terrible with names and we would always play this game when she was describing someone (for some reason any time she talked about Princeton professor Cornel West she called him the  “unkempt one”). So she starts talking about this black scholar, “an elderly gentleman” who has written many books.

“Have you heard of him,” she asked.

“Mom, I’ve heard of a lot of elderly black men who have written books,” was my reply.

“You are such a snob.”

So we played twenty questions. She remembered he taught at Duke University (Franklin’s last institution). I started laughing which made her even more convinced of my snob status.

“Ma you are talking about John Hope Franklin. You have his books.”

“You don’t know what I have.”

“Yes I do. I met him at a conference and had him sign two of his books to you.”

There was a pause.

“I so hate you,” she said as we both laughed.

She went downstairs and there they were. A collection of essays and speeches and From Slavery to Freedom.