HI there! My name is Jase, short for Jason Ruel. I am a 28 (12-18) year old gay man living in one of the most rural areas of Illinois. I live in the city where Western Illinois University is located. I am currently an IL State Licensed Cosmetologist and a Senior Interdisciplinary Studies major with a focus on counseling (marriage and family, abuse and recovery, and queer).

I am an out and open gay man living in a very rural area, but one that is very welcoming of its Gay Lesbian populous depending on which side of the community you live in and whom you associate yourself with. While at the university I am very active in the Gay Lesbian community, and am a member of the universities Gay Lesbian group formerly called BGLFA - Bisexual Gay Lesbian and Friends Association and now known in it’s current name of UNITY. I was the Awareness week co-chair in 99-00, and am the 2006 (19th Annual) Awareness Week Chairman. I give many educational classes on what it means to be an out and open Gay Lesbian person in rural areas, as well as in the cities. I also hold education forums on HIV/AIDS awareness and Safer Sex amongst our populous. As a member of a GLBT Speakers Panel, I hold conversations/discussions in University classrooms on GLBT issues and how we as a community are treated and mistreated. These educational panels are performed in the hopes of educating and building bridges with our allies in the heterosexual world. I am a strong advocate for equal rights, and hate crimes at the University and was involved in testing the Universities Committee on Sexual Orientations founding of the Anti-Discrimination Policy as, unfortunately, the first person who had to use the statute against a fellow classmate.

I am very active in national GLBT groups and advocacy. I am a member of the ACLU, HRC, and have used the resources of PFLAG. I read the Advocate, OUT, and other publications and am a grass roots effort member of both the ACLU, EqualityIL, EQCA, and the HRC. I also enjoy the honor of writing for many publications in the opinions section defending and standing up for the rights and respect of the GLBT community.

I have been blessed to be able to dispel the myths, stereotypes, and other ignorance involved with the Gay Lesbian community in addition to HIV/AIDS, and I am proud to serve as the Gay Lesbian Editor and AIDS/HIV at BellaOnline. I look forward to sharing my life with you, and hope that you will share your lives with me!

For informational purposes, I have compiled a list of relevant information which I thought some of you may be curious for. I have received many inquiries into my background and thought that it was prudent to post these for you.

Jase ;0)

************************************************************************
Recognitions/Education/Organizations
************************************************************************
Recognitions:
Who’s Who Among American College Students Nominee 2005
Unity Politcal Action Committee/NCOD Committee 2005-present
Transitions Facilitator/Coordinator 1996, 1999-2000, 2005-2006
Awareness Week Chairperson 1999-2000, 2006
Phi Theta Kappa 2003-present
National Dean’s List 2003-2004, 2004-2005
National Honor Society 1995-1996
National Scholars at Large Division 1995-1996
Dean’s List FA 2000, FA SU 2003, FA 2003
Honor List FA 1997, SP 1998, FA 2002, FA 2004, SP 2005,
Golden Apple Award Winner 1996
Presidential Scholarship ONU
Merit Scholarship ONU, WIU (96)
American Legion Citizenship Scholarship 1996-1997
Stonewall Society Honorary for GLBT Activism and Writings
Red Cross Volunteerism/Organization Recognition 1993, 19941995, 1996(2), 1997
American Legion Citizenship/Volunteerism
Inter Hall Council 1999, 2000
Corbin-Olson Hall Government President 1999-2000
Unity LASO Liaison 1999-2000
Hall Government Member 1996, 1999, 2000

Education:
Kankakee Community College 1995-1996 Political Science
Olivet Nazarene University 1997-1999 Divinity, Youth Ministry, Psychology, Nursing, Sociology
Western Illinois University 1999-2000 Psychology
Spoon River College 2000 Emergency medical Technician Basic
Carl Sandburg College 2001-2005 EMT Intermediate, Cosmetology Certificate, Business management/Human Resource Management, Psychology
Western Illinois University 2005-Present, BA Interdisciplinary Studies with focus on Counseling (est. FA 2007), Counselor Education Masters (hopefully accepted FA 2007 or SP 2008)

Organizations/Affiliations:
NAEMT 2000-2005
ACLU 1996-present
HRC 1996-present
BGLFA/UNITY 1996-present
Amnesty Intl 1992-present
AIDS/HIV MSM Educator 1999-present
Peer Mentor 2003-present
NLGJA (National Lesbian Gay Journalism Association) 2006-present


****************************

Here's the latest article from the Aids / HIV site at BellaOnline.com.

Condoms 101 – Types of Condoms
Condoms. They are made of many different materials. They come in many colors and textures. They are meant to protect you against pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). WHat types of condoms are there?

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46042.asp

Please visit aidsandhiv.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Aids / HIV. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Aids / HIV located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=298

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Jason P. Ruel, Aids / HIV Editor
http://aidsandhiv.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


BellaOnline is looking for writers! Here are a few of the topics
that are available for you to write for :
African American Lit | Allergies and Colds | Anime | Asthma | Bowling | Canadian Culture | Cancer | Caribbean Culture | CBS Soaps | Coin Collecting | Deafness | Fishing | and more!

http://www.bellaonline.com/misc/joinus/

**************************************************************
You are currently subscribed to a BellaOnline newsletter, sponsored by
http://www.BellaOnline.com

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click on the link below:

http://www.BellaOnline.com/members/subscribe/unsubscribe.asp?id=57