Local
Gay-Straight Alliance summit draws 130 students
Potomac event is first-of-its-kind in D.C. area
The Bullis School in Potomac hosted the first annual GSA Student Summit this week. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
At least 130 students from 17 independent, private high schools and middle schools in the D.C. metro area met on Tuesday morning in what was billed as the region’s first annual Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Student Summit.
The event took place on the campus of the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., whose GSA group organized and hosted the gathering, according Bullis students and administrators.
“We just started the GSA this year, so I’m really proud of everybody who has been involved with this,” said Bullis 10th grader Sarah Holliday, who helped organize the summit.
“And seeing everybody come out here today is really heart-warming – that everybody still cares about this and wants to make a difference,” she said.
The New York-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which keeps track of and provides assistance to GSAs throughout the country, says 4,000 such groups have registered with GLSEN.
“Gay-Straight Alliances are student clubs that work to improve school climate for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,” a statement on the GLSEN website says.
“Found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. military bases, GSAs have become one of the fastest-growing student clubs in the country,” the GLSEN statement says.
Among the schools represented by GSA members at Monday’s summit were Sidwell Friends School, Georgetown Day School, St. Albans School, National Cathedral School, and Edmund Burke School – all in D.C.
Others included Potomac School in McLean; St. Stephens and St. Agnes Schools in Alexandria; Landon School in Bethesda; and Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac.
The summit began with a plenary session in which Bullis Head of School Gerald Boarman welcomed both student participants and teachers and counselors that accompanied the students from their respective schools.
“It’s very important and apropos that at Bullis, where we are open in every way, embracing every individual who crosses through the hallways, that we’re hosting this event,” Boarman said.
“You are the participators,” he said. “You are the game changers. And I’m hoping you’ll take that not only as your mission but continue to do it throughout your years, not only in high school but in life.”
Tonia Poteat (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Tonia Poteat, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and an out lesbian, delivered the keynote speech at the summit.
Poteat, who holds a Ph.D. in public health, told of her involvement in AIDS prevention and education programs in Africa and of her work on behalf of LGBT rights causes in the U.S.
“We must challenge what is and think about what must be so that we can look at the social forces that created inequality and make a difference in them,” she said.
Following the plenary session the students met among themselves in two separate workshop sessions in which groups of about a dozen sat at conference tables to share ideas about operating GSAs.
Teachers, school counselors and administrators conferred separately at two conference tables to share their experiences in facilitating GSA groups at their respective schools.
Cathy Chu, youth leadership manager for SMYAL, the D.C.-based LGBT youth advocacy and service group, attended the summit as an observer. She told the gathering about SMYAL’s new initiative to help coordinate GSAs in the D.C. area.
SMYAL Executive Director Andrew Barnett said SMYAL is aware of about 77 GSAs in public schools in the D.C. metro area.
In interviews at the conclusion of the summit, nearly all of the students who spoke with the Blade said their respective schools were generally supportive of the school’s GSA.
Several of the students said their schools welcomed the annual GSA-initiated “Day of Silence” in which LGBT students and their straight allies remain silent in school and in all classes. The silence is intended to draw attention to anti-LGBT bullying and violence, which organizers say has had devastating effects on those targeted for such behavior.
“I think Bullis is a great GSA environment,” said Sean Watkinson, a Bullis senior. “The GSA has a huge impact on the school. We do a lot with the Day of Silence and there is just a lot of talk about it and we have a lot of support from the school as a whole.”
Some of the students said members of their school GSAs or other similar groups remain cautious about identifying themselves as gay.
Ian Dabney of Landon School of Bethesda said that school has a group called Ally Council, which has no “set member list” but tries to accomplish the same goals as a GSA.
“We don’t have meetings very often,” he said. “But we’re trying to get it going more often and get more people involved in it.”
Fellow Landon student Bobby Bolen, a freshman, said the Ally Council was intended to be “less structured than a GSA to make it less uncomfortable.”
Added Bolen, “You can go if you’re just an ally or if you’re gay – either one. It doesn’t make you choose. The term GSA makes some kids uncomfortable.”
When asked what the gay-straight breakdown was among GSA members at Bullis, junior Rayna Tyson said the group prefers not to press students into making those distinctions.
“No, especially when we have our meetings and we’re all getting together we don’t distinguish between who are the allies and like who is gay – like raise your hand if you’re gay?” she said.
“I think it is really about coming together and everyone being treated equally no matter what. We don’t have to put it out there,” she said. “It’s just great that people are here today who are gay, straight – it doesn’t matter. They are supportive and that’s what matters.”
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s Blue Moon is for sale but owners aim to keep it in gay-friendly hands
$4.5 million listing includes real estate; business sold separately
Gay gasps could be heard around the DMV earlier this week when a real estate listing for Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Blue Moon bar and restaurant hit social media.
Take a breath. The Moon is for sale but the longtime owners are not in a hurry and are committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Tim Ragan, one of the owners, told the Blade this week. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney are separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale are listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They are listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price has not been publicly disclosed.
But Ragan, who has owned the Moon for 20 years, told the Blade nothing is imminent and that the Moon remains open through the holidays and is scheduled to reopen for the 2026 season on Feb. 10. He has already scheduled some 2026 entertainment.
“It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” Ragan said, noting that he turns 70 next year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
He said there have been many inquiries and they’ve considered some offers but nothing is firm yet.
Given the Moon’s pioneering role in queering Rehoboth Beach since its debut 44 years ago in 1981, many LGBTQ visitors and residents are concerned about losing such an iconic queer space to redevelopment or chain ownership.
“That’s the No. 1 consideration,” Ragan said, “preserving a commitment to the gay community and honoring its history. The legacy needs to continue.” He added that they are not inclined to sell to one of the local restaurant chains.
You can view the real estate listing here.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Tristan Fitzpatrick on his new position as Digital Communications Manager with TerraPower. TerraPower creates technologies to provide safe, affordable, and abundant carbon-free energy. They devise ways to use heat and electricity to drive economic growth while decarbonizing industry.
Fitzpatrick’s most recent position was as Senior Communications Consultant with APCO in Washington, D.C. He led integrated communications campaigns at the fourth-largest public relations firm in the United States, increasing share of voice by 10 percent on average for clients in the climate, energy, health, manufacturing, and the technology. Prior to that he was a journalist and social media coordinator with Science Node in Bloomington, Ind.
Fitzpatrick earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations, from Indiana University.
Congratulations also to the newly elected board of Q Street. Rob Curis, Abigail Harris, Yesenia Henninger, Stu Malec, and David Reid. Four of them reelected, and the new member is Harris.
Q Street is the nonprofit, nonpartisan, professional association of LGBTQ+ policy and political professionals, including lobbyists and public policy advocates. Founded in 2003 on the heels of the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Lawrence v. Texas, when there was renewed hope for advancing the rights of the LGBTQ community in Washington. Q Street was formed to be the bridge between LGBTQ advocacy organizations, LGBTQ lobbyists on K Street, and colleagues and allies on Capitol Hill.
District of Columbia
New queer bar Rush beset by troubles; liquor license suspended
Staff claim they haven’t been paid, turn to GoFundMe as holidays approach
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board on Dec. 17 issued an order suspending the liquor license for the recently opened LGBTQ bar and nightclub Rush on grounds that it failed to pay a required annual licensing fee.
Rush held its grand opening on Dec. 5 on the second and third floors of a building at 2001 14 Street, N.W., with its entrance around the corner on U Street next to the existing LGBTQ dance club Bunker.
It describes itself on its website as offering “art-pop aesthetics, high-energy nights” in a space that “celebrates queer culture without holding back.” It includes a large dance floor and a lounge area with sofas and chairs.
Jackson Mosley, Rush’s principal owner, did not immediately respond to a phone message from the Washington Blade seeking his comment on the license suspension.
The ABC Board’s order states, “The basis for this Order is that a review of the Board’s official records by the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) has determined that the Respondent’s renewal payment check was returned unpaid and alternative payment was not submitted.”
The three-page order adds, “Notwithstanding ABCA’s efforts to notify the Respondent of the renewal payment check return, the Respondent failed to pay the license fee for the period of 2025 to 2026 for its Retailer’s Class CT license. Therefore, the Respondent’s license has been SUSPENDED until the Respondent pays the license fees and the $50.00 per day fine imposed by the Board for late payment.”
ABCA spokesperson Mary McNamara told the Blade that the check from Rush that was returned without payment was for $12,687, which she said was based on Rush’s decision to pay the license fee for four years. She said that for Rush to get its liquor license reinstated it must now pay $3,819 for a one-year license fee plus a $100 bounced check fee, a $750 late fee, and $230 transfer fee, at a total of $4,919 due.
Under D.C. law, bars, restaurants and other businesses that normally serve alcoholic beverages can remain open without a city liquor license as long as they do not sell or serve alcohol.
But D.C. drag performer John Marsh, who performs under the name Cake Pop and who is among the Rush employees, said Rush did not open on Wednesday, Dec. 17, the day the liquor board order was issued. He said that when it first opened, Rush limited its operating days from Wednesday through Sunday and was not open Mondays and Tuesdays.
Marsh also said none of the Rush employees received what was to be their first monthly salary payment on Dec. 15. He said approximately 20 employees set up a GoFundMe fundraising site to raise money to help sustain them during the holiday period after assuming they will not be paid.
He said he doubted that any of the employees would return to work in the unlikely case that Mosley would attempt to reopen Rush without serving liquor or if he were to pay the licensing fee to allow him to resume serving alcohol without having received their salary payment.
As if all that were not enough, Mosley would be facing yet another less serious problem related to the Rush policy of not accepting cash payments from customers and only accepting credit card payments. A D.C. law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2025, prohibits retail businesses such as restaurants and bars from not accepting cash payments.
A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, which is in charge of enforcing that law, couldn’t immediately be reached to determine what the penalty is for a violation of the law requiring that type of business to accept cash payments.
The employee GoFundMe site, which includes messages from several of the employees, can be accessed here.
Mosley on Thursday responded to the reports about his business with a statement on the Rush website.
He claims that employees were not paid because of a “tax-related mismatch between federal and District records” and that some performers were later paid. He offers a convoluted explanation as to why payroll wasn’t processed after the tax issue was resolved, claiming the bank issued paper checks.
“After contacting our payroll provider and bank, it was determined that electronic funds had been halted overnight,” according to the statement. “The only parties capable of doing so were the managers of the outside investment syndicate that agreed to handle our stabilization over the course of the initial three months in business.”
Mosley further said he has not left the D.C. area and denounced “rumors” spread by a former employee. He disputes the ABCA assertion that the Rush liquor license was suspended due to a “bounced check.” Mosley ends his post by insisting that Rush will reopen, though he did not provide a reopening date.
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