Halloween Costume Party in Idaho Falls!

Thanks to everyone one who joined us last Thursday for Genesis Project's Halloween Costume Party. And a very special thanks to to nurses from the Eastern Idaho Public Health District's Idaho Falls Office. Not only did they administer the FREE HIV rapid testing, they provided wonderful prizes and goody bags for everyone to enjoy! Miss Jay took the grand prize, $200-which he received in the form of gas cards! Way to go, Jay! We were so happy to see all the creative and unique costumes.

Here's a look at the night's event:

Don't forget to email us pictures of yourself in your halloween costumes before tomorrow, NOV 1! We'll post a ballot and let you all vote on who had the best Halloween Costume this year!!!

Have a happy Halloween! AND PLAY SAFE!!!

Thanks,

Genesis Project

Genesis Project's Offical Comment Deletion Policy

The Genesis Project supports an open and honest dialogue. In no way do we want to take away from our blog participants their freedom of expression, and in fact encourage constructive comments. However at the Genesis Project we take the protection of our members and the goals of our project to be of up most importance. Therefore as a blog being utilized to build our community, we have outlined the following policy concerning what comments will be deleted. We make no apologies on this policy. We want to be an upstanding blog, where the freedom of expression is granted, but does not steal away the rights of our community members to be treated with respect.

Genesis Project will delete the following types of comments:

1. Any comment(s) that directly conflict with the mission statement of the project. The mission statement as follows:

The Genesis Project is a community-building program, organized by and for young gay, bisexual, and curious men, ages 18-35. The main goal of Genesis project is to create a safer and stronger community in Southeast Idaho where young men can feel empowered to make a difference in their own lives, the lives of their peers, and their community. We promote making healthy and safe lifestyle choices. One of our main focuses is HIV and STD prevention. By building a community where young men feel safe, strong, and empowered, we hope they will take the steps to protect themselves from sex hazards and have healthy relations with their partners, peers, and community. At Genesis, our goal is to provide gay, bi, and curious men with all the information and tools necessary make smart decisions and lead a healthy life.

2. Any Comment(s) with malicious intentions or which are perceived to have malicious intentions.

3. Any Comment(s) that attack, criticize, or attempt to defame any individual(s) in the community.

4. Spam Comment


5. Any comment(s) which are complaints about comment deletions. These comments take away from the conversation and will not receive a response from the blog administrators.

Unwarranted Comment Deletion

If you feel that your comment(s) were deleted without warrant the Genesis Project will accept complaints via email at genesisproj@gmail.com. When submitting a complaint about a comment deletion you must include in the email, the following:

1. The comment(s) that was deleted, or a description summarizing the comment that was deleted.

2. Why you felt the comment deletion was unwarranted.

3. Your Contact Information.

Any Complaint(s) about comment deletions posted via a COMMENT will not receive a response, and will be deleted.

Recommendations to Avoid Comment Deletion

1. When creating comments be respectful, and express your opinion in way that is constructive and creates an open dialogue. 

2. Avoid comments that speak negatively of organization(s) and individual(s). You can express your opinion, but be politically correct when doing so.

3. Use your better judgment, you are likely to avoid any deletions if you only post comments you are certain will not be deleted and you feel good about.

Thank you all for your continued support, we hope that our blog will continue to be a great success!

Sincerly Your Coordinators,

Derrick Capson                                     Jesse Zamora
Genesis Project Coordinator                                   Genesis Project Co-Coordinator

HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY-$200 PRIZE! FREE HIV TESTING-2NIGHT!

Hey Boys! Don't miss our Halloween Costume Party Tonight! There will be FREE HIV testing and a $200 prize for the best costume! There will snacks, games, music, and more! :)

Concerning Comment Deletions and the Forthcoming Policy Regarding Such...

We apologize for the confusion about the comments that have recently been deleted.

A statement regarding our policy on deletions will soon be posted and enforced. This should clear up any questions or misconceptions you've had about the actions we (the coordinators of Genesis Project) have taken to preserve the integrity and purpose of this blog site. 

We appreciate all the dialogue we've received on our blog site so far, but comments should remain constructive, and should in no way defame the character of any person. Any comments that violate such a standard, or any of the criteria outlined in our forthcoming policy, will be immediately deleted without apology or explanation. Again, this will be outlined in detail in our policy statement, and then further action (deletions if necessary) will be taken.

We too want to keep our blog site a public forum where all opinions and concerns can be expressed freely without censorship, but we also have an obligation to protect all of our members (coordinators included) and remove any material that is in conflict with this goal. As stated before this website will "only promote healthy and positive images of our community members."

Please understand and respect our decision to implement and uphold such a policy.

Thank you,

Genesis Project

Hey boys!
Last night was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to those who dressed up. It provided a lot of entertainment for everyone. And Genesis Project would like to extend a special thanks to Von Bringhurst for developing our Halloween simulation of Jeopardy! Congrats to Eric Archebald for winning best costume as a "Slutty Sailor Girl" and to GP Coordinator, Jesse Zamora for winning runner up as a "Sexy Vampire Boy." Derrick Capson remained completely lovable as "Bert," though he used the catwalk as an opportunity to issue the following statement: "I'm not Gay" (We all got a good laugh from that one). John Primrose spread plenty of holiday cheer as "Santa Claus" but he was disqualified for trying to bribe the judges with candy during his cat walk--looks like he's on the naughty list!
Here's a quick look at last night's event:

If you missed out Monday, then be sure to join us Thursday night from 7-9p.m at the Samuel H. Bennion Student Union Building at University place in Idaho Falls for another Halloween Costume Party! Free HIV testing will be provided along with more snacks, games, and prizes for the best Halloween costume!

Be sure to submit your pictures to genesisproj@gmail.com by Nov. 1 for our Costume Competition. We'll be posting pictures for you to vote on during the first week of November.

Thanks!
Genesis Project

GP's PostSecret Wall

Add anonymous comments to Genesis Project's PostSecret Web Wall to share your secrets!

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST

Genesis Project would like to invite you all to participate in our HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST. Send us a picture of yourself in your halloween costume before November 1st. We'll post your submissions for the next week and allow you all to vote on the best Halloween Costume. Submit your photo to genesisproj@gmail.com.

And just for your entertainment, here's an old picture of Jesse (GP Co-Coordinator) dressed as Jack Sparrow for Halloween in 2007:

Enjoy & Comment! 

Halloween Costume Party & Free HIV Testing!

Join us for FREE HIV testing & a Halloween Costume Party with games, prizes, snacks, and more! |October 29, 2009; 7-9p.m.; Bennion Student Union Building, Idaho Falls, ID|

A Statement Concerning “Burn Book” Blogs…

Gossip, name-calling, & scandalous rumors—anybody can be seduced (or harmed) by the slanderous tabloids that have recently gained popularity in the gay world. I am instantly reminded of the sneaky fighting portrayed in the ever-so-popular Mean Girls film. A jungle-like “survival of the fittest” (or perhaps “meanest”) has taken precedent among social scenes as a way of establishing prestige, gaining popularity, and appeasing jealousy. Well, for those of you who have watched Mean Girls, you know that there was a morale to be learned and consequences to be paid for all who let themselves get caught up in the vicious attacks that took place in the form of whispers, pranks, and within the pages of the infamous Burn Book.

As fictitious as that movie may be, it has themes I feel are very relevant to a similar issue that has surfaced within our community. To be more specific: a current and local Burn Book has taken the more evolved and modern form of a blog site.

Recently this blog site has featured posts about members of the Genesis Project and other members of the LGBT community. Some (not all) of the postings featured hurtful and unqualified statements that inspired more inappropriate comments and a dangerous following.

Genesis Project would like to stress to you how detrimental a site of this nature can be to our local gay community, as well as to friends and families who might happen upon such a site. First of all, such cowardly dialogue does nothing to improve relationships among our already small and persecuted interest group. In fact, it only weakens us against our oppressors, for we subject ourselves to devices that would divide us where we should be united as fellow gay men, as friends, and as a community.

Genesis Project understands the appeal that such a website might have for those of you seeking entertainment by such a hip, fashion-forward medium. And to that interest, we have developed this blog for you—a blog that will not hide authorship behind a pseudonym—a blog that will only promote healthy and positive images of our community members—and a blog invested with helpful resources, engaging topics, and a socially responsible form of entertainment that can be enjoyed by everyone, without the snobbish quality of exclusion that has become the shameful skeleton of inferior, less dignified websites.

We ask that you divert your attention from “Burn Book” websites that depend on your participation to survive, and instead follow our blog site, where we can offer you a legitimate and credible portal where you can express yourself openly and creatively in an environment that will help to rebuild our community.

Thank you,

Jesse Zamora, GP Co-Coordinator

Genesis Project Blog

Hello Boys:

We have decided to create are own blog. The Genesis Project is excited to offer this service to you. Please feel free to submit stories, information, and questions to us at info@genesisproj.com. We will be sure to use them, and plan on posting new stories weekly so check back soon, or better yet sign up for are blog feeder and get updates the minute a blog is posted.

Sincerly,

The Genesis Project