A coalition of students at Arkansas State University will ask a committee of the Jonesboro City Council to consider a proposed anti-discrimination resolution that would guarantee employees would be protected from discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity. During last month’s city council meeting, Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin stated such a resolution for city employees was not necessary, because he said the city already complies with state and federal regulations concerning discrimination. The Sun newspaper reports that members of Arkansas State University’s Gay Straight Alliance will go before the Nominating and Rules Committee tonight to ask for the resolution to pass. The resolution reportedly mirrors one that was recently approved by the Conway City Council. Spokesman for the group, Ryan Carter, says the group is pushing for stronger language in the policy.
Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.