UArts gets openly gay president

After a widespread international search, the University of the Arts’ governing board recently named Sean T. Buffington president and CEO of the renowned Philadelphia school.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, this makes Buffington the third openly gay university president in the country.

His tenure at University of the Arts, 320 S. Broad St., begins Aug. 15.

Buffington, 38, replaces Miguel Angel Corzo, who led the university for seven years.

After graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in English, American literature and Afro-American studies, the Maryland native received a master’s in American culture from the University of Michigan.

He then moved on to several administrative positions at Harvard College, where he’s worked for the past 13 years.

“I am honored that the board has entrusted me with the responsibility of leading the University of the Arts,” he said in a press release. “This is a singular institution with a storied history, and I believe, a remarkable future.”

Buffington told The Chronicle of Higher Education that his orientation had no impact on the UArts hiring process.

“The board and the search committee were interested in my experience and my ideas,” he said. “My personal life is not relevant to the job I’ve been asked to do.”

— Casey Bell

Mountain Meadow offers camp tour

Mountain Meadow is hosting a tour of its camp from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Aug. 18.

The Mountain Meadow community organization is dedicated to providing a supportive and safe space for all children of GLBT families and their allies.

Visitors touring the camp will go on a youth-led tour followed by a question-and-answer session with Mountain Meadow’s executive director and lunch.

For more information, e-mail tour@mountainmeadow.org or call (215) 772-1107.
Camp Rehoboth to host benefit

Camp Rehoboth is set to host its 20th Anniversary Sundance Benefit from 7-10 p.m. Sept. 1 and 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Sept. 2 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center.

The event, titled “Sundance 2007: The Fantastic Voyage of the Starship Rainbow,” features both silent and live auctions, with a cocktail buffet and an open bar on Sept. 1 and a dance party with music by DJ Mark Thomas, lights by Paul Turner and an open bar Sept. 2.

Camp Rehoboth is a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to creating a more positive environment in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and its related communities.

The event is Camp Rehoboth’s largest annual fundraiser, with last year’s Sundance raising $180,000. Camp Rehoboth will again this year donate 50 percent of the Sundance proceeds to the Sussex County AIDS Council.

For more information, visit www.sundancebenefit.com or call (302) 227-5620.

Judge allows couple contact

A gay Pennsylvania couple has been allowed to see each other again after being ordered to stay away from each other as part of a drug conviction sentence.

Daniel Mangini of Montgomery County had been barred from speaking with Steven Roberts, his partner of 20 years.

In December 2003, the couple was arrested for selling drugs to support their methamphetamine addiction. They later pled guilty to possession with intent to sell and received a prison sentence to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The U.S. Probation Office bars people on supervision from associating with other felons while on supervised release and, since same-sex relationships were not treated as family, Mangini and Roberts were told by their probation officer that they would have to stay away from each other.

The ACLU appealed the decision. Judge Marvin Katz, who issued the order on Aug. 1, initially sided with the probation department. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the decision and remanded the case back to Katz. At a hearing on July 31, the couple testified about their relationship and their recovery from addiction.

After acknowledging the long-term commitment that the couple has made to each other and noting the great strides both have made in their recovery, Katz ruled that the couple could no longer be barred from having contact with each other.

The ACLU called the decision historic, recognizing that same-sex couples are equally protected by the Constitution and must be treated the same as other families.

— Larry Nichols

Bianchi guilty in sex-tourism case

A New Jersey motel owner was found guilty Aug. 3 of traveling to Europe to molest teenage boys in exchange for money and gifts.

Anthony Mark Bianchi, 45, reportedly showed no reaction as the jury read its verdict. He allegedly had sex — or attempted to have sex — with at least six teenage boys in Moldova and Romania in 2003 and 2004.

This week, attorneys for Bianchi filed a motion for a new trial, citing difficulties in defending against crimes that allegedly took place in foreign countries.

A hearing date for the motion hadn’t been set at press time.

“We’re pleased with the jury’s verdict,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenya S. Mann told PGN Aug. 7.

Bianchi faces up to 20 years in prison under sentencing guidelines, Mann added.

Bianchi’s trial lasted three weeks, during which several Moldovan boys testified that he socialized with them, then made sexual advances.

Bianchi’s attorneys told U.S. District Judge Bruce Kauffman that it was problematic getting defense witnesses transported to America for the trial.

Bianchi faces sentencing at 11 a.m. Nov. 1 at the U.S. Court House, 601 Market St.

He remains incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center in Center City, where he’s been since January 2006.

In 2000, Bianchi was convicted in Russia for similar crimes against teenage boys. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but was released under general amnesty and expelled from Russia, before he could serve the sentence.

Man arrested in holiday slaying

Steven Robinson

A Juniata Park man has been arrested for the brutal slaying of an elderly gay man.

Steven Robinson, 39, of the 4200 block of Griscom Street, was arrested at 3:15 a.m. June 19 in South Philadelphia and charged in the stabbing death of Michael Lopuszanski, police said.

Lopuszanski was found just after 1:45 p.m. May 28, lying face-up and partially nude in his second-floor residence on Linden Avenue near Frankford. He was 78.

The cause of death was listed as multiple stab wounds.

“The motive was robbery,” said Sgt. D.F. Pace, a police spokesperson.

He declined to specify what, if anything, Robinson allegedly stole from Lopuszanski.

It doesn’t appear that Lopuszanski was the victim of a hate crime, at this time, Pace said.

Robinson was on probation for an unspecified offense when he allegedly killed Lopuszanski. A hearing on his probation violation is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 21 in Courtroom 1104 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1315 Filbert St.

Robinson also is expected to appear at a preliminary hearing on the Lopuszanski homicide, set for 10 a.m. Sept. 11 in Courtroom 306 of the Criminal Justice Center.

— Timothy Cwiek