LGBT CENTER LGBT Students Demonstrate During First GAAP Weekend By Arianne Aryanpur Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Matt Siravo (COL ’05) holds a sign `celebrating straightness’ in Red Square on Friday. Siravo was part of a group who responded to a demonstration by GUPride and the Georgetown Solidarity Committee.

GUPride and Georgetown Solidarity Committee members chalked Red Square, distributed leaflets and posted fliers this GAAP weekend in an attempt to inform prospective Georgetown students and their parents about the presence of an LGBT community on campus.

About 20 students wrote in colored chalk, “Gay Hoyas Welcome You to Georgetown” in Red Square and handed out fliers to passers-by Friday. Campaigners also posted signs in classrooms and around campus reading “There are Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Hoyas Too.”

In an attempt to make information available to prospective LGBT students who may have felt uncomfortable revealing their sexual orientation publicly, current students went on campus tours to ask about university resources for LGBT students.

“Our goal was to make LGBT pre-freshmen feel that there was an active and supportive community for them on this campus,” demonstrator Maria Moser (COL ’04) said.

While other minority campus groups can officially distribute information during GAAP weekend, GUPride is not allowed to by the university, according to Patrick Metz (COL ’04).

“Because LGBT people are an invisible minority, the only way that we could make prospective students – both LGBT and straight – aware of the LGBT community on campus was through an assertive campaign, such as the one that took place over GAAP weekend,” campaigner Liam Stack (COL ’05) said.

“We also handed out an information sheet with a list of on-campus resources for LGBT students, the Web sites of student organizations that serve . LGBT [students] and the contact information of current students willing to allow prospective students to contact them via e-mail to talk about LGBT issues at Georgetown,” Stack said.

Demonstrators said they felt the campaign succeeded in educating students and their parents and that they plan to offer their services at subsequent GAAP weekends.

“We felt very confident that any prospective LGBT Hoya would have felt welcomed by our display and [would be] more, rather than less, likely to choose to come to Georgetown,” Metz said.

While GAAP students on the whole and university administration responded positively to the campaign, demonstrators said current student response ranged from very positive to very negative.

“I certainly respect the rights of everyone, but their display was a little over the top,” a student who wished to remain anonymous said.

A group of approximately 15 students responded to GUPride and GSC’s demonstration by expressing their viewpoints as heterosexuals through fliers and a Red Square chalking which read “I am a man who likes women” on Friday.

Matt Siravo (COL ’05) said the counter-demonstration was in no way intended to offend LGBT demonstrators.

“We were just trying to present another side of Georgetown’s campus . It’s just like saying there are basketball players or football players at Georgetown,” Siravo said.

“A lot of parents came up to us actually telling us that it a nice to hear from another side of the school,” he added.

Moser said that while she appreciated that the campaign did not directly attack LGBT students’ work, she felt the counter-demonstration denied that straight people are privileged in society.

Demonstrator Jessica Brown (COL ’05) agreed. “I think it’s obvious that there are different races here at Georgetown as small a number as they are. It’s not so obvious that there are gay people here . [for example] half the students involved in the campaign were straight and felt no need to defend that fact.”

“The difference we felt justified our particular display is that all of these groups had an official voice during GAAP weekend, where our display constituted our only outlet of awareness and information dissemination,” Metz said.

Some students didn’t support the demonstrations. “I thought both were immature [and] were aimed at embarrassing the university,” a student who wished to remain anonymous said.

GAAP board member Trey Street (SFS ’03) agreed. “Being on the GAAP board, I was aware of the difficulties associated with it. None of them contacted the GAAP board. I think there was a better way to get the message across than the signs they posted,” he said.

While GUPride and GSC’s demonstration came at a time of increasing discussion on LGBT student’s resources at Georgetown, demonstrators said their protest was not intended to rekindle the ongoing debate about the establishment of an LGBT resource center. Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez officially rejected the establishment of an LGBT resource center at Georgetown earlier this month, citing Catholicism’s emphasis on traditional marriage as his reason in a two-page letter to the student committee supporting the center.

“We have drafted a response to Gonzalez’s statement in which we detail the reasons we feel his response to us was incomplete and inaccurate and that his decision was wrong,” center supporter Anthony House (COL ’02) said.

In the meantime House said that while proponents remain committed to working within the University, they have met with outside organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance to explore all their options.

Supporters also met with D.C. council members including David Catania (R-DC) (SFS ’90) on Feb. 15 to inform outside parties of the campaign and find out whether they could offer them assistance.

“Since the meetings . we have maintained contact with council members’ offices by phone and more than one council member has offered to contact Georgetown’s administration on our behalf,” House said.

Despite Gonzalez’s official rejection, supporters say they feel that that there is room institutionally for continued discussion.

“They, and we, hope that this matter can be satisfactorily addressed in-house,” House said. “Barring that ideal situation, we remain optimistic about the breadth and depth of other options available to us.”