Time For Understanding

LAST month Harvard's Gay and Lesbian Students' Association divided into separate groups for men and women. The change is indicative of the vast growth of the campus gay population and debate on gay issues. This fall twice as many gay students participated in gay groups than in previous years.

The gay community has also broadened its agenda. Last year Defeat Homophobia was created to spearhead gay activism and garner heterosexual involvement; Seventh Sense, which has a "no assumptions" policy regarding the sexual orientation of its participants, was formed to spur debate on women's and sexual issues. In the spring the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues Network was created by students and faculty to urge the University to recognize gay concerns.

Fortunately, the administration has made an effort to respond to gay concerns. This fall Harvard instituted a policy on gay harassment and disseminated a brochure on anti-gay discrimination and homophobia. In half of the houses, tutors have been designated as liasons for gay concerns; hopefully, this policy will be adopted by the remaining houses.

DEFEATING homophobia and anti-gay discrimination can only be achieved with heterosexual recognition and support. Last spring, during Gay Lesbian Awareness Days, many students sported gay-rights buttons and discussed issues of tolerance. That spirit ought to drive involvement and education throughout the year.

There are plenty of concerns with appeal to homosexual and heterosexual students that could be a common draw for these groups. Last month 200 students packed into the Winthrop House JCR to hear an AIDS victim speak out, showing broad-based concern for a community issue that has until recently been perceived as a gay issue. Heterosexual and gay students could be drawn together to discuss issues that arise when students find out that friends are gay, or how prejudices arise against gays.

What is at issue is not the morality of homosexuality or heterosexuality. It is a question of the openness of a community. One need not be gay to respect others' right to be.

College campuses are, at their best, a forum where students can actively debate and act upon ideas that are often not so well tolerated in the world after graduation. When students are spun out into the real world, hopefully they will carry with them lessons they have learned about living with students from a variety of backgrounds, with a variety of concerns.

And that is why broadened understanding of the gay community's concerns is so crucial for Harvard students, no matter what their sexual orientation. Now is the time to tackle misconceptions and to pave the way to understanding.