Yard March Protests Homophobia

Chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, homophobia's got to go" echoed through Harvard Yard yesterday during a rally planned by the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance (BGLTSA).

The "Stop the Hate" rally against homophobia was organized to protest recent homophobic incidents on campus and throughout the world.

About 100 people took part in the march, winding through Harvard Yard and ending with the rally at the Science Center.

"We want to get the community out here to show support for the queer kids at Harvard," said BGLTSA co-chair Michael K.T. Tan '01, who added that the group did not have any concrete demands.

"This was a collective, symbolic statement that there is no reasonable justification for bigotry," he said.

A number of incidents of homophobic vandalism at Mather, Adams and Winthrop Houses over the past month have sparked concern in the Harvard community.

"We simply could not let such blatant acts of hatred fall by the wayside," said BGLTSA Board member Matthew S. Trent '00.

The event was co-sponsored by a number of campus groups, including other organizations that focus on issues of sexuality, as well as cultural, ethnic, public service and other activist groups.

When the rally began at noon, the steps of Memorial Church were already canvassed with posters with messages such as "Is my pain fun - why cause it?" and "More than tolerance, I want love."

BGLTSA members and supporters stood on the church's stairs holding posters with the names of 20 people killed in the past year for their sexual orientation.

Written simply in black pen on white paper, one poster read "Henry Northington: beheaded, severed head left on a footbridge in a public park."

"We refuse to stand silently while we are made to feel uncomfortable in our own home," BGLTSA co-chair Anna M. Baldwin '00 said.

Tan said he believes that the acts of vandalism highlight a disturbing trend. The homophobic incidents have initiated discussion, but Tan said he has noticed that students address homosexuality as a decision and not as biology.

"While we are willing to engage in dialogue, we are not interested in a conversation on the validity of homosexuality," he said. "No one asks about the merits of blackness or womanliness--it's asinine."

"Homosexuality is not a belief system," he added. "It is the way people are: how they love and whom they love."

As BGLTSA members linked arms and began their march through the Yard, they were joined by onlookers, including David P. Illingworth, associate director of financial aid for Harvard and Radcliffe colleges.

"This is a fight for everyone. [The rally] is an important sign that students are not going to take hateful behavior from fellow students," said Undergraduate Council Vice President. Kamil E. Redmond '00, who attended the rally.

Even a tour group from Brazil was inspired to join the march.

"Harvard is one of the best places to study, and it is a good practice to raise this problem," said one tour group member.

Before the rally dispersed, Baldwin implored the group to "take the energy we have chanting here back to your Houses. We have to stop the hate."