New York, NY- Ryan Rockmore, a senior at NYU and president of Delta Lambda Phi, a gay fraternity, astonished the LGBT community by hosting a conference that said “no” to homophobic bullying.
The vigil was held in response to the death of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old sophomore at Rutgers University, marking the sixth national gay suicide in September. The others included Asher Brown (Texas), Seth Walsh (California), Billy Lucas (Indiana), Justin Aaberg (Minnesota), and Raymond Chase (Rhode Island). Some of these victims were as young as 13.
Earlier that week, Clementi had jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his intimate homosexual encounter was broadcasted on the internet.
This event was truly a feat of colossal social networking considering the thousands responses via the Facebook invite. On the evening of October 2, 2010, over 3000 people of all ages and backgrounds gathered in Washington Square Park to mourn the untimely deaths of these teens.
Students from all over the city came together and shared their concern, as well as there hopes for the future pertaining to LGBT rights.
“It’s really great that students created this event.” Said Mike Slaterman, senior at the NYU. “As the next generation of young leaders, we need to come together to fight problems like this”
Monroe France, NYU’s director of LGBT Services said that the issue was proposed by Rockmore at a conference about the coming out process earlier that week at the university. Monroe and the committee had already planned to have a “You Are Loved” chalking event and felt that the vigil would be beneficial in conjunction. After the event had been approved, a lot of planning went into making this event happen.
“We had to buy over 2,000 glowsticks, advertise and spread the word to thousands of people both on Facebook and other social media.” Said Rockmore. “We had to keep people's attention off of an LGBT agenda and really focus on honoring these young men for the evening.”
Some other prominent attendees included Governor David A. Paterson, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Jackson Heights City Councilman Daniel Dromm.
At the end of the evening, patrons raised their glow sticks (candles were prohibited in the park) and Cheyenne Jackson, and openly gay Broadway singer, led the crowd in singing “Over the Rainbow.”
Rockmore was available for a full interview and was eager to share why he organized this commemoration.
“We live in a society now where people are constantly re-focusing their attention on something new and current. It's important to address the issue now while it is still current and fresh along with all the emotions that are associated with these tragic losses.”
It is often believed that we are entering a new generation of acceptance, a place of more open-mindedness than our parents. However, these teen deaths refute that claim. A National School Climate Survey, coordinated in 2007 by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that 90 percent of LGBT youth answered that they had been harassed last year and more than 60 percent felt unsafe in their educational environment due to their sexual orientation.
In congress, GLSEN is pushing the Safe Schools Improvement Act, designed to protect LGBT students in schools across the nation.
At the vigil, city council speaker Quinn stated, “We’re here tonight for probably one of the most important reasons — our children are dying because people think that bullying is a victimless crime.”
The climate is changing within the judicial system pertaining to anti LGBT discrimination. On September 8, 2010, Governor David Paterson signed and anti-bullying act designed to protect students from bigotry in schools.
“I came here as the governor to tell you that the laws of the State of New York will be behind you,” said Paterson. “We will go back to Albany, to the Capitol, to the Legislature… and pass cyber-bullying laws or anything it takes for people to feel this freedom.”
Rockmore, a proponent for stricter bullying laws in the state of New York and nation wide stated,
“We cannot simply tell kids ‘Don't bully!’ or ‘Be nice!’ If we expect the younger generation to be respectful and treat each other with kindness rather than ignorant hate, we must show them what that looks like.” He continued “The administration from secretaries of education to superintendents to principals must pave the way and model why bullying is bad and how students can treat each other to foster a healthier, more peaceful environment.”
The Delta Lambda Phi fraternity has also been heavily involved with the Trevor Project, an organization working to prevent gay teen suicides. Rockmore also plans to support internet safety and etiquette seminars for incoming NYU students, as well as raise awareness about LGBT issues around campus.
No comments:
Post a Comment