by Erica

Two Fridays ago, on April 25^th, a large group of about 75 Binghamton and BCC students, faculty members, LGBTQ organization members and community members all gathered together outside of the University Downtown Center across from the Arena to march to the Binghamton High School in support of one cause.  Less than two weeks prior, I had gotten the motivation to organize a march/rally in response to a particular article that was ran in the local paper…

            With no actual chapters of organizations like MissionAmerica and American Families Association located in the Southern Tier, it was a curious thing to me that the Press & Sun Bulletin had decided to make an issue of the Binghamton High School Gay Straight Alliance’s participation in the Day of Silence this year.  By making it sound as though these Christian-based organizations had specifically targeted Binghamton High School, calling for parents to keep their children home on the Day of Silence to oppose what the day supposedly signifies as a “homosexual agenda,” the Press & Sun Bulletin’s front page, above the fold headline news served to stir up controversy in Binghamton that was not there to begin with.

            It began at the beginning of the academic year last September, when a small group of LGBTQ kids and their allies pushed to form a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at Binghamton High School.  For a school with a history of teens committing suicide (on school grounds!) for bullying and harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, it is quite the courageous and positively progressive thing to do; to form a GSA.  Having a place for these kids to go to in school where they can be themselves and feel safe being whom they are, is vital, especially when schools are supposed to be a safe haven for all students to begin with.

            Going along with the whole purpose of a GSA, participation in a day that over 6,800 high schools have participated in for the past 12 years, in order to “bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment in schools” only seems natural.  I’m not sure what “homosexual agenda” the religious right is so worried about in this nation.  If they are so against what the Day of Silence serves to do, which is basically to promote tolerance and safer schools for all people, simply because it has a focus on people who are harassed because of their sexual identity, then we have more to worry about in this country than is even recognized. 

            If the message that we are sending to our children in this country results in deaths of innocent, young kids, like the recent murder of Lawrence King in February 2008 by his classmate, then that message needs to be examined and fixed.  Does one of the members of MissionAmerca or American Families Association really want their kid to go to school and be harassed because he or she happens to be a little nerdy?  Their kid has just as much potential to be called a “little faggot” or be pushed into a wall for being a little “pussy queer” because he prefers to design webpages instead of playing an American sport like the next kid does.  The point is that you don’t have to identify with the queer community to feel the effects of a heterosexist, homophobic nation.

            Harassment and bullying because of heterosexism and homophobia affects every child that steps foot onto his/her school’s campus and , therefore, this supposed “homosexual agenda” is really a “human agenda.”  So when I organized this event, this silent march in support of GSA’s and the Day of Silence, I meant to show our community that there actually is an enormous amount of support in this town for those kids at Binghamton High School.  Because despite what the national Christian-right organizations have been brainwashing into people’s heads, the message of the Day of Silence is a day and a message that all people should be in support of—and, most importantly, that this town is in support of…

            As a campus, we have a large, gay-affirmative faculty.  The student body is already fairly liberal and progressive in terms of their social viewpoints for the queer community.  We also, of course, have the Rainbow Pride Union (RPU), which has recently made enormous positive improvements on this campus for queer students. 

            The RPU has grown so much since my first steps into the little rainbow-windowed room on the third floor of the New Union.  From a social space for queer students to connect, the RPU has grown to also be a strong political force on this campus by working with health services to get free HIV/AIDS testing for all students, working on trans issues by getting gender neutral family bathrooms into the Union renovations for next year, and hosting forums and other awareness activities to educate the campus population on everything from intersex identities to ending homophobic hate speech. And, of course, we cannot forget RPU’s Q Magazine, serving to bring LGBTQ issues in the boldest, rawest form to the minds of students and community members alike.  If the RPU keeps heading in this direction—if it keeps building a presence on and off campus—I can foresee some very positive atmospheric changes occurring here in the future. 

            I would like to see this campus achieve a few things by 2020, all of which I don’t think are far fetched at all.  One would be the development of a queer studies minor (at the very least).  I would like to see SafeZone completely revamped and reinstated, especially so that RAs are getting more effective training on how to combat homophobia in residence halls.  Finally, I would like to see Binghamton University make it onto the list of LGBTQ-friendly colleges.  Really, it’s about time it started really working towards making it on there—and I think we’re headed in the right direction in order to achieve it.

            As for the community, there is so much there to work with.  We have not just one now, but many gay-owned or LGBTQ-friendly places to go.  Socially, whether it is for internet access, good food, live music, drinking or just hanging out, there are multiple options, all either gay-owned or queer-friendly places: The Cyber Café, The Lost Dog Café, The MainFrame Cyber Center, Merlin’s, Squiggy’s, Tranquil, and Zipper’s.  All of these places have their own charms, but my only criticism to them is that they need to start supporting and promoting each other in order to serve the community they support even better!  With all of these fantastic places to go, any tensions that may exist between them only serve to hold them, and the community itself, back from their fullest potentials.  My suggestion to the future of these businesses and the LGBTQ community of Binghamton is to branch out to each other.  Like the Rainbow Pride Union is a “union,” form one giant alliance.  Make events work with each other, rather than against.  I can see some attempts to support each other already starting to happen and I expect that in a few years I will see Binghamton’s LGBTQ community be much closer and stronger than ever before.  Remember: we are much more powerful in numbers!

            Politically, we are absolutely set for making a more positive atmosphere for LGBTQ people here in the future.  We have Mayor Ryan in total support for us as he raises the Rainbow flag every year, makes appearances at our marches and at Pride and frequents and supports our local businesses.  The city council, after these last elections, is now made up of all democrats who are ready to make positive changes.  They unanimously back even the little guys (e.g.. the proclamation the city council passed in support of the Binghamton High School’s GSA two weeks ago!) on gay issues.  Just from this, any outside queer individual’s view of Binghamton would be a positive one.  The more queer-friendly the town is, the more the town will attract queer-friendly people—in no time this town could be the equivalent (or better!) of Ithaca.

            One thing I am very excited for is the continued attention and support that is being brought around the young queers of our community—because they are the future of this area.  Besides the march on April 25^th, this community has proven in the past that it supports LGBTQ youth.  For instance, i3 has created a space for youths (14-21 years old) to meet weekly in a group called “Beyond the Rainbow Wall.” As a place where high school students from about six or more surrounding high schools travel to, these kids have the opportunity to develop their own social network and discuss issues that matter to them with each other and with their mentors at the meetings and social gatherings held every Wednesday after school. 

            In development now, through Binghamton’s LGBTQ Youth Coalition, is an entire youth center in the works that will go up in the building next door to i3.  Just think—an entire place just for queer youth to visit, socialize, play games and receive support from each other.  By 2020 this could be the hottest spot to go as a youngster who isn’t yet of age to go to the bars or fit in at the more adult potlucks and picnics throughout the year and during Pride month.

            Overall, the campus and community needs to continue to work together and improve upon making these relations even better over the coming years.  The RPU and Q Magazine want to reach out to the community more since we all believe in the same issues and want to make Binghamton a safer and more fun place for everyone.  Without the campus, the community wouldn’t be as strong, and without the community, the students on campus wouldn’t have anywhere to go!

            I believe that the 75 students and community members that all came together to support Binghamton High School’s GSA two weeks ago is a promising reflection of what this town possesses at its core.  This type of response to one issue does not happen everywhere and so I believe it is a positive omen for the future of this campus and this town. 

            I want to come back as an alumnus by 2020 and really see some positive changes!  If you don’t make it happen for me, then make it happen for yourselves.  It is in your power to create the community you want to see; just make it happen.

            May the future of Binghamton continue to look as brightly as it did the day we marched on April 25^th…

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