Last Friday, a sea of students wearing red flooded the O'Neill Plaza for the Support Love Rally. The event, co-sponsored by Allies and the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC), attracted a crowd over 100 strong.
Standing on a platform in the plaza, Diana Nearhos, president of Allies and A&S '11, explained the purpose of the event: "Allies is a GLBT straight alliance. We support the gay community and educate on important issues, especially those pertaining to tolerance and acceptance," she said. "We want to create a more accepting community at BC, where people can feel comfortable being himself or herself no matter what sexuality."
Allies, an independent organization and an official Boston College club, has reformed this year and is clarifying its mission.
"You may not have seen it because it has kind of fallen apart and died in the past few years, but we started bringing it back last year," Nearhos said. "We're bringing it back this year as its own organization. We'll be working with GLC a lot, but also trying to make it a presence in itself. Straight people are often cautious about joining GLC because they are afraid of appearing gay themselves. We want to appeal to those people."
She said that the purpose of the rally was to begin reintroducing Allies as a group, and to reintroduce the Support Love Campaign that the GLC and Allies are using as a theme for the entire year.
Celso Perez, co-president of the GLC and A&S '09, said the event is intended to "encourage dialogue among students that will discourage homophobia and ignorance."
Elizabeth Ryan, co-president of the GLC and CSON '09, agreed. "Although most BC students are progressive and welcoming, there are still issues that need to be worked out. There is a lot of silence about the issue that can sometimes be more hurtful than openly homophobic statements," she said.
The president and vice president of the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) were the next to speak. "We were there for solidarity," said Chris Denice, president of the UGBC and CSOM '09. "Everyone should be aware of how to be an ally and what it means. It takes each individual on the campus to make a difference and that's what we're trying to do."
Denice spoke on why Allies is a necessary component of the University's demographic: "What if you had to hide certain aspects about your life? What if you thought there was no one to confide in, and that your problems were yours alone?" he said. "Sometimes we are too caught up in our lives even to notice those around us."
Alejandro Montenegro, vice president of the UGBC and A&S '09, continued, "Being an ally means speaking out against intolerance and ignorance speech, even when it is uncomfortable to do so," he said. "An ally will do this, not for personal gain or to repay a debt, but because it is the right thing to do."
The UGBC, Denice said, is working to make Allies, the GLC, and Lambda work in coordination.
Jeremy Marks, A&S '09, was the fifth of six student speakers to talk and sought to rouse the students in the audience.
"It is important for people to hear about the necessity of respect and love," Marks said. He went on to talk about the inclusiveness of the group, and how it was open to every member of the BC community. "There are a lot of different ways to support and respect others," he said.
Vincent Lynch, director of continuing education in the graduate school of social work, spoke about having gay and straight sons and his participation in Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
Virginia Reinburg, a professor in the history department, also spoke at the rally.
Meghan Butler, A&S '09, attended the rally and said, "This event was a visual representation of the support there is on campus." She also said that she is a strong advocate of the group because of her Catholic faith. "I believe that we are called to love and accept everyone in the way that Christ did," Butler said.
The rally also introduced the Support Love Campaign, Nearhos said. "It's an effort to promote dialogue and acceptance and fight against homophobia," she said. "It's an effort to be more visible on campus and let gay people know that they have support on campus."
She said that the rally attempts to encourage people to support love in general, whether it be between two men, two women, or a man and a woman. "It's really hard to be against this. It appeals to everyone," Nearhos said.
Also part of the campaign are the red "support love" T-shirts, now omnipresent on the BC campus.
The shirts will be on sale next week for $5 in the lobby of McElroy.
In addition, the GLC will also sponsor a ribbon hanging, in which people can hang rainbow ribbons in support of national coming out week, which begins on Oct. 6.
Ben Mayer contributed to this report.
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