University cancels GLBT dance

Citing a conflict with church teachings, the University cancelled an AIDS benefit dance designed to be a safe zone event for GLBT students.

Members of several student groups, including the GLBT Leadership Council (GLC), the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community at Boston College, and Allies, organized the dance, scheduled to mark the end of AIDS Awareness Week on Friday and to take place in the Rat. Organizers were informed by Dean for Student Development Robert Sherwood and assistant dean Christopher Darcy on Nov. 22 that the dance, in the works since the start of the semester, would be cancelled.

"The University's policy is that students apply for permits for events through the Office of the Dean for Student Development, and upon reviewing the request, ODSD and Student Affairs concluded, appropriately, that they could not endorse an event that advocated a position that was in conflict with church teaching," said Jack Dunn, University spokesman.

"What we're doing is what all 238 Catholic universities in the United States would do," continued Dunn. "As a Catholic university, we cannot sanction an event that promotes a lifestyle that is in conflict with church teaching."

"Dean Sherwood and Dean Darcy were originally supportive of the dance," said Sasha Westerman, GLC vice president and A&S '06. "We thought this type of event was possible because of the changes in the non-discrimination clause, the Rally for Equality, and the creation of the GLC."

Proceeds from the dance, $3 from every $10 ticket, would have been donated to the Boston Living Center. Additional donation boxes would have been placed throughout the Rat during the dance. "We're still going to give a $1,500 gift out of our own budget," said Westerman.

Westerman said that the event, originally titled "The GLC Diversity Ball: A Night in Gay Paris - A Safe Zone Event," was designed to be a community builder. The dance would be a semi-formal event, and open to the entire BC community.

"At the UGBC budget meeting at the start of the semester, we made it clear that we wanted to put on a dance at the end of AIDS Awareness Week," said John Hellman, president of GLC and A&S '07. Half of the GLC's budget allocation was earmarked for the dance.

Dance organizers met with Sherwood, Darcy, and Vice President of Student Affairs Cheryl Presley on Nov. 18 to discuss the dance. Westerman said that she and her fellow organizers made a number of concessions based on reservations that the administration had with the dance, including dropping the phrase "Gay Paris" from the title, as well as separating the terms "GLC" and "Diversity."

"The revised title was going to be 'AIDS Benefit Gala: A Celebration of Diversity - A Safe Zone Event,'" said Westerman.

"They [the administration] didn't want 'GLC' in the title," said Hellman. "They also wanted more co-sponsors." The AHANA Leadership Council, BC Democrats, and BC Hillel had signed on as co-sponsors of the event. Westerman said that she and the other organizers were willing to make the necessary concessions in order to the dance off the ground.

"The University didn't want to promote a gay lifestyle," she said. "The whole point of the dance was to show that it's OK to be gay at BC. They didn't allude to wanting to cancel the dance, so we left that meeting optimistic."

Members of GLC meet with Darcy on a regular basis to discuss their organization. Westerman and Hellman attended such a meeting on Nov. 22, and were joined by Sherwood, who informed them of the dance's cancellation.

"We had been working on the dance for so long," said Westerman. "It put us in a bad position, because I had a lot of people working on things during Thanksgiving break."

Westerman said that Sherwood tried to emphasize that the conservative community might want to sabotage the event. "We had met with [BC Police Department] Chief Morse. The dance was going to have five officers and metal detectors at the entrances," she said. "We had put a lot of thought into how we could make this as comfortable as possible for the GLBT community."

"They were concerned with people being outted," said Hellman. "We said that if people were uncomfortable, they probably wouldn't come in the first place." A safe zone is defined as a space that respects all people regardless of sexual orientation, religion, age, and ethnic background.

Administrators scheduled a meeting for students last Wednesday. "The reason Wednesday's meeting happened in the first place is that I told [Presley and Sherwood] that they should tell the GLBT community why the dance was cancelled," said Hellman.

Wednesday's meeting was closed to the press. Between 35 and 40 students attended, as well as Presley, Sherwood, Darcy, and Rev. James Erps, S.J., director of Campus Ministry. Westerman described the meeting as an honest, candid discussion about the reasons why the dance was cancelled.

"It's the worst I've ever felt as a gay man," said Hellman. "Most of the time, [the meeting] was students asking really honest questions, and the administrators being unable to respond." Presley declined to comment, and referred calls to Dunn.

"I asked [the administrators] to look at every gay student in the room, and see the pain in their eyes, and tell them they're not being discriminated against."

Westerman said she felt that the administrators present were in a tough position. "We understand that it's the job of the administrators to carry out the policies of the University," she said. "Their actions don't necessarily reflect their personal views on the matter."

Despite this understanding, Westerman still had strong feelings about the dance's cancellation. "This is blatant discrimination by the administration," she said. "This is about the fact that it was sponsored by the GLC, and was to be a safe zone for GLBT students."