Over the past week, the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) released a photo project titled “Support Love.” This series includes various members of GLC and the Boston College community donning “Support Love” shirts, sweatshirts, and stickers. Underneath the photos, each student explains his or her support of GLBTQ rights.
“The original intention of the campaign was to candidly stop students in a ‘Humans of New York’ fashion, and challenge them in the moment by asking why they support love,” said Joon Park, director of communication for GLC and A&S ’18.
Park, who led the initiative, hopes to ultimately have this campaign become a spontaneous and widespread project throughout the community.
“I support love because it is a universally beautiful human experience,” said the caption below the photo of Anne Williams, A&S ’17, a participant in the project. “Because I should be able to share my life with any man or woman who inspires me to be as fully committed to making the most of life as possible. Because no one should be discouraged from pursuing happiness.”
The phrase “Support Love” is used internationally by the GLBTQ community and its allies, but this photo campaign is the first of its kind at BC. The full project is presented on social media platform Tumblr, but the GLC’s Facebook page also portrays the pictures of the students and their quotes.
The hashtags #SupportLove and #BostonCollege follow every caption, tracking the BC campaign’s spread on Twitter and other social media sites. Each of the featured students explains different reasons for supporting love.
From a visual standpoint, this project introduces a new perspective. GLC photographed the students in natural settings throughout campus—in dorm rooms, hallways, classrooms, and dining areas. Each photo itself is in black and white, except the “Support Love” clothing or sticker, which stand out in vibrant colors against the otherwise monotonous background.
On the full photo edition on Tumblr, among the photos of BC students, are photos of equal rights advocates for the GLBTQ community throughout the world. These photos bring the BC project into the context of the global initiative of the same name.
Thomas Napoli, chair of UGBC’s Institutional Policy Review Committee and A&S ’16, is among those featured in the photoset.
“Love is one of the few things in this world that is hopelessly out of our control,” the caption of his photo said. “There are places where embracing yourself can literally be life or death, yet still the LGBTQ community perseveres. If that’s not a testament to love’s awesomeness, I don’t know what is. And for that, I support love.”
This campaign is designed to serve as a conversation starter for students in BC who may not be involved in GLC.
“We were shocked by how many people were more than willing to share their vulnerability and put themselves in the awkward position of publicly sharing their statements and stories on Facebook,” Park said. “The support for the campaign has been surprisingly overwhelming.”
Andrew Engber, GLC chair and A&S ’15, shared his hopes for the long-term effect of this campaign.
“In the long-term, I hope that the campaign will help to foster greater acceptance and respect for LGBT people in the BC community,” he said. “I also hope that students who may be struggling with their sexuality will see this and recognize that there are many allies on campus who support them, and that this will help them to come to terms with their own identities.”
Featured Image courtesy Joon Park
It’s great that each year more and more colleges and universities start to show tolerance to minorities. Sadly not all people understand the concept of equality and keep on hating. However, it was really interesting to read about this project. A while ago I’ve met students who need essay writers online because they have a hard time being accepted at school. I really hope more colleges will support the idea of acceptance in the future. We all have the right to education. Hopefully one day tolerance will dominate all prejudices.
“We were shocked by how many people were more than willing to share
their vulnerability and put themselves in the awkward position of
publicly sharing their statements and stories on Facebook,” Park said.
“The support for the campaign has been surprisingly overwhelming.”
Check it
I can say it is a cool project! I think you must to do something that to be someone! That is way education is very importent for everyone! And now, I want to recommend the best way in education! It is college essay writing service ,fast and good! They are the best writer)))
What an inspiring news article! It’s wonderful to see a generation filled with love and acceptance rather than hate and prejudice. Definitely, love wins.
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What a heart whelming post. Everybody needs love, even I support it. I am hoping that other people also support this. Spread love people!
This is very heart warming. It is wonderful to see people coming together in acceptance and working to make the world a better place.
love your comment Lindsay! you are entirely right, it is wonderful to see all these young people together…
good to see that an educational platform and project bringing young people together.
Good practice! I’m pretty sure that such projects will help people to discover more about GLBTQ. And maybe, one day, all of us will live without war and the world will be full of the peace.
Ha ha i think every one should be enjoy the photo season and i hope they find some practicle experience in this job. I wish their proper education in here.