Rally chair questions U. policy

A miscommunication about a University policy to organizers of the Bisexual Gay/Lesbian Awareness Days rally last week has led to an informal open expression investigation. According to BGLAD Co-Chairperson and College senior Kirk Marcolina, the group was informed by Facilities Management that BGLAD's rally to proclaim pride in sexual orientation could not be held at its scheduled hour due to amplification regulations. The rally, originally scheduled to take place at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, was changed to 11:15 a.m., Marcolina said last week, because he was told that no group could use amplification between the hours of 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. on College Green. Marcolina said he had been told that the policy was made in response to complaints from faculty teaching in College and Logan halls and the dean of libraries. Marcolina also said he was told that no student group is allowed to utilize amplification on the Green for more than an hour. However, Council Committee on Open Expression Chairperson Robert Davies said that to his knowledge, no such policy has been passed through official channels, and that the matter is currently under his investigation. "I'm finding out what rules were being applied, and have asked for a meeting of the Committee on Open Expression to be called to clarify the situation," Emeritus Molecular Biology Professor Davies said. Davies added that it is not yet "the time to name names" as to who is responsible for this misunderstanding of policy. However, both he and Marcolina emphasized that they are certain that the miscommunication of policy was not malicious or directed against BGLAD or groups involved in the rally. "I don't think that the advice they were given was any attempt to cut them down as a group of bisexuals, gays and lesbians," Davies said, adding that he feels that the confusion over the policy of amplification on the Green has been unclear for some time. "Although BGLAD can reasonably feel upset, this was not a deliberate attack on them," Davies said. "The whole issue of the proper use of amplifiers at outside meetings should be clarified in the next few weeks." "I'm nearly positive that it wasn't an affront particularly to BGLAD or LGBA, although it's unfortunate that it had to happen the way that it did," Marcolina said.

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