Yesterday's showers may have forced QPenn week's kickoff rally to move indoors, but it certainly did not put a damper on the spirit of the occasion.
Nearly 50 students, staff and faculty attended the rally, which Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center Director Bob Schoenberg and other organizers successfully relocated yesterday morning -- rainbow-colored balloons and all -- from College Green to the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall.
"It went very well, for something that had to be rethought and re-publicized," College senior and event organizer Solaman Cooperson said. "We had some inspired moments."
The rally featured over a dozen speakers, who talked about their personal experiences and views -- some positive, some negative -- on being a member of the gay community at Penn.
"Every day, someone makes it clear that they hate me because of who I am," Engineering senior Michelle White said to the crowd, fighting back tears. "And I'm talking about on campus... Penn does not care."
The rally's most prominent theme was the encouragement of others to "come out of the closet."
"I am an athlete... I am queer, and I am proud," said College senior and softball player Jen Moore, who explained that she has worked hard to promote support of homosexuality in the athletic community. "And I am one of two 'out' athletes on campus."
Many said that urging others to be truthful about their sexuality is necessary in the battle against homophobia.
"Their silence puts us at risk," College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Dan Fishback said.
The discussion also touched upon the implications of the term "queer" -- the name of this year's week-long celebration was changed from the previous acronym B-GLAD, which mentions only gays, lesbians and bisexuals, to QPenn, which aims to include people who are transgender as well as others who are difficult to categorize.
"You can think about it any way you want to," Cooperson said.
Nevertheless, the word "queer" is still not an ideal solution for many -- for example, Fishback noted that while he appreciates the LGBT Center's effort to be inclusive, he also feels the label has limitations.
"I personally do not identify that way," he said.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush also expressed discomfort with using the word because of the negative connotations it has carried in the past.
"In my generation, when you were called queer, you got beat up afterwards," Rush said.
The rally also provided a forum for members of the Christian community to dispel the widespread misunderstandings about the presence of homophobia in churches.
"Jesus never said a bloomin' thing about homosexuality," Christian Association Executive Director Beverly Dale said, claiming that discrimination against homosexuals is a perversion of Christianity's religious tenets. "Homophobia has no place in the Christian church."
The discussion of Christianity and homosexuality struck a chord with several rally attendees.
"I have a master's in theology, so I found it interesting that a lot of the discussion centered around God and Christianity," Penn staffer Daniel Ruge said.
Ruge said, as many participants did, that he braved the downpour because being a supportive member of the queer community at Penn is important to him.
"Being visible and being out there makes it easier for others who are uncomfortable to come out," he said.
"I sometimes wonder where the gay community is, although maybe it's different since I'm not a student," Ruge added.
