Clouds of war cast shadow over QPenn rally

With the commencement of bombing in Iraq last week, the QPenn kickoff rally had an unusually somber tone.

The rally was organized by College senior Joshua Helms, who began by asking everyone to pause for a moment of silence to reflect on the current political situation and the war on Iraq.

Friday's rally on College Green drew approximately 30 people who showed support and listened to speeches from leaders of the queer community.

The rally was the first of over 20 events that will take place this week as part of this year's QPenn celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Amanda Nordstrom, a QPenn committee co-chairwoman, spoke about apathy on campus and in this country.

"Apathy is a plague," Nordstrom said. "Look up, raise your eyebrows and stop following your humdrum schedule."

"This bubble, this utopia, affects everyone that goes here," added College sophomore and QPenn committee member Michael Patterson. Patterson complained about the complacent attitude of many people on Penn's campus.

This year's QPenn week was meant to emphasize diversity.

"Queer issues are human issues," Nordstrom said. "We have tried hard to reflect the diversity of the queer community" through all the different activities.

Karlene Burrell-McRae, associate director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center, spoke about the importance of QPenn week.

"This is a wonderful week to celebrate lots of amazing people," Burrell-McRae said. "I want to take this opportunity to charge those who have not yet seen the light to begin the process of becoming open... open your eyes and your heart."

Ninah Harris, program and building coordinator for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, read a speech written by College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Dan Fishback.

Fishback called out to the queer community to take a stance on the war. He wrote that when anyone's civil liberties are threatened, then the queer community as a sexual minority is threatened as well.

"This struggle is your struggle," he wrote.

Erin Cross, associate director of the LGBT Center, read a speech written by Joan Lau, chairwoman of PennGALA, an association for gay and lesbian alumni. Lau's speech focused on the theme of this year's QPenn week, "Queer, There and Everywhere."

According to Lau, there are LGBT Penn alumni in 35 states and 18 countries.

"PennGALA has 900 members, and we are truly queer, there and everywhere," she wrote about the group, which mentors current LGBT students on career choices and issues. "We are working everywhere, teaching in the classroom, running Fortune 500 companies."

The rally was originally scheduled for Thursday at noon, but due to rain, Helms tried to move the rally inside to its rain location -- however, Houston Hall was full of war protesters, so the rally was postponed until Friday at 1 p.m.

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