By Sara Rosner
Staff Writer
As the nation debates gay rights in the city halls of Boston and San Francisco, members of the Pepperdine community are also approaching the sensitive subject of homosexuality by attempting to create the Students Against Homophobia Club.
“The time we are in right now is one of the most profound in the entire gay rights movement,” sophomore Grant Turck said. “It’s important that we all as human beings in a larger society stand up for what we believe in.”
SAH had planned a Day of Tolerance, when students would voluntarily wear free T-shirts that read “Students Against Homophobia.” However, SAH was unable to obtain sponsorship from a student organization last week, which is required for the event.
The purpose of SAH is to educate the Pepperdine Community about homophobia and its effects on society.
“I started the club because of my desire to educate the students at the University as a whole about homophobia and to better communicate what the University stance (is), which is not supportive of gay-bashing and any hate speech,” said Turck, who is a practicing Lutheran.
According to the annual Hate Crime Statistics Report compiled by the FBI, discrimination against sexual orientation was the third most common motivation for hate crime with 1,464 incidents occurring last year. Of those crimes, 366 occurred in California.
Despite attempts to gain University recognition, SAH has not been granted official status.
The Student Affairs Office, which is responsible for the establishment of student organizations, issued a statement in February announcing “It appears that SAH is not supportive of the University’s traditional Christian teachings regarding homosexuality … we are under no obligation to support the formal organization of groups with opposing purposes.”
Although Pepperdine has denied recognition of student organizations that support homosexuality, such as the Gay Lesbian Straight Alliance, the statement also implied that they would continue to support education about the subject:
“The University remains committed to the ongoing dialogue about homosexuality and homophobia through lectures, forums, classroom discussions, RA training and New Student Orientation.”
In response to the rejection, Turck plans to meet with the Rev. Larry Peacock of Malibu United Methodist Church to discuss the possibility of that church’s support of SAH.
“The biggest obstacle we have for this club is for the administration to really recognize the problem that’s here at this University,” Turck said. “Before we solve a problem we have to know what that problem is.”
The Freedom Wall, located outside the entrance to the cafeteria, has become the emblematic battleground of the controversy. Flyers proclaim “Stop Heterosexual Oppression!” and “It is not Homophobia it is Homonausea!” While other messages urge students to “Stop the intolerance.”
“Starting a club that differentiates people upon something as personal as that is not a great thing,” said junior Cameron Voetmann. “I mean it’s great to get awareness, but I could see something like that getting vicious.”
“I believe a club like this would unite the campus,” countered junior Tyler Wilson. “After all, anti-homophobia is following Christian values that the University claims to support.”
Turck said he believes it is difficult to gauge the Pepperdine community’s perception of homosexuality and homophobia because of its sensitive nature. “A lot of people on campus are supportive but are afraid to speak because of repercussions and pressures from the University.”
Despite these obstacles, Tucrk is determined to persevere:
“It’s not only really important for gays to stand up for what they believe in but also for their straight allies to stand up for what they believe in. If we don’t stand up now as a united front we have a lot to lose,” Turck said.
Submitted March 25, 2004