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April 15, 2005

A day that was meant to show silent solidarity among members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community became a day to stand up against two men who came to protest homosexuality.

On Wednesday, members of the Creighton community joined over 450,000 students nationwide in a silent show of solidarity with members of the GLBT community as they took part in the Day of Silence. This national event is meant to bring attention to what it is like to be part of a silent minority.

However, members of Creighton's Gay/Straight Alliance, who organized the events of the day, were forced to break their silence when two protesters from an Omaha church came to campus to protest homosexuality. The two men arrived around 12:35 p.m. They carried a poster on which was written "Homosexuality is a sin. Jesus Christ can set you free." They also brought brochures to hand out to people passing by.

"They came to share their interpretation of their faith, slandering Catholicism, Creighton and homosexuality, and it was their intent to use hate speech to try to diminish the day," said GSA president Kim Righter.

Righter, along with members of GSA and other Creighton students, used their silence and unity to fight back. A group of students formed a circle, linking arms around the two protesters in an attempt to protect the Creighton community from the men's hateful comments. Public Safety was called to help maintain control, but the two men left on their own accord after approximately two hours. By the time they left, they were completely surrounded by silent students.

Having to stand up to protesters was not what the members of GSA had envisioned for Creighton's second annual celebration of the Day of Silence. The day was meant not only to be a chance for people to show their solidarity and support for the GLBT community but also as a way to promote a safer and more closely bonded Creighton community as a whole. The GSA made 300 buttons for students, faculty and staff to wear to show their support.

Many wore buttons, but some people were much less supportive of the GSA's mission. According to Tamika Butler, vice president of the GSA, "More hurtful than [the two men] were the Creighton students who kept coming up and thanking them for coming and taking their brochures."

Butler states that the protesters were inspired by the friends and family of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old Wyoming man murdered as a result of a hate crime in 1998. At his murderers' trial, Shepard's friends and family formed a circle around protesters, just as Creighton students did on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, GSA members read the names of all persons who had been victims of hate crime in 2004. It took over an hour to read the more than 1,400 names. The Day of Silence concluded at 6 p.m., when the Rev. Bert Thelen, S.J., pastor at St. John's Church, led a group of 22 students, faculty and staff in a Breaking the Silence prayer vigil. Thelen is a member of the Sexual Orientation Issues task force and founded the GSA at Creighton six years ago. During the vigil, Thelen praised the students for showing courage and restraint during the events of the day. "You can't fight hate with hate," said Thelen.

Following the prayer vigil, a discussion panel and skit performance took place at 7 p.m. in the Rigge Science Building Room 120. The topic of the panel discussion was "Why are you straight?" A moderator asked GSA members questions that represented questions commonly posed to members of the GLBT community.

The goal was to take these commonly presented questions and "turn them around to show how insignificant they are [in defining a person] and the privileges we, as heterosexuals, have in defining GLBT people in terms of dating," Righter said.

Today's activities have not discouraged the GSA in any way. For next year, they are trying to implement a "Safe Space Program" in which signs can be put up in places where GLBT persons can go and know they will be protected. "This [the protesters] shows that there's a need for that, " Butler said.

Although it is unfortunate that such spaces would be needed, today's activities are testament to the fact that members of the GLBT community have a need for such protection. Despite the negative turn the day took for a few hours, the GSA was pleased with how they and other members of the Creighton community responded. "I think our silence spoke volumes today," says Butler.

And for once, on Wednesday, what was not said was heard louder than what was.