GSA thanks all their supporters
By: Chris Kelley
Issue date: 5/5/09 Section: Opinion
Hi, my name is Chris Kelley and I'm going to come out of the closet; I'm straight, a breeder (you know, likes the opposite gender).
I started the Gay Straight Alliance because I believed that everyone has the same equal rights and that the Constitution protected those rights with those very important words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Did you notice those last words? When did we lose the meaning of those words? I believe it started when we stopped standing up for them and let others dictate what they meant for everyone else.
When I started GSA, my standing point was to have a place for those who felt they needed to be safe to be themselves, to help support others like themselves and fight for their rights to love and be loved.
Fortunately, there were a handful of those who were open about who they are and not ashamed of it, and so they joined. I kept hearing that there were others who wanted to join but too afraid to come out. If only they knew that their identity would have been kept confidential. Maybe they are indifferent to how their rights are to be affected by others in the future who don't know nor do not care about who they are, so long as those rights are fought for them, even if those like me don't know what it's like to be in their shoes.
It doesn't take courage to fight for others but for those who step out of their comfort zone and take their place alongside those who see equality for all no matter what their race, creed, gender, age and orientation may be.
I am going to continue GSA in the fall semester and I hope there are those who will return and those who will join, because we cannot allow others to determine how we are to live our lives.
I started the Gay Straight Alliance because I believed that everyone has the same equal rights and that the Constitution protected those rights with those very important words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Did you notice those last words? When did we lose the meaning of those words? I believe it started when we stopped standing up for them and let others dictate what they meant for everyone else.
When I started GSA, my standing point was to have a place for those who felt they needed to be safe to be themselves, to help support others like themselves and fight for their rights to love and be loved.
Fortunately, there were a handful of those who were open about who they are and not ashamed of it, and so they joined. I kept hearing that there were others who wanted to join but too afraid to come out. If only they knew that their identity would have been kept confidential. Maybe they are indifferent to how their rights are to be affected by others in the future who don't know nor do not care about who they are, so long as those rights are fought for them, even if those like me don't know what it's like to be in their shoes.
It doesn't take courage to fight for others but for those who step out of their comfort zone and take their place alongside those who see equality for all no matter what their race, creed, gender, age and orientation may be.
I am going to continue GSA in the fall semester and I hope there are those who will return and those who will join, because we cannot allow others to determine how we are to live our lives.