Meeting advocates activism

Former board of trustees member Harry Gonzo first experienced the sharp slap of sexual discrimination as an IU student in the late sixties -- only it wasn't directed at him.\nWhen the standout quarterback and Rose Bowl champion's best friend announced he was homosexual, Gonzo supported the young man's decision. But he was in the minority.\nFriends turned against the student. Faced with the gravity of the decision he'd made and the accompanying lifestyle changes, the young man felt alone and confused. No IU offices existed at that time to assist homosexual students.\nFinally, the oppression overwhelmed him. He never completed his senior year here.\nIn his opening remarks at Tuesday's National Day of Silence luncheon, keynote speaker Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis reflected quietly on that story, told more than 10 years ago by Gonzo himself at a trustees meeting. The trustees were debating the viability of a gay and lesbian resource center at IU. Hailing the instance as representative of the need for such a center, Gros Louis lauded the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Student Services office for fostering acceptance of all types of diversity on campus.\nThe luncheon, held Tuesday in the State Room East of the Indiana Memorial Union, epitomizes such initiatives. Five years ago, GLBT started the event to bring faculty and students together to discuss how "issues of silence" affect the campus, said Doug Bauder, director of GLBT Student Support Services.\nThat mission continues to drive the event, just one part of the National Week of Protest activities on campus this week. \nSophomore Jaret Fishman said he hopes that message will garner additional support from administration and faculty in addressing student alienation issues. A CommUNITY Educator at Foster Quad and organizer of last year's luncheon, Fishman said while attributes do exist on campus facilitating acceptance of diversity, further steps must be pursued.\n"The goal of the luncheon and, essentially, of the week is to note how certain voices are silenced," said Barry Magee, assistant director of diversity education for Residential Programs and Services. "Our task now is to figure out how to, as a community, break that silence."\nFor Gros Louis, that often entails reacting softly and persistently. He said often, the most effective leaders are those who speak "quietly and appropriately," who aren't "constantly in your face." \nGros Louis championed protests of this week's sort as necessary precursors for increased awareness of campus issues.\nPam Huggins, a member of the GLBT anti-harassment team and faculty of the School of Social Work attending the event, conceded with Gros Louis. \nThe anti-harassment team, which responds to incidents of discrimination and harassment of all sorts, is one way to quietly and judiciously retaliate, she said. But the crusades cannot stop there, she claimed. Students must assume a proactive role.\n"We need to become involved in the creation of an inclusive society striving toward the elimination of oppression and discrimination," Huggins said. "Only then will we truly begin accepting one another"