Rally: Awareness activities continue all week
Continued from page 1
“We’re here to support people com
ing out,” said Chicora Martin, director
of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
TYansgender Educational and Support
Services Program.
Tara Allred, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisex
ual, Transgender Issues Coordinator
for the ASUO Women's Center,
snapped Polaroid pictures of people
walking through the closet door.
Current political and religious cli
mates make it important for the queer
community to come out now,
Allred said.
"Bigotry and hatred won’t stop
until people realize that they know
someone in the LGBTQ community
and that they’re just like everyone
else,” she said.
Several events, such as a dance and
social, will continue through the week.
The events are an opportunity to
celebrate being gay, Messerli said.
Messerli, who had no support net
work when she came out as a fresh
man, said she hopes to provide sup
port for other people coming out.
“The more people who come out as
queer or as allies, the safer and more
welcoming it feels,” Martin said.
People can be allies of the LGBTQ
community by being supportive and
addressing homophobia and discrim
ination, Martin said.
Student services such as the
Women’s Center and UO Cultural Fo
rum, came to support the event.
This is the 11th year celebrating
National Coming Out Day at the Uni
versity, Martin said.
Oct. 11 was commemorated as Na
tional Coming Out Day after half a
million people marched in Washing
ton, D.C., on Oct. 11,1987, to support
lesbian and gay rights.
Contact the crime, health
and safety reporter at
kgagnon@dailyemerald.com
Harassment: Campus has support centers
Continued from page 1
Crockett, a pre-business administra
tion major, is one of those students.
“There’s a lot of resources. You can
find any department and report it,” he
said. “You can go to Oregon Hall, the
EMU, the DPS — all over campus.”
Gary Welander, one of the WOU
professors who was accused of sexu
al harassment, said that the policy
would help teachers who had been
wrongfully accused.
“I think what’s important is to en
sure that a process is followed, and it
wasn’t followed in any way in (my)
case,” said Welander.
His accuser settled with the state
for $65,000.
According to an article in the
Statesman Journal in Salem, We
lander claimed he had ended a long
term relationship with his accuser in
December 2003.
Students disagreed on whether
mandatory reporting of relationships
protects the school or is an invasion
of privacy.
Crockett said he felt the consensu
al relationship policy is flawed.
“It’s their private life, and they
shouldn’t have to expose that infor
mation ... it’s none of the University’s
business to infringe on that,” he said.
Nici Grigg, a Japanese major, said
that the statute fails to take severity
of the offense into account.
“It depends on how serious the sit
uation is, of course,” she said.
“If it’s something serious, then
yeah, it should be reported. But if
it’s just something trivial, then no,
it doesn’t need to be reported.”
Saunders said requiring profes
sors to report student relationships
was not a privacy issue but a legal
one.
“The campus is vulnerable and
responsible if there is a case of sexu
al harassment. If a consensual rela
tionship goes bad and one member
feels the other member is harassing
them and sues the university sys
tem, we are responsible for that,”
Saunders said.
Contact the higher education reporter
at kbrown@dailyemerald.com
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Online site helps
heterosexual allies
support gay rights
One University graduate student, motivated by a
desire for ecfual rights, spreads support on the Web
BY BRTITNIMCCLENAHAN
NEWS REPORTER
University graduate student Ja
son Harlacher, who is heterosexual,
said he felt awkward at gay pride
parades but wanted to do some
thing to show his support. His solu
tion: www.straightsupport.org.
“I started the Web site after find
ing belief in God,” Harlacher said.
“I wanted to take action so people
would treat people better. With be
lieving in Christ, the next step you
want to take is to live your life by
his teaching, to love your neighbor
and not judge others, to treat others
with love and respect. The Web site
is a manifestation of that.”
Harlacher’s site is a place for peo
ple to hold forums and read materi
al promoting equality, tolerance
and peace. Originally dedicated as
an outlet for the heterosexual com
munity to show support for gay
rights, the Web site sells “Equality”
wristbands for $2 to benefit AIDS
research. The site is now dedicated
to promoting equality regardless of
race, religion, sexuality, gender
or nationality.
Students who want to show sup
port for gay rights can find opportu
nities with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisex
ual, Transgender, Queer Alliance;
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans
gender Educational and Support
Services Program; ASUO Women’s
Center; and OUTLAWS: Lesbian
and Gay Law Students Association.
Tara Allred, LGBTQ Issues Coor
dinator at the Women’s Center,
works with other groups on cam
pus to educate and train students
on how they can help show support
for the LGBTQ community.
“There’s so much bigotry on
campus,” Allred said. “Sometimes
it’s as simple as saying, ‘I’m not
okay with that’ when you hear
someone calling another person
a fag.”
Allred, a senior women’s and
gender studies major, said Queer
Ally Coalition training, a session
put on by the LGBTESSP, is a great
place to start.
“It’s a two- to three-hour training
session to teach people about the
queer community as a culture,”
Allred said. “It’s important to tell
people about the incredible mo
ments in history that are defining
the community and changing poli
cies. There’s nothing more support
ive than seeing the straight commu
nity at a gay event.”
Contact the people, culture,
faith reporter at
bmcclenahan@dcLLlyemerald.com
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