Tulane goes to Washington

Thousands of people participated in the National Equality March Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C. to petition for equality for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.

Students partake in the National Equality march in Washington D.C.

Many Tulane students, who received a grant from Tulane, attended the event.  The Office of Multicultural Affairs also helped fund the trip.

Scott Tims, director of wellness and health promotion for the Student Health Center, worked with students as an advisor to help them participate in the march.

“I felt like attending the march would help the students who went network with other college students,” Tims said.  “Gay rights have been more in the media, and I thought the students could learn things at the march that they could bring back and do on campus.”

Sophomore Evan Landers, president of Tulane’s chapter of MOSAIC, attended the event.

“MOSAIC is a group which aims to provide a safe place for LGBT students,” Landers said. “We also support activism such as the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, in which the federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between a man and a woman, the reversal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and the promotion of gay marriage rights.”

Landers said he believed that attending the march would benefit members of MOSAIC.

“I thought it would be a good social experience, and a good bonding experience for people in MOSAIC,” Landers said. “I wanted to attend the march because I do support the causes, and I’m very concerned with the protection of minority groups.”

Freshman Sean Simonson also attended the march. He and other students participated in workshops in conjunction with the march such as the Trevor project, which promotes suicide awareness, and Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation media training, which taught students how to effectively communicate their ideas through Web sites and speeches.

“The media training taught us how to best get our message across while still keeping it politically correct,” Simonson said.

Those who attended the march said they came away inspired.

“It was a little overwhelming, to be honest,” Tims said.  “I felt like the majority of people who attended were college students, and the event was very uplifting, amazing and positive.  It was a fantastic opportunity for the students.”

Landers said that the march was a good experience.

“Is wasn’t the largest that’s ever happened, but it was still really impressive,” Landers said. “I appreciate that it was a largely grassroots-formed march.”

Simonson also said the march was a unique experience.

“It was a big deal to see that many people with the same objectives and beliefs come together,” Simonson said.  “Coming from the conservative South, where your ideas are in the minority, it was interesting.”

Some students said they believed President Barack Obama is making an effort to promote equal rights so far in his term, but that progress is slow.