Student Council passed a resolution last night condemning anti-gay violence in response to the recent assault against a University student and his guest.
The resolution, sponsored by College representative Eugene Resnick, formally denounces violence against any member of the University based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Additionally, the resolution shows Council’s support to the University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community by funding $350 to provide 1,000 candles for a vigil to be held in the Amphitheater Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
“We want to have something that’s tangible to show that we’re working together as a community,” Resnick said.
Resnick also said members of the contracted independent organization Queer and Allied Activism needed funding for the candles for the unexpectedly large crowd who plan to attend.
“Right now they’re experiencing an unprecedented amount of people who are going to be going to the vigil, so they don’t have enough funding to do that,” Resnick said. “They were expecting ... only about 100, 200, or 300 people, but then the Facebook [event] indicated that over 1,000 people are going to attend.”
Seth Kaye, president of Queer and Allied Activism, expressed his support for the Council resolution, adding that he hopes it will encourage others to take action as well.
“It’s certainly a great symbolic effort, but I hope it can inspire real activism and real action ... in the University community,” Kaye said.
Student Council President John Nelson said Council will pay for the candles using Student Activity Funds.
“The $350 would come from our SAF funding,” Nelson said, adding that despite the troubled economy these funds should be sufficient to provide enough candles for the expected turnout without taking away from other Council initiatives.
Resnick also stressed the importance a Council-endorsed statement following the assault.
“I think it would be very appropriate for Student Council to voice its support for the LGBT community ... and bring the community together to talk about the incident,” he said, adding that “when you have ... people in power who are being ... helpful about it, it kind of gives it a cushion of support.”
Resnick and Kaye both hope the resolution will be the first of many Council initiatives made in partnership with the Queer Student Union and the Queer and Allied Activism group to promote equality. They said they hope to gain Council’s support in the future about topics such as gender neutral housing and a queer studies minor.
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