I'm not neglecting this, I'm just busy. Okay, I am neglecting this. But that whole 'busy' thing is true, too. For the past few weeks, QU has positively sucked up my life. The Day of Silence was on Wednesday, and I coordinated it for Macalester. Since it was the first time QU has taken part in the event, no one really had any idea exactly how to go about doing it. Lacking a clear plan, I went on sheer force of will, which requires a hell of a lot of energy when applying it to millions of putsy details. At any rate, it is over, and turned out to be quite a success. Perhaps I can have my life back now...
As I mentioned to the email list, another Big Thing lately is the fact that QU cancelled our spring dance this year. I'm pleased to report that the Mac Weekly (Macalester's student newspaper) coverage of both the cancellation and the Day of Silence was pretty good and unbiased. They didn't even butcher my quotes! Here's the editorial I wrote for the latest issue:
Traditionally, the Queer Union (QU) dance has been framed as a celebratory event, and for good reason: The queer movement has come a long way since its inception, both in much of the world at large and here at Macalester. The celebration inherent in QU's dances, however, has perhaps led people in the Macalester community to inaccurate conclusions about the atmosphere for queers here. Two nights of revelry a year are not equal to sufficient and accurate representation in curriculum, administrative recognition and support, or freedom from discrimination and harassment. Far from it, in fact-- the success of the QU dances is more often than not used to gloss over the underlying institutional and interpersonal heterosexism that goes virtually unnoticed here in the "Macalester bubble."
Take, for example, curriculum: There exists only one regularly offered queer studies course, Introduction to Gay and Lesbian Studies, which is offered every other semester. On occasion, other queer studies courses are offered as topics courses, such as the Gay and Lesbian Communications course being offered this semester. Supposing that such a topics course is offered every two years, the total number of queer studies courses one could take in four years at Macalester is still but a measly three-- not enough to obtain even a basic foundational knowledge of queer studies, let alone reach an advanced understanding of the discipline. It is barely comprehensible to me that a friend of mine attending notoriously conservative Davidson College has available to him enough courses to design a major in gay studies, while here at liberal Macalester, itŐs not even possible for me to pull together a queer studies minor.
Lack of attention to queer concerns is not limited to the curriculum committee: Last year, QU and its members were consistently and faithfully involved in the planning and development stages of the Council for Multicultural Affairs (CMA). At every meeting I attended, I made certain to push for an expanded definition of multiculturalism, one that would include people of various faiths, people with disabilities, and queer people, as well as people of marginalized ethnic and racial backgrounds. President McPherson and Bert Ifill assured me many times over that this expanded definition of multiculturalism would be used in the formation and operation of the CMA. I acknowledge that this assurance has been at least partially upheld: Both QU and MJO, as well as groups for students of color, were granted seats in the CMA. According to the 99-00 Macalester College Catalog, however, "the multicultural affairs program includes initiatives to augment college services for Native American, African American, Hispanic and Asian American students." (p. 290) The College Catalog is distributed to all students, professors, and most potential students, and is possibly the most widely distributed document describing college philosophy and policy. The fact that queer students (not to mention disabled students, students of various faiths, and non-American African and Asian students) are not considered to be a part of "multicultural affairs" by such an influential text represents a serious omission and implicit lack of respect for queer students.
Beyond institutionalized heterosexism, the most insidious manifestations of homophobia on campus come in the form of interpersonal acts. As a former RA, a QU co-chair, and a psychology major doing research on the prevalence of anti-queer harassment on campus, I have literally seen or heard of it all: posters and door decorations repeatedly torn down, anonymous harassing phone calls, harassment at QU dances, removal of queer-positive chalking, homophobic comments and jokes that go unchallenged, hate graffiti written on door decorations, threats of physical violence, queer students being chased or followed, even sexual assault. Despite Macalester's tolerant reputation, the truth is that our bubble is not universally experienced by queers as a safe space.
Most of the actions described in the previous paragraph would be defined by Macalester policy as hate incidents or hate crimes. According to the same policy, "if one occurs, the entire Macalester community should be informed. ...Notification is necessary for facilitating the healing process for the targeted person, group, and the entire community through campus dialogue and collective problem solving." I have never been aware of any official attempts to notify the community about a hate crime or incident directed towards a queer individual, nor has there been any "campus dialogue and collective problem solving" other than that which is facilitated by QU. Even taking into account the incidents that go unreported, the silence that seems to typify the administrative response to anti-queer hate incidents is deafening.
Given all of the above, it seems that queer members of the Macalester community have less to celebrate than most people realize. Perhaps it is appropriate, then, that QU's energies this semester have been directed into activities other than the dance: This past Wednesday, more than 150 people participated in the Day of Silence Project, an event which recognizes and protests the silencing queer people experience. Another QU project this semester has been to start a Speakers Bureau, a group of people trained to provide educational workshops on heterosexism and homophobia to classes, floors, departments, and other campus groups. We are co-sponsoring Denise Uyehara's performance on Saturday night, and also have a number of other co-sponsored events in the works.
Don't worry, the rumors you've heard about this semester's cancellation being the permanent end of the QU dance are not true; QU is planning on holding a dance as a part of Coming Out Week next October. This time, let's not lose sight of the original purpose of the dance: to rejoice in the advances made in queer liberation. We need to work to end heterosexism and homophobia at Macalester so that there will truly be reason to celebrate.
Kristin Thompson
Junior, QU co-chair