Senior Diana C. Nearhos grew up knowing what “being gay” was, but it wasn’t until she was older that she grasped the stigma attached to it.
“My uncle is gay and so I grew up seeing being gay as normal and didn’t really think anything of it. When I was in fifth grade, my mom had to tell me that not everyone has a gay uncle and some people will not be as okay with it. As I got older and saw people who were homophobic or just uncomfortable with the idea and with gay individuals, I knew I wanted to do something.”
While BC is not necessarily known for its activism on the sexuality front, and perhaps may even be viewed to be oppressive to members of the GLBTQ community, there are, in fact, organizations on campus promoting equality and standing up to be heard. Many people have heard of GLC (BC’S GLBTQ Leadership Council), but what many people on campus may not have heard of is Allies.
Allies is the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus. Joining forces with one other girl as a freshman in 2007, Diana, who is straight, helped reignite the organization after it had fallen to the wayside.
“Anna Rhodes and I started working with the group, trying to revive it. She went abroad for the following year, leaving me, a sophomore, unsure how to proceed…This past summer, a friend told me she wanted to get involved and brought in another friend. And then a couple people emailed the Allies account asking if the group was still functioning and wanting to get involved. We then bit by bit grew to be a fully-functioning club with a good-sized permanent membership.”
Under Diana’s direction, the Allies are using their influence to promote awareness and give voice to issues that plague that GLBTQ community at BC and beyond. Tomorrow, they are celebrating the National Day of Silence, an officially recognized event on BC’s campus. They’ve also been in McElroy and Hillside this week passing out ribbons and asking people to sign up and will continue to do so until tomorrow.
“On Friday, we’ll ask people to take a one-day vow of silence in honor of those who are forced into silence, unable to come out,” explains Diana. “ At 6PM, we will hold a SCREAM in the quad to break the silence and remind us how loud and important our voices really are.”
Tonight there will also be a kick-off rally in O’Neill Plaza at 8pm. People will share their experiences of being forced and held in silence. Through telling their stories, they will demonstrate the importance of breaking the silence and of the Day of Silence as whole. There is also currently a photo exhibit on display on the first floor of O’Neill.
While Diana is excited by the progress being made on BC’s campus, she’s quick to point out there is still a lot more to be done. “I’ve noticed that many people do not have a problem with homosexuality, especially as a concept. But, they don’t feel as comfortable with gay people. Or they still use offensive language. You walk around campus and hear lots of people say ‘that’s so gay’ or call their friends ‘fag’. They may not mean it to be a statement against gays, but it can easily be interpreted as such.”
Though she will be graduating in May and beginning her job as a sports journalist for the Arizona Republic, it is clear that Diana’s work on campus has made an important impact. After four years on the Heights and with Allies, Diana’s message is quite clear:
“Anyone can be an ally; you do not have to be part of the club. Being an ally just means that you accept everyone no matter their sexual orientations and that you will not stand for anyone who does not. Everyone should be an ally.”
For more information on Allies and the Day of Silence, you can visit their Facebook event here.