There is no doubt you have seen North Carolina native Jacob Tobia cat-walking our campus in his signature 6-inch heels. When I met with Jacob, he greeted me with a warm hug and genuine smile, in what seemed to be a dark green jumpsuit (flight suit, he corrected), tasteful jewelry, and cowboy boots. He may stand out from the crowd with his impressively daring style, but with that comes unmatchable confidence and a strong, clear voice of passion, dedication, and mystery. Whether it be his performance ability on stage at the annual Me Too Monologues, his staunch involvement with Occupy Duke, or his endearing presence in the fight for LGBTQ rights, Jacob has proved to be more than the (proud size 10) leopard heels he owns.
Continuing his LGBTQ grass-roots activism and advocacy for education reform, sophomore Jacob currently serves as the Director for LGBTQ Policy and Affairs for Duke Student Government (DSG). He is also championed as the Outreach Chair of Blue Devils United (BDU), the Executive Chair and co-founder of Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination, and serves as the President of Duke Students for Gender Neutrality. Jacob’s activism is not only committed to various campus organizations, but also extends to his major. As a Program II student, Jacob explains how his major – Human Rights Advocacy and Leadership: The Intersection of Personal History and Social Change – explores how different communication mediums such as academia, media, arts, and politics, represent personal history and shape the change we make in the world. And I thought I had a handful!
Even as a young child, Jacob had what he calls, an “activist inquisitive mentality about the world.” Tracing many of his values and feelings of duty to the world back to his religious roots growing up, he explained that his service-oriented Church background helped ground his interest: “although it started as a musical interest, it gradually took on a civic character.” His large galvanizing moment, however, occurred in 6th grade (though he wasn’t in heels… yet), when he participated in a global exchange program. Whilst living in Hiroshima for 3 weeks, Jacob describes that he underwent a transformational experience because of his exposure to Peace Park. It was then that he learned how cruel the world could be. From then on, he had a “zest” for anti-nuclear perforation. Chuckling, he shared, “by 7th grade, my amazing teacher even took me to an Iraq war protest!”
When asked whether he felt any tension between his religious background and his sexuality, he explained that he never had a really intense religious conflict with it: “my being a gay Christian was the least of my theological problems that I couldn’t answer about my faith…because I went to fairly progressive Methodist Church, I was blessed with a lot of support.” Although he received much affirmation from individuals, Jacob rationalized rather emphatically: “On an institutional level, I was completely abandoned. The Church was nurturing but I could never speak about my personal experience. Without support of the entire community, the individual support doesn’t matter as much. Change needs to happen in a meaningful institutional way, otherwise we marginalize groups.” This rejection from an institutional standpoint contributes to Jacob’s passion to help transform established views and practices.
After I inquired about the challenges that the LGBTQ community faces, I could immediately sense Jacob’s deep personal interest. The vigor and grace with which he spoke made it clear how passionate he is about these issues. He explained how “it is important for us to start understanding ourselves as an intersectional movement; that racial disparities, economic inequalities, and other forms of discrimination are all queer issues. Instead of appealing to solely one aspect of our identify, we need to appeal to our whole diverse and broad community.”
Jacob’s insightful views along with his impressive experience and leadership are precisely what won over the Voice and Action Committee in recognizing Jacob with the 2012 National Voice and Action Leadership Award, an honor that now gives him the opportunity to work with OUTmedia, and more support to continue his commitment to LGBTQ activism. Sharing that he knew many of the finalists for the award and “everyone who is in that pool is a fantastic and marvelous activist,” he looked at me with puzzling eyes and exclaimed, “I have no idea how I went from one of the 12 finalists to the winner!”
Perhaps Jacob’s excellent campus involvement and leadership is the reason for his recognition. Using his leadership and driven nature to push Duke to its potential, he addresses what he believes is the most primary LGBTQ community challenge: the lack of intersectionality amongst student groups, students, and the bureaucracy of administration. Stressing collaborative activism, he expressed, “We tend to forget to alight with other groups that we feel aren’t ‘related.’ The LGBTQ community will always be an ally to those who seek for a more equal world. Your issues are our issues.”
In order to enact social change, he is currently working with DSG and BDU to spread awareness on the North Carolina Amendment 1, which states, “Marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only legal domestic union in the state.” By garnering the support of the Duke community, Jacob, along with Duke Together against Constitutional Discrimination, hopes to acquire 10,000 votes against this amendment by its intended enactment on May 8th, 2012. Although a lot of work, Jacob holds that “it’s a fight worth having.” Jacob’s fight is being talked about too; a front-page story in The Chronicle highlighted how the ban on same-sex marriage is drawing students’ attention.
In addition to his advocacy in defending LGBTQ rights, Jacob has spearheaded a movement towards expanding gender-neutral housing on campus. With the cooperation of the administration and the hard work behind the Duke Students for Gender Neutrality organization, he is pushing for full gender-neutral housing on campus by the 2013-2014 school year.
For those of you who went to the Lunar New Year presentation in Page Auditorium, you may have remembered Jacob’s articulately voicing, “Free Your Mind!” whilst in an extravagant dress on top of a three-foot platform (photo: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/421730_10150559547641196_505551195_9506069_2112451075_n.jpg).
He can pull off a gorgeous dress and heels better than I ever could… You know, no big deal. I asked Jacob how he discovered this opportunity. When he learned that director Sarah Mcaffery wanted to create a piece on people loving their whole selves, and that she needed a “freedom angel,” he immediately asked where he could sign up! He also expounded on how this show illuminated ideas about intersectionality: “Although LNY isn’t necessarily a queer space, but more of a celebration of Asian cultures at Duke, they still recognized gender non-conformity and embraced many identities.” He continued, with a wide smile across his face, “It is events like these that are so indicative of how wonderful our campus is – a school that fully affirms who I am. I feel so blessed.”
With his fierce debut at the LNY performance, it comes as no surprise that Jacob loves the arts. Whether its dance, theatre, or music, performance and “keeping [his] artistic sensibility alive” is a very important part of his life. And what’s Jacob’s fashion icon? While “MIKA is so fabulous,” he began, “a combination of MIKA and Lady Gaga intertwines the fabulous-ness and a gender non-conforming edge.”
Even with two extremely large fashion staples, Jacob struggled in deciding upon his favorite outfit. Before answering the question, he explained that everything he owns has a story behind it. The ring he bore, for example, was a cut piece of bamboo from a large frame used to hold up a tarp during the Occupy Duke movement. Sharing that “what I wear symbolizes relationships,” Jacob never fails to fascinate. After much deliberation, however, Jacob decided that an ideal outfit would be no outfit at all: “I’m a P-wilder! They don’t know that under these pumps I’m a pretty badass hiker and woodsman. I may not have the brawn, but I have GOT the ability.” Now who couldn’t love someone like that?!