By snoadmin
The LGBT Silent March incited a group of approximately 25 Cal State Long Beach students and staff to gather on campus Tuesday in honor of peace and equality.
The event was part of Diversity Week, hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual community.
The students proudly held rainbow flags and signs that displayed messages such as “born this gay” and “Dumbledore is gay.”
They also duct taped their mouths to represent the silence that many members of the LGBT community have felt at one point in their lives or are still experiencing, according to alumnus and LGBT Resource Center Coordinator Matt Cabrera.
He explained that the event was put on to “highlight the culture of the LGBT community on campus.”
Cabrera also said that many people on campus do not know about these organizations and that this march could help students raise awareness of them.
As they began their march, many on-lookers had puzzled looks while others showed their support by smiling or raising a thumps-up. Still, many participants felt tension.
“I got to feel what many of my friends feel on a daily basis,” sophomore communications major Sabrina Bartell said. “It’s completely different to say you support gay rights than to actually walk in their shoes and experiment people’s reaction.”
This is the first major event the Gay Straight Alliance, a fairly new organization on campus, has organized.
After the march, the group gathered to remove the duct tape from their mouths and take part in a “break the silence scream.”
Many students who joined in the march were simply pro-rights and not necessarily part of the LGBT organization.
However, every participant was still passionate about taking part in the event.
“People shouldn’t be harassed because they love the same sex,” sophomore women’s studies major Ariana Macias said. “It’s nobody else’s business. Why should you care or harass somebody for being who they are?”
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