So I went for publicity over dignity and pitched an op-ed to the Daily Princetonian. To my pleasant surprise, they liked my pitch, the editing process was actually quite congenial, and I’m reasonably proud of the result. The article is about why the National Equality March happening in Washington on October 11 is a good thing for LGBT rights and a good thing for college students specifically:
Thanks to civil rights activists working long before any current Princeton undergraduate was born, it is possible for queer youth to live out and proud lives to an extent that it wasn’t 30 years ago. But as long as being LGBT means second-class citizenship, more progress must be made. Some change can be enacted through laws and policy proposals, but broader societal support for those laws and policy proposals is essential if they’re to be effective. And sometimes getting that support really does necessitate marching in the streets.
On Oct. 11, thousands of people who believe in civil rights for all will converge on Washington, D.C. They’re participants in a National Equality March, which will wind its way through downtown Washington and culminate in a rally at the Capitol. The march has one demand — “Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states, now” — with which it aims to transcend disagreements about which particular aspect of LGBT equality should be the first priority.
Read the rest here.
And then come to the march! There’s a group of us at Princeton getting together a bus to go down to DC, and if you’re a member of the university community who’d like a spot on that bus you should let us know.
In 1965, a group of Princeton students under the auspices of a campus SDS chapter participated in the national anti-Vietnam March on Washington. They carried a banner that read “Even Princeton.” I love this story, because it reminds me that however frustrating this campus climate may seem at times, there’s nothing to stop you from marching for justice and equality and freedom and civil liberties in the name of its students and in the name of students—and all people—everywhere. I’m going to make a sign to carry at the National Equality March that says “Even Princeton,” and I’m going to be proud to represent my community in DC.
Emily Rutherford 