Correction appended
Standing in the national spotlight outside the Supreme Court this week, Allied in Pride president Nick Gumas used his 30-second speaking slot to talk about college students’ role in elevating the issue of same-sex marriage.
Gumas, the only college student who took the podium Tuesday, said it was because of young Americans that the issue of same-sex marriage reached the nation’s highest court. He said the more liberal generation propelled the issue forward.
“Our nation is not only ready for marriage equality, it demands it,” Gumas, who is also a Student Association senator, said to the crowd, with many demonstrators draped in rainbow flags or carrying signs promoting LGBT rights.
The young protesters – many from GW – gathered outside the court as it vetted California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.
Two years ago, it was a base of GW students that rallied for gender-neutral housing and gained national attention in a push for a more LGBT-friendly campus.
Since then, dozens of colleges have opened up dorms to co-ed rooms and pushed for gender neutral bathrooms in future buildings, and Allied in Pride members have continued advocating for more LGBT-focused support: an LGBT studies minor, and a question in the law school’s admission process asking students if they are gay.
“It’s just our generation, we’re just a socially progressive generation,” Gumas said.
Last November, 52 percent of more than 600 students surveyed by The Hatchet said they were liberal or very liberal, compared to 13 percent of students who said they were conservative or very conservative. About 30 percent of respondents ranked social issues, like gay marriage and abortion, as their most top concern while deciding between presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.
In his first year as Allied in Pride president, of which he hopes to serve another, he bridged the gap between Greek organizations and the LGBT community that showcased fraternity brothers dressed in drag.
But Gumas said he wants to not only make Allied in Greek an annual event, but also look to co-sponsor more events with organizations around campus like the Black Student Union and the College Republicans next year. He said this will allow for anyone previously hesitant about identifying with Allied in Pride for being too single-tracked a group to know that the organization does not want identifying as LGBT to become a student’s only label, Gumas said.
“Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean all you think about is gay issues,” Gumas said. “Being LGBT is an identity, but it’s not your only identity.”
Gumas also put forth the first ever anti-harassment bill in the Student Association this year, which will dock groups charged of discriminating by at least a third of their budget.
Looking ahead, Allied in Pride is planning a safe sex campaign that will display provocative posters across campus in April and in freshman dorms this fall.
The posters were submitted by members, who were invited to take “semi-naked” pictures, displaying couples and individuals of all types censored with a black bar. Gumas said the posters are there as a reminder that one in four college students carry a sexually transmitted disease.
“LGBT individuals are more likely to be sexually harassed, and the whole AIDS epidemic disproportionately affected the LGBT community for awhile, so this is a problem that harms LGBT population but it also harms everyone,” Gumas said.
This article was updated March 29, 2013 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Allied in Pride President Nick Gumas plans lead the organization for another two years. Gumas said he intends to run for the presidency for just one more year. We regret this error.
