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Complacency is Not the Answer

Complacency isn’t an answer, or so it would seem. Even at a progressive university like Penn who leads the way in supporting and embracing diverse minorities, there are still walls to climb. With Penn’s recent addition of gender identity to it’s non-discrimination policy, the institution’s open ideals are being challenged.

Penn has in fact been forced to violate its non-discrimination policy by the United States Government. Under the Solomon Amendments, colleges and universities that receive federal funding must allow free access to the military to recruit on their campuses. In 2000, the Solomon Amendments were expanded. Under the new legislation, law school funds are not the only ones at risk of being revoked; government funds can be pulled from the whole university if the law school is found in violation of equal access recruiting. Last January the University received a letter of interest from the Air Force’s Judge Advocate General Corps to recruit on campus. If they were denied equal access, it is estimated that the entire university could have between 500 and 800 million dollars of funding rescinded. It became clear last spring that the Law School could not refuse JAG recruiting.

This development forced the University, and more specifically, the Law School to violate its non-discrimination policy. The LGBT community responded. After much pre-planning by the Law School and Lambda Law, co-chairs Ellen London and Bryan Tallevi brought a planned response forward to the community at large. Early in September, after months of planning, Lambda Law announced to the LGBT Leaders a planned protest. They stressed the importance of making a stand against this violation.

Penn is not the first to make such a stand. In the past, universities such as Yale had also protested JAG recruiting on campus. Lambda Law tried to expand the protest and show that it was not only a statement for queer rights. After all, discrimination is discrimination in any form. Tallevi and London stressed a multilateral approach to the protest; they wished to bring as much support from as diverse a community as they could.

Coupled with this broad appeal was a strong effort to educate people about the issues that were being protested. In order to do this, Lambda as well as other of the Law School groups sponsored a panel discussion. The discussion brought together community professionals and many Law School professors for discussion and questions. The event was well attended. To inform people of the real issues, publicity was also released to print to radio outlets. Further, London and Tavelli offered to attend the events of any of the LGBT groups on campus to answer any questions and clear up any confusion. After flyering campus and handing out flyers on Locust Walk they were only left to wait and see.

On Monday September 15, about 100 people adorned in pins and with signs that said “resist discrimination” met outside the Law School. The group practiced cheers and chants that followed them for several blocks on their way to the McNeil Building where the JAG Corp was doing its recruiting. “1, 2, 3, 4 this is what we’re fighting for; 5, 6, 7, 8, don’t make Penn discriminate,” was voiced by the many supporters. With megaphone in hand, AJ Agcaoili and the Lambda Law co-chairs lead students, staff, and faculty up Locust Walk to make their stand against discrimination.

Lambda Law’s broad appeal seemed to work; students from almost all of the undergraduate schools, from many of the professional and graduate schools, and LGBT and allied fold alike stood outside and protested the army’s policy of discrimination. The protest was not meant to be, and was in no way, antimilitary. This was a fear that was alleviated when it became evident that people there were resoundingly bound together against discrimination. The rally culminated when the protesters brought their signs inside of the McNeil Building and placed them outside the recruitment suite. On the way in, it was clear that many supported the cause. Signs were prominently displayed that said “Warning, Discrimination Ahead,” and staff was wearing the same pins as the protesters. Pointing out the irony of America’s quest for “equality”, signs grouped the U.S. together with countries such as Iran who forbid LGBT people from serving in the armed forces. It seemed clear with the support there, the rally was a success in that it brought a strong united response from a variety of the University’s groups.

The movement to end the Solomon Amendments ability to coerce institutions into violating its non-discrimination policy is far from complete. The rally highlighted the broad, university-wide support for this cause. Recently a major lawsuit has been filed by Penn and several other universities’ law schools against the Department of Defense over the Solomon Amendments. “Hey JAG. Grow Up. Don’t Hate.” These words shouted on September 15th will probably be repeated for quite a while. But, because of the honest conviction of those who were shouting them and the diverse interests that were brought together against this violation of non-discrimination policy, it seems that positive things are soon to come.

~Eric Boschetti is on Varsity Cheer, is a founding member of Delta Lambda Phi, and thinks Erin in not obsessed about her dog.

Splashing Out

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center hosted Canadian gold medalist swimmer Mark Tewksbury for an early National Coming Out Day celebration on October 9, 2003. The PATH (Penn’s Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia and Heterosexism) event was also sponsored by the Department of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA) –- the first collaboration between the LGBT Center and DRIA in Penn’s history.

Tewksbury is not simply an Olympic champion but is also an out gay athlete, humanitarian, national sports hero, television personality, author, public speaker, and activist. Not only did he win the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, but he won it in record time. Throughout his career, Tewksbury set seven world records and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Since his retirement after the Barcelona games, Tewksbury has continued to give back to the sports world. He has worked for the Special Olympics and is co-founder and former chairman of “OATH,” an international organization devoted to upholding integrity through sports. Tewksbury is also the co-president of the Montreal 2006 Gay Games Organizing Committee.

Tewksbury, a rather animated speaker, talked about his upbringing in conservative Alberta, Canada, and the secrecy, within the world of sport, which surrounded his sexual identity. He recounted, down to the second, every gripping detail of his Olympic losses and victories while most in the room couldn’t leave the edge of their seat. One of the key points that Tewksbury made was that athletes who are closeted cannot possibly reach their full potential while they are spending such considerable amounts of time and energy concealing their sexual orientations. He also shared the fact that he was afraid of coming out because he had so much to lose on a personal level and even moved to Australia to escape his celebrity in Canada because of it. When he did come out, however, he was praised for his honesty and integrity.

All in all, among many other things, Mark Tewksbury is an inspiration to any athlete -- LGBT or otherwise --and a role model for all.

~Karrie Moore is PATH co-chair, a varsity lacrosse player, and thinks Erin has great taste.

PennGALA Welcomes Alumni Home

The University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender alumni association, PennGALA, will host and co-sponsor several events for Homecoming 2003 – Saturday November 8. Alumni, as well as University students, faculty, and staff, are welcome at all these events.

First up is brunch with a panel discussion entitled, “Common Ground . . . Its Roots” in Memorial Hall at The ARCH (36th and Locust Walk). This event is co-sponsored by the Penn Women’s Center, and will explore the history of the Women’s Center as it celebrates its 30th Anniversary.

Following the football game, PennGALA is hosting a meeting that will center on “The Changing Landscape of our Communities.” The presentation will feature, among others, Scott Davenport, a Penn alum, major LGBT Center supporter, and member of the Board of the national Family Pride Coalition, and Helen Casale, an attorney at the Philadelphia firm of Wolf, Block, Schorr, and Solis-Cohen, who is an expert on LGBT-related personal and family law. Light refreshments will be served at the meeting, held from 4-6p in the Griski Room, Houston Hall.

Saturday evening, PennGALA – along with other diversity and affinity alumni groups – will be sponsoring the “Taste of Penn Diversity Celebration.” This always-fabulous party will take place on the 8th Floor of Huntsman Hall from 6-8:30p.

This Homecoming weekend will clearly be a wonderful welcome for Penn LGBT and alumni and their allies. For more information about Penn GALA events, please write to or call 215-898-5044. For general homecoming information, please visit <www.alumni.upenn.edu/homecoming2003>.

~Bob Schoenberg is the Center’s Director, owns CDs by Radiohead and Babs, and thinks Erin is crazy.

Homophobia in the Black Community

On Monday, October 6, 2003 the Seeking Common Ground project held a panel discussion on homophobia in the Black community. Panelists included Ed Brockenbrough, a PhD student at the Graduate School of Education, Dr. Leslie Callahan, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Rev. William Gipson, University Chaplain, and Janel Grant, SAS ’04.

The panel responded to an article written by Keith Boykin, a leading pulbic commentator on race, politics, and sexuality. The article, entitled “Are Blacks More Homophobic?,” asks readers to consider whether Blacks are more homophobic than other racial or ethnic groups. The moderator and Associate Director of the African American Resource Center, Machamma Quinichett, fielded questions from the audience after the panel responded to the article. [Note: you can find Boykin’s article at <www.keithboykin.com/arch/000830.html>.]

The crowd of about thirty-five people joined in a provocative discussion on a variety of issues including hip-hop music, religion, sexual liberation, and the social construction of gender and sexual identities. Brockenbrough urged participants to recognize that there is no monolithic Black community and asserted that there are a “multiplicities of Blackness.” He challenged the Black LGBT community to let go of its homophobia. Claiming that no community, straight or LGBT, is liberated sexually, Brockenbrough asked us to contemplate how we might become liberated by rethinking our socially constructed boxes around sexuality.

Callahan agreed. She said, “People want boxes. I want to know how we can push people to think beyond what they think is true about sexuality.” She also com-mented on how religion can be a tool for perpetuating that same thinking. She questioned whether people choose their religion based on what they already believe and thus are not challenged to re-evaluate long held beliefs and assumptions. Speaking as a Christian minister, Gipson said that what makes the issue particularly difficult is that Christians are uncomfortable talking about sexuality in general.

Understanding the significance the church has played in the life of the Black community may help explain the reluctance of the Black community to deal with sexuality. It may also speak to why many Black people support civil rights but not social rights for LGBT people. Grant noted that she thought it was an interesting point and commented that much of the debate around sexuality may stem from cultural institutions other than the church, like families.

Grant, who is Caribbean, said that while she may be able to challenge certain people on their stance about homosexuality, posing that same argument to someone like her grandfather would be futile. Families produce and perpetuate cultural norms that can be inclusive or exclusive of LGBT people. LGBT Center Director Bob Schoenberg articulated this when he remarked that many families are uncomfortable labeling partners of LGBT people as partners even when it is clear to the family who that person is. The culture of silence created in families may be combated by taking Callahan’s advice to “make it real by attaching speech to it.”

Attaching speech to the homophobia in the Black community proved to be a necessary conversation. The discussion, which lasted over ninety minutes, could not cover the multitude of issues that were raised. Participants and panelist alike, left with an eagerness to continue the conversation in the near future.

~Donique McIntosh is the Center’s Higher Education intern, hails from Ohio, and thinks Erin is amusing.

Out & In-Focus: Karen Nicholson-McFadden C’88

When Karen’s information was given to me, I was intrigued by her story. She currently lives in New Jersey with her partner, Marcye, and two children, son Kasey and daughter Maya. Karen and Marcye first met in 1988 and have been living as a married couple every day for the last thirteen years. Unfortunately, the state does not recognize this union because Karen and Marcye are of the same sex. This fact alone has financial, legal and social implications with their medical insurance, inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, parental rights and child custody issues just to start the list of hundreds of rights denied to same-sex couples.

Because of the above implications and an interest in the fair treatment of all couples, Karen and Marcye decided to become plaintiffs in the New Jersey same-sex marriage lawsuits. To quote Karen, “we are law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of New Jersey, yet we don’t have the same rights as our straight counterparts to marry the person we love most in the world.”

It has been an interesting fifteen year journey for Karen from her days at Penn to her life today. While on campus, she felt isolated and unaware of resources that existed. She perceived campus to be an overall hostile environment to gays and lesbians. Understandably, she was closeted during her years at Penn. In the same year as she graduated, Karen met Marcye while working in field sales at Proctor & Gamble. A few years later, Karen decided to come out. She states, “being ‘out’ gives us a powerful opportunity to raise awareness and educate the everyday people we come in contact with – our neighbors, family doctors, teachers, grocery clerks … etc.”

Karen and Marcye stated that they “made the very conscious decision to live our lives with complete honesty and candor. For us, that has meant never avoiding a quizzical look or omitting key information or failing to set someone straight when they make incorrect assumptions about our family.”

Living as a loving, committed couple, raising two children, and contributing to the community, Karen and Marcye decided to pursue marriage under the law. “We weren’t willing to stand for second class citizenship any longer.” Though neither have a background in law, they asked “Why should we accept legal protections and benefits that will always be less than those of our married counterparts?” In June 2002, the lawsuit Lewis et. al. v. Harris et. al. was filed by seven lesbian and gay couples, including Karen and Marcye Nicholson-McFadden. The case is based on the New Jersey Constitution which states in Paragraph I of Article I: “All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.”

The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund’s reading of the state constitution in the opposition brief to dismissal asserts, “By denying same-sex couples access to marriage, the State denies plaintiffs the fundamental right to marry protected for ‘all persons’ under the New Jersey Constitution.” The New Jersey case is unique because of the state constitutional clause that guarantees equal rights to “all persons” as citizens of New Jersey. The State made a motion to dismiss the suit and in July oral arguments were heard. The case is still being judged, but whether dismissed at this level or not, the case will be followed through to New Jersey Supreme Court for judgment.

Karen and Marcye are optimistic about the decision. When accused of seeking special rights because she is a lesbian, Karen responds, “Marcye and I want the same rights as every else – not one right more, and certainly not one right less.” Karen sees her struggle as one for equal treatment and protection as guaranteed to her as a citizen of New Jersey. “It’s not that we aren’t willing to be married – We’ve already taken on that responsibility and commitment – it’s that we’re simply denied the basic right.”

Karen has clearly come a long way from her education and isolation at Penn to her current struggle in the courts to have her relationship recognized as a legal marriage. The atmosphere at Penn and in the country has changed significantly due to activism like hers. “It is amazing and wonderful to read about all that is happening at Penn to create a more welcoming and safe environment for those in the GLBT community,” Karen states. I can only respond that it is amazing to read about all that is happening in New Jersey for LGBT people, thanks to Karen and Marcye’s case that will hopefully create a more welcoming and safe country.

~Phil Cochetti is a sophomore, plays with the Philadelphia Gryphons rugby team, and thinks he sees Erin too often.

What if God was One of Us?

I believe in a divine power that holds certain spiritual certainties and metes out karmic justice and punishment as a way of sustaining its cosmic order. What I don’t believe in however, is that any such entity can be bound or determined by a human institution, rendering the concept of religion, as we know it to be, not only obsolete but in effect, blasphemous. My logic lay somewhat along the lines of that motto, “Guns don’t kill people; People kill people.” Religion does not oppress people; People oppress other people.

I have come to respect religion for what it is intended to be but when you add humans to the mix you will invariably have conflict. So, I am not surprised by the apathy expressed among many of my LGBTQ peers in the face of religious piety. For many queer people, religion has been a fundamentally oppressive force but for many it has been their sole salvation.

As an African-American, religion, specifically Christianity, has been an integral part of my rearing. Sunday school and service, choir practice and weekend fellowships were regular activities for my family. We were full-time Christians. I strayed away from our church during my first years in high school. This personal schism was a result of my growing social criticisms, not the epiphany of my sexuality, which came a little later. However it was my coming out that prompted my search for spiritual wholeness.

During my period of isolation and loneliness that many of us feel before coming out, I learned to seek and understand God outside of the guise of religion. It was the only thing that brought me comfort. It was always my under-standing that God is the truth and the light that lives within us and in finding a deeper and truer self within I felt that much closer to God.

In the last several years I have watched religious/spiritual interests among the LGBT community at Penn wane. Once upon a time, as a part of pride week, there would be an interfaith service bringing together people of various faith traditions to celebrate. Last year’s QPenn was my first celebration without that element. While I felt that it was missing, many did not. There was such a strong negative response to the whole idea. People did not feel it should be part of the week’s events, as if there was no pride in being a religious/spiritual LGBT person.

What hurt me most was the hostility in the response. I couldn’t figure why there was such an unabashed and unapologetic disdain for the desire to want to celebrate one’s faith. The vocal majority seemed to diminish the silent few around me who were originally drawn to the idea but backed away, as majority usually rules in this forum. It is almost as if we are taking a preemptive strike against religion; as if the group was saying, “we will reject you before you can oppress us.” But sitting there in that room, I couldn’t help but ponder “What if God is queer?” What if God was sitting right there in that room listening to hir people and knowing that they would forsake hir in fear of religious prosecution? Why do so many of us who actively work against the social ills that have oppressed in order to create a more peaceful and accepting world, throw our hands up when religion is on the table?

There is so much room for religious reformation and so many reasons for our community to be leading the way. I have one friend who refers to himself as “a Christian in progress.” Recognizing the need for spiritual wholeness and the desire for a community that affirms and celebrates his same beliefs, he continues to practice Christianity, gleaning the dogmatic principles and practices, paring it down to its true essence. This article as not intended to be a debate on spirituality v. religion or a form of proselytization. While I do hope that this encourages people to seek their spiritual self, I more so hope that people reflect on their feelings and make peace with the violence and abuse that has been perpetrated in the name of religion.

~Ninah Harris is the Center’s Program/Building Coordinator, wears big shoes, and thinks Erin is her unofficial older sister.

Out of Bounds

“Out” is a common word in sports vernacular. There’s knockout, strike out, and out of bounds to name a few. On the morning of September 30, 2003 Ed Gray challenged the sports world to embrace a new phrase — “I’m out.”

A beat reporter for thoroughbred racing, Gray also covers the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and college football. But on this day, his commentary focused on his reasons for coming out as a gay man. Twenty years into his career at the Boston Herald, Gray felt that the time was right. In a column placed on the front page of the Herald’s sport section, Gray’s first sentence read “I’m out.”

“I’m out because I no longer, in good conscience, choose to ignore the unabashed homophobia that is so cavalierly tolerated within the world of sports,” wrote Gray. “I’m out, because the silence of a closeted gay man only serves to give his implicit approval to bigotry. I’m out, because I refuse to continue hiding from the truth that an openly gay man has as much right as a straight man to play sports or report on them.” Gray was not forced out of the closet. His reason for coming out was to raise the awareness of homophobia in sports.

The sporting world is possibly the most outwardly homophobic sector of society. Garrison Hearst of the San Francisco 49ers and Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants are the most recent conveyors of football’s homophobia. In response to Esera Tualo, a retired NFL player from the Minnesota Vikings, coming out, Hearst responded, “aww, hell no! I don’t want any faggots on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that’s a punk. I don’t want any faggots in this locker room.” After receiving criticism from Bill Parcells, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, for outlandish behavior on the football field, Shockey called Parcells a “homo.” New York magazine quotes Shockey as saying, “Let’s see how much Parcells wins this year. I’ll make him pay when we play them. The homo.”

Both Hearst and Shockey later apologized for their homophobic remarks. Despite the apologies, these comments reflect the homophobic realm that Gray inhabits as a sportswriter. Given this atmosphere, Gray’s public announcement is an act of courage that should be recognized both inside and outside the sports world as he is courageously and justly risking his career as a sportswriter. Although his notable twenty year career at the Boston Herald speaks for itself, Gray’s sexual orientation makes him an easy target for discrimination. Athletes may decline interviews with the sportswriter, hampering his ability to obtain access to breaking news. For Gray the ends justify the means. Sports shows have already featured dialogues on athletes and homophobia. ESPN’s controversial Outside the Lines featured a show on the hot button issue shortly after Gray released his column. It generated mixed feelings among its audience, but dialogue did take place.

While “I’m out” makes it case for inclusion in the sports vernacular, Ed Gray continues his career at the Boston Herald. He waits for the next beat to follow, his conscience free and athletes covering up their naked bodies in locker rooms while they digest the words, “I’m out.”

~Alex Breland is graduating this spring, hate Friday mornings, and thinks Erin needs a flat-brim.

Welcome Back Events

Remember the back-to-school blahs? When each summer tragically came to an end, fall came around and you knew it was time to hit the books, meet new teachers, and get back into that same old routine? Well, so do we; so we wanted to do our best to help scare away the September blues and ring in the school year with some cheer. So this year we threw away those blahs and kicked off the year with the LGBT Center’s Welcome Back schedule of events to help new students adjust to the changes of coming to college and to welcome back our returning friends we developed a great schedule of not only informative but FUN socials, fairs, and info sessions.

“You Are Not Alone,” a group dialogue between new students/questioning students and veteran students in Penn’s queer community was held at Civic House and was a great beginning. Students often tell us how important it is to talk to other students who have been through the same things, know the ropes, and can help them get through their own adjustment processes, and we’ve found this early dialogue to be a crucial start to this process. On the same night, Allies presented an info session about “How to be an Ally” to encourage non-LGBTQ identified students to help fight for LGBTQ rights as an ally. Our big event, “Orientation Orientation,” a huge resource fair, had an amazing turn out from both campus and city wide organizations tabling and attendees who were able to gain a wealth of important information, free gifts, and safer sex supplies. Organizations from all over the city turned out to educate and encourage students to get involved both within their own communities and in the greater Philadelphia community.

The following evening, the Queer Student Alliance held their famous kick-off social event “A Gay Affair” with great music, entertainment, social atmosphere, and food for all. New to the line up this year was a fantastic bisexual mixer, in honor of Celebrate Bisexuality Day, which brought folks not only from all over campus, but from the city and suburbs to the Center for good food and lots of fun. Our last welcome back event was the annual Center Open House, which is our infamously well-catered event with great company, tours of the beautiful new facilities, and a meet and greet with our staff.

So if you haven’t had a chance to come check out the Center or are still plagued by the fall doldrums, come on by and check us out! We promise that although our Welcome Back events are over, there is still more fun to come and plenty more where that came from!

~Amanda Nordstrom loves body modification, owns a cat named Frankie, and thinks Erin is a cool vegetarian.

Adoption Rights

Whenever I encounter people who ask me what I would like my life to be in the future, some seem shocked when I tell them that I would like to have children. The argument I get most of the time is that same-sex couples either have no interest in children or that they are not meant to have them. It has become a matter of what heterosexual people think is best for children, without analyzing the situation at hand. Such people fail to realize that they have relied on their fears and hatred toward the LGBT community, rather than taking into account what the children could receive from same-sex parents, to give an opinion. And so the debate on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt kids has, in my opinion, taken the wrong turn.

Those who oppose adoption, in my experience, tend to have common beliefs in tradition and religion. For the most part of human history, the institution of parenting has been characterized by a “mother” and a “father.” However, in some cases one of the parents is left alone to look after the children. Whoever it may be, the child is left without one parent. This, however, has caused displeasure and upheaval among people in most places around the world. It wasn’t until last century when this belief started to fade away. Regardless, in some Latin American countries, for instance, single parent homes still engender disapproval.

Whatever the case, people are now starting to realize that single parents are capable of successfully bringing about a child without having the other “sex” counterpart. If so, then why do heterosexual people keep insisting that a child “needs” both a mother and a father to grow up in a “healthy” and “normal” environment? As a means of defense, they assert that, “It has always been this way, so why change it”. However, tradition does not mean rightness, as single parenting has shown throughout the years.

Religion is another widely used argument when opposing same-sex couple’s adoption. People claim to speak on behalf of God, stating that it is God’s will not to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. However, religion has always been a topic about which people disagree. Around the globe and within the US we see disparities on what a group says versus another. An endless discussion always sprouts around religion since whatever is said is always biased and adopts the sentiment of the person speaking. In such conditions, religion and its reliability become subjective; in which case LGBT people could also claim that God does not condemn nor prohibit same-sex couples from forming a family and having children. So, the issue now is how to determine whether a same-sex couple is entitled to adopt children.

Domestic violence, sometimes ignored but widely spread, plays an important part in children’s upbringing. It can irreversibly affect a child’s psyche. Therefore, several children have had to be institutionalized over the past hundred years or so as a result. Who are their caregivers? Even more people are needed to take in children whose parents have abandoned them, put them up for adoption, or died. In general, a series of negative behavior has surrounded heterosexual couples and their children. This can only show that heterosexual parents are not necessarily fit or better for bringing up and bearing a child. Yet, they don’t need permission to have kids, in which case LGBT people are at a disadvantage. Not being able to bear a child of their own, same-sex couples (especially men) have no other choice but to turn to adoption. For heterosexual couples, the process is carried out in a rather strict way. However, same-sex couples find that they have more requirements to fulfill, and in some cases they are denied the right to apply. One can only wonder why these same-sex couples are treated differently compared to other couples or parents when their backgrounds show impeccable and remarkable behavior. The decision of adopting requires more than just desire, it requires commitment. And when a same-sex couple works so hard to have a child and demonstrate that they are competent, it is only inevitable to think that they are indeed fit for bringing up a child in a loving and caring home.

At the end of the day, in my opinion, a child will be better off where she/he/ze can find acceptance, care, sustain and most importantly, love. Same-sex couples can give that love to a child just as heterosexual couples can. It is only a matter of understanding and tearing down the walls of hatred that heterosexuals have set against LGBT people. Only then will adoption be available to everyone who is committed to it.

~Suhail Torga is an officer of Mex at Penn, talks to everyone, and thinks Erin is an introvert.