The Queer Alliance held a rally in Meyerhoff Park in front of Kerckhoff Hall on Tuesday afternoon to speak out against hatred and homophobia in light of the recent shooting death of a Southern California teenager.
A crowd of about 20 students gathered on the lawn to listen to several speakers share stories of how discrimination has touched their lives and the lives of their friends.
Speakers also discussed the murder of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old boy shot to death two weeks ago because of a dispute regarding his sexuality, in Oxnard, located about 40 miles from UCLA.
The microphone was also opened up to audience members who have had their lives touched or affected by discrimination.
Vanessa Angulo, a fourth-year neuroscience student, opened up the rally by reading a letter written by her friend, describing discrimination she has encountered. Angulo is the co-director of La Familia, UCLA’s Latina and Latino gay, bisexual and transgender organization, and she shared her own experiences of discrimination that she has encountered on campus.
“Homophobia still occurs at a progressive campus like UCLA,” Angulo said.
The rally also focused on the death of King, a junior high student, who was killed on Feb. 14 by a 14-year-old boy at school.
Though prosecutors have not said if they are filing an additional hate crime charge, classmates of King said he had come to school in the past wearing feminine clothing and makeup.
Jeremiah Garcia, a fourth-year art student, expressed his desire to speak out for victims like King.
“We want to make sure his story got heard,” Garcia said. “Action needs to get taken when there are victims of harassment.”
Garcia also talked about the importance of the UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Resource Center and Queer Student Center for students on campus and his desire to increase their visibility.
The Queer Student Center, located on the first floor of Kerckhoff Hall, where the Queer Alliance and six to eight related groups meet, is considered a safe zone for queer students who may or may not be out.
The undergraduate student government is currently reviewing the space that the Queer Alliance meets in, and Garcia is concerned that they could be moved.
“The Queer Student Center is a key location,” Garcia said. “There is no fear of harassment when you enter the doors, and it’s a place of respect.”
A common message the speakers shared was a need for the student body to show respect and courtesy to the queer community on and off campus so deaths like King’s can be prevented.
Michael Chow, a second-year political science student, has faced his share of discrimination on campus.
He said he relates to King’s death because he knows firsthand the hostile environment that many openly gay people grow up in.
“You can’t change someone that’s black or gay,” Chow said. “In 2008, we still experience a lot of hate. Words and actions hurt a lot.”