This Sunday, thousands of students from all over California are expected to come to UCLA for 1FEST Marriage Equality and Civil Rights Festival, an event that will focus on giving students the opportunity to make their voices heard on marriage equality and several other civil rights issues. 1FEST is taking a unique approach to fighting for marriage equality in California by giving people from all communities a chance to interact and support each others’ causes.
The event will give UCLA students and students from around the state a chance to address issues on all sides of the sociopolitical spectrum.
This will be a free, all-day event open to everyone, attracting big names from big movements. Political speakers such as Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and former assistant to Harvey Milk, and Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, signify the magnitude of the event. There will also be live musical performances, student speakers, and action booths held by student organizations.
A myriad of student groups will be at the event on Sunday, standing up for marriage equality as well as presenting their own causes. LGBT groups such as the Queer Alliance and the Student Coalition for Marriage Equality are taking part in the event, along with several non-LGBT groups: Alliance of DREAMs (which represents undocumented students), UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, the Student Worker Front, Students for Justice in Palestine, Bruins for Israel, the Darfur Action Committee, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and many more. The presence of this wide variety of student groups proves that marriage equality is not an issue that only LGBT people are concerned about.
What makes this event such a unique opportunity for students is that it is not about just hearing speakers and music; it is about taking action. Each student group will have an “action booth” devoted to taking specific action in support of the various issues being represented.
Bruin Democrats will be registering voters. Queer Alliance will be taking signatures for the “Fight to Give Life Campaign,” which seeks to end the ban on homosexual blood donors. The Darfur Action Committee will hold a letter-writing campaign to President Obama to call for action in Darfur. Bruins for Israel and Students for Justice in Palestine are talking about working together for a mutual peace project.
The event itself is a totally student-run, grassroots social movement, and has already grabbed some big attention. L.A. Weekly has listed 1FEST as one of three “best things to do in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 19,” on its Web site.
1FEST is being put on by Won Together, a UCLA student group. The group was started by Dave Valk, a fourth-year political science student. After participating in and even leading protest marches after the Proposition 8 decision, Valk saw that people from all different communities wanted to join in the fight for marriage equality.
“We’ve got a whole lot of differences, but we set them aside for things like peace, justice, equality,” Valk said.
By organizing this event, Valk and Won Together are looking to empower the student voice and get young people active in civil rights. And after seeing all of the tremendous energy put into the protesting after Proposition 8, Valk saw the potential to make real change.
“We wanted to use this energy to draw attention to all civil rights issues. You have to not just fight for your own cause, but for everyone’s cause,” Valk said.
Now is the time for students to reach out to others outside of their own communities, and to work together to tackle civil rights issues. Whether you stand for marriage equality or not, this event is a solid opportunity to hear people from every background express their views on contemporary civil rights issues.
This is an opportunity for students to take part in a growing social movement. Everyone has something at stake here, and now is the time to come together for change, for equality for all people.
1FEST will take place at UCLA’s Wilson Plaza on Sunday starting at noon. Find more information at 1FEST.org.
If you believe in fighting for all of our civil rights together, e-mail Stoll at rstoll@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.