Most high school students aren’t old enough to vote in
support of their ideas and standpoints on current political
issues.
But that doesn’t negate the fact that they have opinions
on current events as a same-sex marriage rally this weekend,
organized entirely by high school students, will illustrate.
The rally will take place in front of the Wilshire Federal
Building on Saturday.
Students from Windward High School, a private day school in West
Los Angeles, are challenging the stereotype of the apathetic
teenager by showing their support for same-sex marriages.
The event is “completely student initiated,” said
David Beckman, an English teacher at Windward who is serving as the
contact person for the rally.
Sarah Freed, a junior at Windward and coordinator of the rally,
said the students have spent their time and effort to show
“we’re concerned about the future.”
“If people are denied the right to marry, what does
freedom really mean?” Freed asked.
Joe Goldman, a Windward freshman and another coordinator of the
event, pointed out, “just because we can’t vote
doesn’t mean we don’t care.”
“The government shouldn’t tell us who we can and
can’t marry,” he said.
Goldman and Freed are two of about 35 Windward High students in
a recently formed Gay-Straight Alliance, the creation of which
fostered the rally, said Beckman.
The timing of the event coincides with present legal struggles
over the issue of same-sex marriage.
This week, the California Supreme Court examined the legality of
city officials in San Francisco who issued 4,000 marriage licenses
to gay and lesbian couples earlier this year.
The rush of same-sex couples to the altar in San Francisco was
halted this March by the Court at the request of California
Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who held that the city’s
decision violated state law.
The Court conveyed serious doubts on Tuesday about the right of
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to defy state law by granting the
marriage licenses, and the Court is considering nullifying the
marriages in the event that Newsom’s actions are ruled
illegal.
A ruling from the Court will be issued within the next 90
days.
In addition, Massachusetts became the first state to issue
same-sex marriage licenses on Monday, uniting 1,000 same-sex
couples in marriage over the last week.
The rally in Westwood is an attempt to reach out to the gay
community affected by these current issues, Beckman said.
John Duran, mayor of West Hollywood, will start off the rally
with an opening speech.
Over 50 public and private high schools from the Los Angeles
area have been invited to come and show their support.
After inviting the gay communities of UCLA, the University of
Southern California, and Loyola Marymount University, the Windward
students are hoping to have about 500 people show up on Saturday
with signs in hand.
Some UCLA students are expected to attend, but not as
representatives of their student groups.
Due to conflicting events, “we’re telling students
to go, but we’re not attending as an organization,”
said Kian Boloori, a third-year world arts and cultures student and
the chair of the UCLA Queer Student Alliance.
Boloori said the Queer Student Alliance supports the rally and
that students will be there as individuals.
The event will be at the corner of Veteran and Wilshire,
near the Federal Building, at 10:30 am on Saturday.