Bay Windows - December 8, 2005
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com.

"They specifically said the fact that two guys or two girls might be grinding, kissing or dancing with each other is not in accordance with Catholic teaching," said B.C. junior John Hellman, president of the GLBT Leadership Council (GLC), one of the sponsors of the dance. GLC and other sponsors were informed that B.C. would not approve the dance at a Nov. 22 meeting with Dean of Student Development Robert Sherwood and Assistant Dean Christopher Darcy.

Students said Sherwood also cited fears that the event would attract unwanted media attention, either from professional media or conservative student journalists, that would result in students being outed. Senior Sasha Westerman, GLC's vice-president, said the administration was particularly wary since earlier in November a producer from The O'Reilly Factor had infiltrated Brown University's LGBT-themed Sex Power God party and aired the footage in a segment lambasting the university for allowing the party to take place. Westerman said administrators' fears were unfounded and that the AIDS benefit would have been much less risqu - than the Brown dance.

"Our dance was going to be a semi-formal with a DJ and a live band... We didn't see how they equated the two," said Westerman.

Hellman said Sherwood was also concerned because 10 years ago at an LGBT-themed drag show, conservative students snuck in, took photos of attendees and used them to out them to the public and their families. Since that event LGBT groups have not held dances on campus. Hellman said Sherwood was afraid the same thing would happen this year.

Dunn, who was not present at the Nov. 22 meeting, refuted Hellman and Westerman's version of events, saying that the school's concern was not about students being physically affectionate or about bad press. Instead he said the school objected because they viewed the event as being an "exclusively gay dance."

"In discussions between gay student leaders and the administration, students made clear their intention to promote a gay-themed dance by and for gay students. And the suggestion that this dance was not intended in this way seems disingenuous," said Dunn. "[The administration believes] that it would be an exclusively gay dance, which in our opinion would represent an endorsement of the lifestyle that is in conflict with church teaching."

Dunn's argument that the dance would be exclusively for gay and lesbian students seems unlikely. Hellman and Westerman said the majority of the members of GLC, a subgroup of the B.C. student government, are heterosexual.

"It was always for both gay and straight students... So many of our council members are straight that we always knew it would be a mix of students," said Westerman. She said she filled out an event authorization sheet back in September that specified the event was open to the whole campus community and the public, and it was approved by Darcy in October.

Hellman said prior to the Nov. 22 meeting members of the GLC were convinced the dance was a go. They met with Sherwood and Darcy on Nov. 18 to address the administration's concerns, and they made concessions to allay some of those concerns. They agreed to change the name of the event from "The GLC Diversity Ball: A Night in Gay Paris - A Safe Zone Event" to "AIDS Benefit Gala: A Celebration of Diversity - A Safe Zone Event" to remove the word "gay" and the name of the lead sponsor organization from the name. But he said on Nov. 22 when the administration denied permission to hold the event Sherwood raised the objections about publicity and outing.

Westerman said she sees B.C.'s decision as a major step back from the efforts over the past few years to make the campus a more welcoming place for gay and lesbian students. In April 2003 the school finally approved an officially recognized LGBT student group, the gay-straight alliance group Allies, although the group's constitution prohibited them from holding events that conflicted with Jesuit values. In response to B.C.'s inclusion on the Princeton Review's list of the country's most homophobic schools, B.C. students staged a "Gay? Fine by Me" campaign on campus in April 2004, passing out 600 t-shirts with the titular phrase to show that the student body is tolerant of gay and lesbian students. And last May, B.C. added a statement to its nondiscrimination policy welcoming students of all backgrounds including those discriminated against for their sexual orientation.

Westerman said the change to the nondiscrimination statement convinced her that B.C. might finally be ready to host an LGBT-themed dance.

"[I thought] we would actually be able to have some social events that are open to everyone but targeted to the GLBT community," said Westerman. "Those words [in the nondiscrimination policy] do not ring true anymore, and I felt very different at the end of last semester."

Dunn said the university would consider supporting a dance later in the year as long as it was not "exclusive" to the gay and lesbian community.

"Gay students have always been welcomed at dances, and we feel a better idea is to host a winter gala or festival or dance that is inclusive of our gay and lesbian students and the entire Boston College community as a whole," said Dunn.

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