By Sarah Burns
For many students, Saint Valentine’s Day celebrates an ages old tale of boy meets girl. Yet some feel that this view of February 14th alienates a lot of Ryerson students.
“Happy Valentine’s Day—big deal!” said Cherolyn Knapp, coordinator of Bisexuals, Gays and Lesbians of Ryerson. “It’s not a non-holiday, but for some people it’s a hard day because all of the symbols you see are heterosexual. When you don’t fit into that it’s hard to find a place within the celebration.”
Many gay and lesbian university groups carve out a place for themselves by organizing Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days in February. Ryerson’s B.G.L.A.D. are scheduled from February 20th to 23rd.
“B.G.L.A.D. is about celebrating our lives and also having a chance to educate other people about what it’s like to be gay, lesbian and bisexual,” Knapp said.
The awareness week will feature discussions, speakers and theatrical performances concerning coming out of the closet, bisexuality, the legal implications of gay families and being gay in different cultures.
George Bielmier, a co-chair of the president’s advisory Committee on Homophobia and Heterosexism, believes Ryerson needs a greater awareness of homosexuality.
“It’s essential to bring to the surface a reality which exists, but is not acknowledged,” said Bielmer.
Bielmier, who teaches a Gender and Sexuality course at Ryerson, admits awareness can be a double-edged sword. “Bringing reality to people’s attention can also bring out subtler forms of homophobia which have not been verbalized before.”
Wendy Roberts, of Harassment Prevention Services, says that statistics show harassment because of sexual orientation is an ongoing problem at Ryerson.
“In 1993, 11 per cent of all informal harassment complaints submitted were regarding sexual orientation. In 1994, the number of informal complaints of that nature rose slightly,” Roberts said.
Roberts said awareness days are necessary to promote tolerance in the university community, and also to give students who have not yet “come out” an idea of the kind of support network that is available to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Many in the Ryerson homosexual community feel the annual B.G.L.A.D. event has had a positive effect at Ryerson.
“During B.G.L.A.D, in 1991, we held an open forum during the lunch rush, and it was amazing how many people stopped to listen,” said Stephen Wavryk, a third-year Applied Geography student. He says that just getting people to stop and open their eyes makes B.G.L.A.D. worthwhile.
“Homophobia still exists at Ryerson, and there is no acceptable level of homophobia,” Wavryk said. “But because of events like B.G.L.A.D., some people are becoming more sensitive to the issues surrounding homosexuality. Let’s put it this way—our posters are staying up a little longer.”
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