This June Jerry Boivin, a 57-year-old gay man, was allegedly beat up on Congress Street. The assailants attacked Boivin and his partner for being gay. Two men attacked Boivin in broad daylight, screaming anti-gay remarks, as he lay helpless. This assault had such a profound effect on Gina Capra, a junior in the Women’s Studies program, she decided something had to be done about violence that stems from discrimination and ignorance.
Capra, with the help of other GLBTQA [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning Alliance] members, got the idea to start the “Speak Up!” campaign to end violence in all forms.
“No one did or said anything to help this man,” Capra said. “People don’t speak up when they witness violence because they are scared. They think that if they do speak up they will become a victim as well.”
The mission statement of the “Speak Up!” campaign is clear: “Hate manifested through violence is a prevalent problem throughout our world community. It takes only one voice to Speak Up against hate and violence. By practicing non-violence today we will change the face of tomorrow and build a peaceful community.”
The group plans to educate people about the effects of violent behavior and encourage people to take action when they are confronted with violence. The GLBTQA has created a pledge that students, faculty, staff and community members can sign to show their commitment to end violence.
Numerous events have been organized by the GLBTQA to promote their campaign and to educate people about the effects of violent behavior.
“People can go to these events and sign the pledge and make an important promise to be aware of their personal decisions regarding violent behavior,” said Dorn McMahon, a communications senior and the co-founder of the “Speak-Up!” campaign.
The campaign is not a national campaign, but McMahon developed its criteria by looking at an anti-violence program from Kansas State University.
“The Kansas State program distributed an anti-gay message to its students and staff every day for 64 days. I thought this was good ideology, but there was no action behind it. So we developed a program where people could take action,” McMahon said.
The campaign is also unique by encouraging people to take action against violence instead of being passive.
“I realize that there are injustices in this world and I want to take action against them,” McMahon said.
To date, the GLBTQA has gotten roughly 100 pledge signatures including Craig Hutchinson, vice president of division of student and university life, Denise Nelson, director of residential life, and poet Alice Olsen.
“When we ignore people who teach ignorance or perpetuate ignorance we are saying that we condone their behavior. When we hear someone make a racist joke or a discriminating remark we have to say, ‘Hey that’s not cool.’ They have to know that you’re not laughing,” McMahon said.
The campaign is designed to bring peace to the USM campus and the whole community by opening people’s minds and educating them about violence.
“My hope for the campaign is that it will be far-reaching and help end violence against all human beings. I want people to say ‘Well I may not be Black, but I am gay’-or ‘I may not be gay, but I am Muslim, so it is my responsibility to end violence that is based on discrimination,” he said.