Students taking stand after vandalism

Thursday, October 20, 2011

NC State's GLBT Center

Tags:

wake county, local/state

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- An act of hate on the campus of North Carolina State University has student leaders taking a stand against intolerance.

About 50 NC State student senators decided to galvanize their support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community by passing a resolution that opposes a proposed ban on gay marriage pushed by North Carolina lawmakers.

"We are very disappointed ... we support them," NC State student senator Harrison Do said.

Students followed up the vote with a rally Thursday in support of the GLBT community.

Wednesday night's decision to disagree with the General Assembly's recently proposed amendment comes after someone spray-painted derogatory words in purple outside the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Center at Harrelson Hall on Monday night.

"As member of the community myself, it's hard so you kind of have to pick yourself up and say how do you move on," NC State GLBT Center Director Justine Hollingshead said.

Hollingshead and GLBT member Glen Edwards said that positive support from the incident has been overwhelming.

"Then after that, it was a really great aftermath," said Edwards, a NC State junior.

<pThe student senate passed the resolution in a 29-6 vote, despite the debate turning contentious.

Click here to read the resolution

Some student senators said they felt it was too much of a hot button for them to take an official stand on for their entire student body.

It is the same amendment that hundreds protested for and against last month. However next May, North Carolina voters will be asked whether a ban on same-sex marriage should be written into North Carolina's constitution.