Gay Pride Day celebrated at USU

Will Bettmann

The Rev. Steven Epperson, keynote speaker at the third-annual Utah State University Gay and Lesbian Pride Day, urged USU students to acknowledge “the inherent worth and dignity of every person – not some people, not most people – every person.”

The event was held Wednesday by the Pride Alliance on the Taggart Student Center Patio. Epperson, a minister at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, said he agreed with his 17-year-old son, who views gay rights as the key social issue of our time.

He told the audience about a time when he, his wife and a friend had been verbally assaulted and called “fags,” and he said mainstream organizations should take a moral stand.

“Religious and civic institutions often contribute to an atmosphere of intolerance and violence,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take a stand on an issue a generation or two before the mainstream, just because it’s the right thing to do.”

Other speakers at the event included Pride Alliance Co-Presidents Tim Nuttle and Sarah Benanti, Associate Students of USU President Steve Palmer, and Vice President of Student Services Patricia Terrell.

Terrell related her experiences with gay students over the years at a couple of different institutions. When she was the assistant vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Louisville, she had to deal with three students who burned a banner advertising “blue jeans day,” a day in which students are encouraged to wear blue jeans in support of gay students.

Terrell asked the student if he believed he had a right to destroy private property (he also damaged U of L property) if he felt an idea was wrong. After some thought, the student replied he did feel he had that right. Terrell ended up referring the student to the counseling center, and said she was criticized by both gay students (who felt she’d been too easy on the student), and some straight students (who felt she may have been trying to “brainwash” the student with counseling).

She went on to praise the Pride Alliance for its work on campus.

“I applaud the Pride Alliance for helping to make this campus welcoming not just to straight students, but to those who are gay,” she said.

Palmer spoke mainly about the role of ASUSU on campus and encouraged the audience to get involved with student government. He also said USU was lucky to have a diverse student body, and that clubs like the Pride Alliance were a big part of such diversity.

Benanti, wearing a rainbow cape and introduced by Nuttle as “superdyke,” said she was leaving USU to work for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C. She thanked members of the Pride Alliance for their support.

“When I came out a year and a half ago, it was easy because I had so much love and support,” she said.

Benanti said most big cities hold gay and lesbian pride days in the summer, but the Pride Alliance holds its day earlier since there are fewer students on campus in the summer. Salt Lake City’s pride day is scheduled for June 10 this year.

Nuttle said he was pleased with the event.

“I think it’s going great. The weather’s beautiful. We’re getting a lot of support. It was good to hear support from ASUSU and from Pat [Terrell],” he said.

The day featured a couple of performances by USU students and musician Kevin Allred, a raffle and booths set up on the Patio by some of the businesses and organizations sponsoring the event.

Co-sponsoring organizations included the Cache Valley AIDS Foundation, Cache Valley Unitarian Universalists, the Human Rights Campaign, Metropolitan Community Church, Planned Parenthood, the Utah Gay Rodeo Association, the USU Counseling Center, the USU History department and the USU Women’s Center.

Sponsoring businesses included Accents, Chapter Two Books, Earthly Awakenings, Fuhriman’s Framing and Fine Art, Healing Touch Therapeutic Massage, Cafe Ibis, Smiling Moon Toys and Swiss Renaissance.