Students
at
Virginia’s
Hampton
University
have
been
trying
to
get
a
gay-straight
alliance
approved
by
the
administration
for
four
years,
but
progress
has
been
nonexistent.
Organizers
say
no
matter
how
many
bureaucratic
hoops
they
have
jumped
through
or
how
many
forms
they
have
filled
out,
they
are
not
any
closer
in
2007
to
winning
recognition
for
the
group
than
they
were
in
2004.
“This
is
the
second
year
I
have
been
involved,”
said
Sia
Mensah,
a
junior
majoring
in
psychology.
“In
2004,
I
heard
about
another
student
who
was
trying
to
get
a
GSA
started.
I
took
it
on
because
we
need
it
here,
and
someone
needs
to
fight
for
fairness
on
campus.
Hampton
University
is
not
being
fair
to
all
of
its
students.”
Hampton
University
is
a
historically
black
school
located
on
the
Virginia
Peninsula.
A
six-page
list
of
the
school’s
195
student
organizations
shows
there
are
67
social,
64
academic
and
31
service
clubs,
but
not
one
geared
toward
gay
students.
Some
of
the
organizations
include
chapters
of
NAACP,
Habitat
for
Humanity,
Student
Government
Association
and
Student
Christian
Association,
as
well
as
10
fraternities
and
sororities.
Competition
to
get
a
student
organization
charter
is
tough
at
Hampton,
in
part
because
charters
are
renewed
every
two
years
instead
of
annually
like
they
are
at
most
other
colleges
and
universities.
When
charters
lapse,
only
a
handful
of
new
groups
are
allowed
in.
In
a
Jan.
24
article
in
the
Daily
Press,
a
Newport
News,
Va.,
paper,
Hampton’s
assistant
vice
president
for
student
affairs,
Barbara
Inman,
said
30
groups
applied
for
charters
in
2006
and
only
four
were
approved.
The
proposed
GSA
group
is
called
SPEAK,
short
for
Students
Promoting
Equality,
Action
and
Knowledge.
It
was
turned
down
in
2004,
again
in
2006
and
now
has
to
wait
until
2008
to
reapply.
Mensah,
who’s
bisexual,
inherited
the
mantel
of
GSA
crusader
during
her
freshman
year
from
April
Maxwell,
a
lesbian
psychology
student
who
began
the
process
to
get
a
charter
for
the
group
in
2004.
In
an
interview
with
the
Black
College
Wire
two
years
ago,
Maxwell
said
she
wanted
to
dispel
negative
stereotypes
and
bring
straight
and
gay
students
together.
“When
I
was
a
freshman
I
felt
so
alone,”
Maxwell
said.
“It’s
so
hard
to
find
people
to
talk
to
because
nobody
comes
out.”
Patra
Johnson,
interim
director
of
student
activities,
told
the
Blade
the
university
is
not
deliberately
withholding
a
charter
from
SPEAK.
“We
are
not
discriminating
against
them
or
treating
them
any
differently
from
any
other
club,”
she
said.
“We
are
following
the
regulations
of
the
school.”
Brandon
Braud
is
the
senior
organizer
for
the
Historically
Black
Colleges
and
Universities
program,
diversity
and
special
projects
for
Human
Rights
Campaign.
He
said
there
are
104
historically
black
colleges
and
universities
nationwide,
with
80
percent
of
them
located
in
the
Southeast.
In
the
past
five
years
of
the
program’s
existence,
he
has
seen
15
gay-straight
groups
form
on
historically
black
university
and
college
campuses,
mostly
in
southern
states.
The
HRC
program
has
helped
establish
14
of
the
groups,
some
of
which
are
not
officially
sanctioned
by
their
administrations.
SPEAK
has
been
involved
with
HRC’s
program
for
two
years.
“The
issue
with
Hampton
is
indicative
of
a
lot
of
universities
we
have
been
dealing
with,”
Braud
said.
“It
is
a
very
conservative
environment,
with
religious
overtones.”
Braud
said
his
program
had
success
partnering
with
HRC’s
Religion
and
Faith
program
last
semester,
inviting
gay-friendly
black
ministers
and
pastors
to
forums
at
college
campuses.
“We
did
four
last
semester
and
two
or
three
this
semester,”
he
said.
“We
are
planning
to
offer
it
as
a
staple
for
our
program.
To
finally
have
some
affirming
black
ministers
and
pastors
speaking
the
gospel
of
inclusion
is
inciting
real
dialogue.
It’s
pressing
people
to
think
deeper
about
their
own
spiritual
beliefs
and
how
to
include
gays,
lesbians,
bisexuals
and
transgender
people
in
those
beliefs.”
He
said
it
is
not
unusual
for
homophobic
administrations
to
send
students
through
an
unending
maze
of
forms.
If
they
are
lucky
enough
to
get
advisers
for
their
clubs,
they
are
denied
charters
without
any
reasons
given.
Participation
by
faculty
is
also
discouraged.
“I’ve
seen
it
happen
before,”
he
said.
“The
secret
message
given
to
faculty
members
is
do
not
step
up
to
the
plate
for
this
student
group,
because
your
job
will
be
in
jeopardy.
When
a
teacher
stepped
up
at
her
black
college,
her
department
was
downsized
within
a
month
and
she
lost
her
job.”
Tara
Sweeney
is
senior
program
officer
with
Foundation
for
Individual
Rights
in
Education,
a
national
public
advocacy
group
for
colleges
and
universities.
She
said
Hampton
also
gave
a
student
wanting
to
form
an
Amnesty
International
group
the
runaround
until
she
quit
trying.
The
school
also
cracked
down
on
anti-Bush
protesters
distributing
literature
on
campus,
she
said.
Sweeney
said
the
fact
the
school
is
allowing
a
handful
of
new
organizations
to
meet
and
turning
most
away
constitutes
viewpoint
discrimination.
“Hampton
has
few
policies
available
for
people
to
see,”
Sweeney
said.
“But
one
of
their
policies
includes
a
nondiscrimination
on
the
basis
of
sexual
preference.
There
is
no
other
organization
on
campus
that
caters
to
gay
students.
If
they
don’t
want
to
encourage
an
environment
of
openness
for
different
sexual
orientations,
why
not
be
upfront?
If
they
make
a
promise,
they
should
hold
to
it
and
not
break
it.”
