LGBT

Queer youth are overrepresented among the homeless population. Young LGBT people face unique challenges and dangers, at risk and vulnerable to violence and exploitation.

Six months ago, 15-year-old Drew said he would have described himself as an “ordinary teenager.” He now lives alone on the streets of the Upper West Side, forced to beg strangers for the few dollars he needs to buy food each day and routinely accepting money for sex.

“Being a straight ally is very much about me,” Saffiyah Madraswala, BC ’09 and Respecting Ourselves and Others Through Education facilitator, explained Tuesday night to a small group in John Jay Lounge, “but at the same time, it’s not about me at all.”

As part of a panel at Riverside Church on Sunday afternoon, Emmanuel Kamau of Nairobi, Kenya and others offered American audience members firsthand accounts highlighting the plight of gay and lesbian Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa. While several of the issues discussed resembled those faced by homosexuals in New York, the panelists stressed the problems unique to post-colonial Africa.

On Wednesday, queer leaders issued a statement regarding the hate crime at Teachers College, where we asked individuals to send e-mails to President Bollinger, as well as call the main University telephone. Our friends are still writing, calling, and asking the President to ensure that demands of students and faculty of Teachers College and Columbia University are met.

Last Monday saw crowds of protesting students, an influx of concerned community members, and an impressive media presence on Columbia’s campus. The chaotic disturbance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit was remarkable.