BGALA a necessary part of campus

Recently, the ASUA Senate considered reclassifying BGALA as part of their Clubs and Organizations. Such a move would cause BGALA to wither on the vine as it tried to regain official sanction and stifle BGALA's freedom to provide the services it traditionally has to the university community without the space which ASUA has graciously afforded it in the past. As a member of BGALA, I thank my lucky stars for the gift we have in our resource center. The office is so much more than a social space - that's why we call it a resource center. Sure, socializing takes place in the BGALA office, but who's to say that socializing doesn't also take place in the ASUA offices, and that the work both of those organizations do isn't improved by that interaction?

Ultimately, though, BGALA without its members is nothing. We are, after all, a visible presence of queerdom on the University of Arizona campus. When a student thinks she or he might be lesbian, gay, bisexual, whatever, we are people that the ASSOCIATED STUDENTS have chosen to say to that questioning student, "Hey, we've got some people you can talk to." When a professor wants to get some students to talk to her class - even if it's on a Saturday - about bisexuality, because she doesn't think she can explain it well enough, we are there to answer those students' questions. And when some students voice their distaste for some aspects of gay culture inappropriately, it is BGALA who can stand up for the voice of diversity and demand that action can be taken and that our members can be safe from violence, hatred, and assault, and that we can take an opportunity to show all the students that once in a while, it's fun to play with gender roles. We can't afford to let the ASUA Senate sweep us under the rug without a fight. The students of the UA cannot live without BGALA and the contributions it makes to the university community. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have had to be involved with BGALA.

By Keith Hilzendeger (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 15, 1997