Students open their hearts to support UCLA LGBT Center
By Sherese Tong
Feb. 20, 2008 11:17 p.m.
Students gathered Wednesday to attend a film screening and silent art auction, to learn about issues concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender homeless youth and to raise funds for the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center.
The event, which took place in De Neve Plaza was the first part of the two-day HeArt Festival, organized by three resident assistants. The event featured two short movies about homeless LGBT youth, an auction of 24 art pieces created by UCLA students and community members, and a speaker panel. All proceeds from the auction will go to the LGBT center to directly offer support to students in need or affected by homelessness.
Andrea Chung, a fourth-year sociology student and one of the programmers for the HeArt Festival, said she was moved to organize the event after learning from the director of the resource center that students commonly seek support there when they are kicked out by their families because of their LGBT identities.
“Personally when I heard that, I was not aware of that. … I was surprised,” Chung said. “When I found out about that, (we became) very interested.”
Josephine Lee, a fourth-year English and global studies student and another programmer, said the main goal of the event is to educate students about issues concerning LGBT youth.
“We feel education is the most powerful tool in breaking stigma and stereotype against the (LGBT) community … one that is often misrepresented,” Lee said.
Lee said that homophobia is a big issue on campus and in politics, especially with the ongoing presidential election; LGBT issues such as same-sex marriage are playing a role in debates and candidates’ platforms.
Eric Ward, a UCLA alumnus and current UCLA Extension student who attended the event said he expected “enlightenment, education and good speakers.”
Ward added, “Hopefully this event will bring light to youth issues and will help out the next generation coming up.”
Elena Smith, a first-year Latin American studies student, said she wanted to gain a more educated perspective on the issues brought up by the event.
“I’ve learned about the homeless community and LGBT community separately, but I’m interested in learning about the specific issues that arise when the two communities overlap,” Smith said.
The second part of the HeArt Festival, an open mic night, will take place today from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in De Neve Plaza and will include performances, speakers and a continuation of the art auction.
