-->Check out the BEAUTIFUL full-page color photospread of our rally in the Daily!!
Students rally against Propositions 4 & 8
Pro-choice and same-sex marriage advocates unite in White Plaza
Students strolled toward White Plaza at noon yesterday, donning bold and colorful paraphernalia in the name of equality. As their fellow peers sped along on their bikes, they dispersed across the plaza, waving signs and yelling a rallying chant of, “Vote no on four and eight!”
The Student Coalition for Marriage Equality (SCME) — an unofficial campus club centered on the upcoming election and an offshoot of the Queer-Straight Alliance — organized yesterday’s rally with help from Stanford Students for Choice (SSC) in hopes of promoting awareness about California Propositions 4 and 8. These state measures, if approved by voters, would require minors to notify their parents prior to obtaining an abortion (Proposition 4) and would eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry (Proposition 8).
Students who attended the rally were joined by LGBT activist Candace Gingrich, half-sister of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Attendees received free buttons and white placards, and some also sported uniforms illustrating their support of same-sex and reproductive rights. The graphic of the free t-shirts provided by SCME, for example, showed a heterosexual couple juxtaposed against gay and lesbian couples — with the lesbian couple holding a “Just Married” balloon — and each couple separated by equal signs.
The primary objective of these campaigning efforts against Propositions 4 and 8 is education. Student organizers believed that very few people knew about the propositions, and for them, the information in the general election packet alone does not serve as a sufficient source on which voters should base their decisions.
“Because the rhetoric involved is deceptive and is not necessarily straight-forward, the main effort that we’re doing for this campaign is clarifying the proposition and its practical application,” said SSC Co-President Emily Gasner ‘09.
While the gathering was small, those who showed up were eager to fight for what they believe is a crucial human rights issue, and to display their support for peers directly affected by the propositions. It was their sense of urgency to alert the Stanford campus and the public about Propositions 4 and 8 that fueled the energy in the rallying cheers.
“What brought me out here was reading through the general election packet, and the very first line for (Proposition) eight says ‘a constitutional amendment to deny the right,’ and I stopped there,” said Yvorn Aswad ‘11. “I couldn’t go any further because how can anyone phrase this in any good light if the first sentence is ‘to deny the right’? That brought me out to come and support.”
Temo Peranda ‘10 hoped to “put faces onto the proposition.”
“This is a humanistic thing and you have to realize yourself that these people are you,” he said. “What if your rights are taken away?”
Most of the attendees were concerned about the chances of defeating these propositions, especially after the San Jose Mercury News recently reported that both propositions are currently holding more public favor in opinion polls. Though the difference is minimal — about five percent — the rally organizers believe the Stanford student vote could play a large role in blocking the two propositions.
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