Daily: The Emma Goldman Society for Queer Liberation makes its debut

Student protest of 8 continues

By: Ryan Mac
Published: November 17, 2008

Rally marches through Old Union, Tresidder, Bookstore

More than a week after California voters passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, Stanford students showed they were not yet ready to back down in the fight over the right of same-sex couples to wed. Students demonstrated on campus Friday, and several joined Saturday’s nationwide rallies.

On Friday at noon, a group of about 30 students organized in White Plaza and marched around campus to voice the concerns of the LGBT community, specifically focusing on the troubles of queer youth. Dressed in black, demonstrators staged performances across campus to portray the negative messages associated with propositions that banned gay marriage in California, Arizona and Florida last Tuesday.

“One in three queer and questioning youth attempt suicide,” activist and organizer Laura Wadden ‘09 said over a megaphone. “What messages are we sending our children?”..........

Join the Impact!! National Protest Friday

Daily: SCME campaigners

Lingering issues give election campaigners a political hangover

By: Gea Kang
Published: November 13, 2008

Daily: Candle-lit vigil on El Camino

Community, students rally against 8

By: Marisa Landicho
Published: November 11, 2008

Church-goers join protest against controversial prop

Daily Editorial

Defeating Prop. 8 requires coming together

"....The numbers that really matter are the ones that shine light on how far LGBT rights have come in the past two decades. Just 20 years ago, gay marriage didn’t seem like a viable option for many members of the LGBT community. In recent years, when marriage propositions similar to Prop. 8 were put forth, they passed with overwhelming support. In 2000, when Prop. 22 imposed a statutory ban on gay marriage in California, the measure won by a 22-point margin.

We have come a long way in such a short amount of time. The 48 percent of the voting population who opposed a ban on gay marriage are an inspiration. Rhetoric stating that we have set the movement back 20 years belittles what progress we have made. Unfortunately, change does not come overnight in America, and as we have learned from President-elect Barack Obama, “We have more work to do.” At this rate, we can expect and hope that Prop. 8 will be an outdated and out-of-touch measure 20 years from now.

Rallies like the one in the Intersection of Death following the election are steps in the right direction. They continue to inspire students and help those who opposed Prop. 8 remember that the battle is not over. Prop. 8 opponents must continue to energize people who continue to stand for equality, while also working with those who supported Prop. 8. If you are unhappy with the results of this year’s election, plug yourself into the cause as the Stanford community continues to do its part to raise awareness, end apathy and push forward with the legislative fight.

Prop. 8 is not the end of the road; it is just another hurdle in the journey towards equality. We should keep our heads up, reach out to each other and continue building a better, more equal, California."

Stanford No on 8-ers get press in the blogoshere!

VIDEO from our RALLY TO RECLAIM RIGHTS

Silicon Valley Moms Blog:

http://www.svmoms.com/2008/11/prop-8.html

http://svmomblog.typepad.com/philly_moms/2008/11/arent-you-glad.html

U.S. News & World Report

Students Mourn Gay Marriage Ban in California

Daily Coverage of Post-Election Protest

Prop. 8 opponents rally

ISAAC GAETANO/The Stanford Daily

Students gathered at the “Intersection of Death” yesterday at 12:30 p.m. to rally against California’s passage of Proposition 8. The rally was impromptu; Prop. 8 opponents organized it overnight after voting results indicated that a small majority of Californians voted for the proposition.

By: Ryan Mac
Published: November 6, 2008

Stanford students rally against California voters’ passage of same-sex marriage ban

Students on their way to class around 1 p.m. yesterday found their route very congested at the intersection of Lasuen Mall and Escondido due to a large student protest against the recent passage of Proposition 8.

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Letter to the Editor

Published: November 6, 2008

I am writing to clarify one of the purposes of the Proposition 8 protest that confused many Stanford students trying to bypass the human blockade on Wednesday. [See “Prop. 8 opponents rally” in today’s issue of The Daily.]

As I sat with other aggrieved citizens blocking bike passage near the School of Education and Building 260, I noticed a high degree of frustration among people that couldn’t navigate through the blockade. They were angry and felt that this blockade was frivolous, unnecessary and unfair.

I want to explain that the blockade was not frivolous. It was meant to make people feel discomfort (for even a short time). It was meant to make people reflect on the discomfort they feel over a trivial matter like attending class on time and imagine the inconveniences, indignities and discomforts that some U.S. citizens face because they are blockaded from exercising fundamental human rights and are denied equality under the law.

Some students, attempting to get through, reasoned with me saying, “I voted against Proposition 8.” To them, I say thank you. But, the point of the protest was to make it clear that voting wasn’t enough this time. Now, it is our duty as a society to disrupt the status quo, again and again, to endure discomfort again and again, until civil rights are granted to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation.

Rachel Lindenberg
Public Policy MA and Ph.D. candidate in Sociology

Thoughts on today's Rally from Noah Branman

Dear Greg, Amanda, and Jamie,

I had some thoughts that I wanted to share and didn’t know what list best to send them to, but I figured I would share them with you (and you are free to pass them along if you like).

Today, we as a community, as people who believe in freedom, liberty and justice for all, we are in pain. We are angry. And we have every right to be.

And yet, I have hope. I have hope because of what I have seen in the 12 years since I’ve come out. I have hope because when I went to college we were lucky to get 25 people out to a rally, whereas you were able to get out 200 people to rally against hate and discrimination. I have hope because I think that Prop 8 may have done more good for us as a community than anything since Stonewall. I say this because so many people have trained and worked and struggled in the past few months to defeat Prop 8, but they not only fought Prop 8, they gained skills, they strengthened their resolve, they saw the issues more clearly, and now we have all seen how much we can achieve and how if we just work a little harder and a little longer we will reach equality. There are hundreds of students on this campus and thousands across California who are poised to become the next generation of leaders in this struggle. Perhaps this is what we needed to make us realize what it is we need to do. Of course I wish things had gone the other way, but just know that so many people will be able to work so much harder the next time because of what you and other leaders on campus have done.

And we must keep fighting. We must keep fighting, not merely for ourselves, our friends, our family. We must keep fighting to give hope to the closeted kid in Tennessee or Montana who is unable to be themself. It is for them that this fight is truly for, to show them that they may step out of the closet, that there are people who value them, who are ready to welcome them fully. As someone said today, we must spread love, to all ends of this nation, to all ends of the earth, so that not only may that kid come out of the closet, but may that kid not have a closet to stand in.

Keep up the fight, and we WILL win the war.

With great admiration and respect for all the leaders of the No on 8 campaign,

Noah

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Noah Branman

Director of Special Projects/Camp Kesem Director

Hillel at Stanford

Daily: Election Night

Proposition 8 likely to pass; students to protest

MASARU OKA/The Stanford Daily

By: Devin Banerjee and An Le Nguyen

This article was reported by An Le Nguyen and written by Devin Banerjee.

The $70-million campaign to overturn California’s Proposition 8 quickly lost traction Tuesday night as poll results showed California voters leaning toward overturning same-sex marriage in the state. As of press time, 52 percent of voters favored passage of the proposition, with 89 percent of precincts reporting.

During the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election, much of the Stanford community lashed out against Prop. 8. If passed, the proposition would amend the Golden State’s Constitution to “eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.”

Thank You

Because of you, we hosted the largest Phonebank against Prop. 8 in the ENTIRE STATE.
Because of you, we guerilla-flyered 30 other college campuses in the Bay Area.
Because of you, we successfully mobilized and remobilized Stanford in an unprecedented campaign for equality.
Because of you, we had over 350 students/staff/faculty/members sit-in today at the Intersection of Death, ready to "STAND UP, FIGHT BACK!"
Because of you, Stanford has seen more political activism on-campus in the past month and a half, than in the past 30 years.

Now we need to come together and recognize each other's efforts.
We need to take the time to share, bond, love one another.

For your support, for your volunteerism, and for your willingness to give your attention, time, sweat and tears for this cause,
We Invite You to Join Us in Solidarity and in thanks--->
TONIGHT at the Women's Community Center from 8-10PM

No on Prop 4 & 8 THANKS YOU
brought to you by the Student Coalition for Marriage Equality

*there will be food*

Daily: shout-out to our campaign!

Continue your activism past Election Day

"...Of particular note, the opponents of California Proposition 8, the measure that sought to overturn gay marriage in the Golden State, whipped the campus into a frenzy with their purple T-shirts and phonebank operation, which was largest in the state and held in spite of the driving rain last Saturday..."

Reclaim Your Rights!!!

CALL TO ACTION!

PROP 8 may have passed but we will not be silenced!

Yesterday 4 states wrote into their constitutions that the civil rights of the queer community are invalid, that queer people are 2ND CLASS CITIZENS in the eyes of this nation. The passage of Prop 8 is an attack on our community. Yesterday our rights and the rights of our peers were taken away.

TODAY WE TAKE BACK THOSE RIGHTS!!!!

CALIFORNIA: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ILLEGAL

FLORIDA: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ILLEGAL

ARIZONA: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ILLEGAL

ARKANSAS: SAME-SEX ADOPTION ILLEGAL

RALLY & MARCH @ 12:30 sharp

WHITE PLAZA

RECLAIM YOUR RIGHTS

Daily coverage!!

Leaders rally students to the polls

VINCENT CHEN/The Stanford Daily

Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, addressed the crowd at a rally in White Plaza yesterday. Newsom appeared along with other political leaders to encourage students to vote against Proposition 8 and for presidential nominee Barack Obama.

By: Kamil Dada
Published: November 4, 2008

Approximately 200 students gathered outside Old Union on Monday afternoon at an event intended to rally the campus in favor of Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama and in opposition to Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

Speakers at the event included San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Stanford Law Professor Larry Marshall and former State Controller Steve Westly ‘78.

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Newsom speaks against Prop. 8

By: Kamil Dada
Published: November 4, 2008

San Francisco mayor addresses gay marriage, importance of vote

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Faculty petition against Prop. 8

By: Alan Guo
Published: November 4, 2008

In today’s election, Californian voters will vote on Proposition 8, a measure that eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples. As of last night, 1,394 Stanford faculty and staff have taken a stand against the ballot initiative through an online petition that has circulated the Stanford campus.

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Down to the wire

VIVIAN WONG/The Stanford Daily

Patrick Ardinger ‘09 used his Kimball dorm room window to take action against Prop. 8. While some students went all-out campaigning for and against propositions, others found smaller ways to contribute to the effort.

By: Gea Kang
Published: November 4, 2008

Students work nonstop to rally the community on Props. 4 & 8

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Op-Ed: Proposition 4 protects no one, endangers many

By: Op Ed
Published: November 3, 2008
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Students turn out in force for phonebank

Courtesy of Amanda Gelender

By: Cassandra Feliciano
Published: November 3, 2008

Approx. 270 students volunteer, set state record this election season

Gavin Newsom speaks at Rally

Shoutout from the State Organization

Greetings intrepid campus organizers,

...I'm stunned. Over the past 48 hours, you have allowed us to add an additional 72 campuses on top of our 47-campus program for No On Prop 8, bringing us up to 119 campuses statewide! A HUGE shout-out to all the folks who came on today and agreed to take on 2 campuses here, 3 campuses there--including the unparalleled Stanford team, which agreed to take on 29 campuses between the 42 of them. They'll be out from 11 pm to the wee hours of the morning tonight, doing a total blitzkrieg of previously untapped Northern CA schools...

Lilia Holland Tamm
NO on Prop 8, Equality For All
NO on Prop 4, Campaign For Teen Safety

Guerilla Flyering, Election Day and Finishing Strong

Amazing Phone Bankers!

You all know by now, but what you all did yesterday was historic. Literally. 270 students came and we made 15,000 phone calls. You read right. 15,000.

This was the biggest phone bank of the entire No on 8 Campaign. The second biggest phone bank was 130 people at the San Francisco HQ. Let that sink in -- together, we organized the strongest opposition to this discriminatory measure in the entire state. Whether this thing passes or fails, by a hair or a mile, we put up the strongest fight in the entire state.

But the fight is not over! There are 2 days left in this fight, and we're asking you to join us in organizing 2 more efforts:

1. Guerrilla flyering tomorrow night. Based on the success of last night, the state campaign asked us to help flyer 24 local colleges, with a combined student population of 220,900. We'll be putting up huge posters to help remind people of the importance of going to the polls. I did this in California for the primary, and in a few others states, and it is super super fun. And it's really cool to know that a couple hundred thousands students will wake up to see these flyers.

We'll meet at WCC at 11:30pm, take off at midnight, and shoot for returning by 6:00am. I promise, guys, this will be fun and exciting, and can be very impactful. Sign up and pack a car with your friends!

Please sign up here, and bring your most hardcore friends!
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p8h8Yzqizt_qI_pcQN5RLAw

2. Don't forget to sign up to help on election day. Remind your friends, too! This is HUGE. People need to know right as they get to the polls what this is all about. Email lawa@stanford.edu to sign up!

Again, guys, you are now some of the most important soldiers in the battle for equality. This is an amazing honor, but there is also a lot riding on our shoulders. Let's make sure we keep the fight going to the very end!

Hope to see you tomorrow night!

Jonny and Fagan

PS. Forward this to your friends! Many people came who are not on this list. Let's be sure to keep everyone on the team!

Stanford's MEGAPHONEBANK is the LARGEST No on Prop 8 phonebank in the STATE!!! and Help needed on Election Day!

At the MEGAPHONEBANK yesterday, we had

270 Students,

15,000+ dials,

and 1588 'NO' Votes.

This was the largest No on 8 phone bank of the entire state campaign by over DOUBLE.
And it happened here at Stanford thanks to your hard work.

But we aren't done yet!
Email lawa@stanford.edu to volunteer on election day. This is our last chance to fight for what's right.
We're in a heavy area of support, so it's even more important to remind Palo Alto residents to vote 'NO' and ensure no wrong-way voting.
Our biggest fear is that our supporters won't vote because they think the presidential race won't be decided in CA.

It's super-easy, it's whenever you're available, and you can make a real difference.

Let's make a vow of solidarity to make sure no one we know is treated as a second-class citizen.

love, peace & EQUALITY,
Stanford Coalition for Marriage Equality

No on 8 Bathroom Flyers from the Megaphonebank!

MEGAPHONEBANK MARATHON 12-8PM in the WCC

This is the civil rights issue of our generation. And November 4th will be the most important day in LGBTQ history since Stonewall.

From 12PM-8PM we will be uniting against Proposition 8 in a MEGAphonebank Extravaganza (lunch AND dinner AND really good food will be served). Come Join us! You don't need to stay the whole time. If you've never been to a voter contact event before, do not fear! There will be trainers there to walk you through the process throughout the day.

We cannot let ourselves come this close to victory without pulling through. We are in a DEAD HEAT with the opposition, so Stanford's contribution to the No on Prop 8 campaign will be what makes the difference. We will influence the outcome of this election and we will do it by working together to contact voters and getting them to vote NO on prop 8.

We Need You.

Come whenever you can on Saturday and stay for as long as you can. This will be our last Prop 8 event--our last opportunity to have any influence on the outcome before election day.