*Disclaimer: News pieces, generally speaking, are supposed to don the hat of subjectivity. This piece does not. This piece takes that hat and throws it into the nearest fireplace and laughs while it burns. This piece is personal.

The battle for the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens feels like it should be long over at this point. The Marriage Equality Act was put into place over four years ago, the whole debacle with that cake lady ended, and the general air in our NYC environment is decidedly pro LGBTQ+. But it is important to take a step back and realize that we are generally an exception to the rule. In most small towns, and hell even most states across the U.S. the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals are being hotly contested by religious focus groups who main goal is to allow the dehumanization of marginalized people to continue.

Such is the story and reality of what is happening in Austin, Texas.

The Texas senate is looking over Senate Bill 17, which would allow “licensed professionals” to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals by denying them services. This bill would include professionals from far flung fields, from electricians to athletic trainers, who would all be allowed to tell a person that they won’t perform their services because of their clients sexual orientation/gender identity. The impetus of this bill comes from Texas Values, a group dedicated to “protecting the religious liberty” of Christian Texans who are now mad that they can’t be hateful towards people that make them uncomfortable anymore. The group, led by Jonathan Saenz, feels as though the government shouldn’t be able to tell a business who they can or cannot deny service to. This is bullshit, clear and simple. A cursory look at the New Testament shows how the acts of Jesus, who these people claim to model their lives after, represents the exact opposite of what these people believe. Jesus ate with the destitute, traveled with prostitutes, loved the miserly, and fed the masses without asking who they were going home to afterward. Love thy neighbor as thy self as it is written in Mathew: 22-34. I turned my back on religion a long time ago, but I still try my best to live by that sentiment. And if this bisexual/atheist/heathen can do that than you’re damn sure that the so-called “Christian” community of Texas can to (that is if you actually believe them when they say they’re filled with the well-spring of Jesus’ love. I, for one, think they’re crock-full of shit).

But the story in Texas happily doesn’t end there. A group of business leaders (a term I hate, but that’s an article for another day) have banded together to fight against this bill. This group is led by Mike Hollinger, an executive at IBM who stood before the Texas state senate to fight against this bill and what it represents.  This group is also backed by big name national companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Now are these multi-national companies acting purely out of self interest because an obviously hateful bill like this being passed would damage business prospects in the area? Probably, I personally doubt that very many of them would care if it didn’t hurt business. But their support is an important step towards creating a world that is safe and welcoming to the LGBTQ+ world community.

I am not writing this article as a way of showcasing the hate in this world, or even  to show that some semblance of good exists either. I’m here to say that the fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals is still on-going. It didn’t end in 2015 and I doubt that it will be over by 2025. It is important to keep in mind that the birth of this movement was a riot, and we must hold onto that history and it’s impact as dearly as we possibly can. We must hold accountable everybody who stands in the way of equal rights for all and contest them at every juncture. The will to fight can be easily lost in this wonderful bubble we call NYC, but a movement started here, and we will continue it.

Love thy neighbor.

-Tim Caston

Content Warning: Rape Culture In Greek Life

There is no other symbol of college life that is undeniably recognizable than Greek Letters. Greek Life exists on most college campuses with organizations built on principles that reflect the ideals of their founders. Often, these are ideals of nobility and these organizations emphasizes on philanthropy/community service and ofcourse, networking to make sure members have an easier career path. Being Greek equals power; a platform that those who lacked voice and foundation can now benefit from.

Despite all of this, we have to acknowledge that there are people who will abuse these platforms. We have to acknowledge that rape culture is deeply intertwined with Greek Life and College Campuses usually sweep it under the rug.

I follow NowThisNews on Instagram and they posted a video of a Swarthmore University Fraternity that was glorifying what they called a “Rape Attic” in their Frathouse. Along with this, came an exposè where someone leaked their minutes. In this 116 paged document, provides receipts of homophobic, racist and rape positive acts the Phi Psi Fraternity was conducting. Delta Upsilon, another frat into this mix on Swarthmore’s campus, in their minutes in 2013, states “Your parties suck, you have both a rape tunnel AND a rape attic (gotta choose one or the other).” in reference to Phi Psi.

According to USA TODAY, “Dozens of students have been protesting the Phi Psi chapter at the private liberal arts school in suburban Philadelphia since Saturday. Demonstrators held a sit-in at a building owned by the college and leased to the fraternity used mainly for Phi Psi parties and other social activities.”

Swarthmore eventually suspended the Fraternity after days of protest and of course, media exposure.

– WIB