Santa Fe College history student Jeremiah Cleghorn carried a sign that read, “We won’t wait for full equality.” UF alumna Diana Moreno walked a bike with a giant rainbow flag billowing at its rear. Other marchers held balloons decorated with “Queer + Proud” and “Go Gaytors” messages.
Students, faculty members and alumni participated Thursday in March Against Hate, a demonstration organized by UF Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs, Pride Student Union and the Gators Coalition for an Inclusive Campus.
The march was a response to last week’s hate crime against a UF Levin College of Law professor, said Bridget Siegel, Pride president.
“It was something we knew we had to do right away,” she said.
About 75 students gathered at Peabody Hall to walk through campus chanting, clapping and following a solidarity banner signed by LGBT supporters.
By the time the march ended on Turlington Plaza, the group had amassed more than 100 people.
UF President Bernie Machen left a Board of Trustees retreat at Lake Wauburg to speak to members of the march.
He addressed the crowd, denouncing the hate crime.
“I think it’s good for the community to speak up about this so there’s no doubt about where we stand,” Machen said later that day. “I just wanted to be there to tell them I was proud of them, I identify with what they’re doing, and I agree with them.”
College of Education graduate student Jess Clawson said UF has dealt with more than a century of discrimination.
“That’s what today is about — the queer students not backing down in the face of hostility,” she said.
Kim Emery, an associate professor in the English department, spoke soon after, calling last week’s crime cruel and criticizing the white dancing couple statue on the Plaza of the Americas.
“Where is our giant statue of black dykes in each other’s arms?” she asked the crowd.
After the march, students stood in the plaza, blotting sweat from their foreheads, shaking hands, hugging.
“It was great to see so much support from students and make something positive out of something so horrible,” said Marla Munro, an LGBT Affairs intern and president of Gators Coalition for an Inclusive Campus.
Clare Walsh, a 52-year-old sociology graduate student who’s been at UF for six years, was one of the last to walk away from the march.
“It’s a lot easier to say you’re a queer person now than it was even six years ago,” she said. “Progress is being made.”
Alligator staff writer Julia Glum also contributed to this report.
Students march down Buckman drive during the March Against Hate on Thrusday afternoon. Several UF student organizations joined together to hold the demonstration.
UF President Bernie Machen speaks at March Against Hate on Turlington Plaza Thursday afternoon. About 100 students marched from Peabody Hall to Turlington Plaza, taking a path through the journalism school.
