Baylor University

My Personal Connection to Baylor

Yesterday was our first full day in Waco, and the experience has got me feeling pretty reflective.

The first time I was here was 2 1/2 years ago, when I came through on the 2007 Equality Ride. We were here because there used to be an underground gay-straight alliance at Baylor. They used to chalk (like many other student organizations) when and where their meetings would be, and the administration would quickly have someone come behind them with a hose to wash their messages away. Read more about Baylor Freedom here.

We spent our first day on campus talking with students, and then on our second day we decided we would pay tribute to those brave students, and chalk affirming messages on the ground in front of the chapel. From out of nowhere, plainclothes police descended, asking us to stop. Some of us had decided that morning that if it came down to it, we would be willing to participate in civil disobedience. I was one of those people.

At first, the officer who asked me to stop would not tell me if he was placing me under arrest. I asked several times - since they are required to give you a warning - and he would not answer. Finally, he said yes, and interrupted my message, "Jesus loves LGBTQ people" - stopping me at "Jesus loves LG-". He squeezed metal handcuffs over my wrists - my hands still holding my piece of chalk - and he and the other officers lined us up facing the chapel. See the article the Baylor student newspaper published about it here.

They led us to the paddywagon, and drove us to jail. What followed was over 24 hours of confusion and fear that opened my eyes for the first time to the injustices that can exist within the U.S. justice system. I grew up carrying my privilege without realizing it. I had never had to be afraid of police officers before, but after my experience there I had caught a glimpse of how cruel people can be when they are given power over the powerless.

For writing about God's love in temporary sidewalk chalk on a Christian campus, they stripped us of our clothes. They cavity searched us, and submitted the female-bodied people among us to even more humiliating experiences that I find it hard to talk about, even today. They handed us black and white striped jumpsuits and plastic shoes. Locked us in a cell together until they processed us 12 hours later at 2 am. Then locked us 2 to a cell until 11 am, when they pulled us out to finally read us our Miranda Rights. They set our bail at an impossible $2000 per person, then marched us back to our cells where we could only wait with no sense of how much time was passing, until our other Riders could post our bail and we could be released.

What I experienced was limited to only just over a day. I can not even imagine spending any more time feeling so disempowered, so scared, so alone. Who do I know in my daily life that could spend $2000 right away to rescue me? If I was so shaken after such a short period of time, how does our system "rehabilitate" those who have broken the law? How can those people possibly reintigrate to their daily lives after spending extended time in such a place?

Where does the stand I took on that day leave Baylor almost 3 years later?

Has there been any long-lasting effect?

I've been spending time at Common Grounds while we're here (still here with my Phillies hat writing this blog!), and students have been stopping by to speak with us. There's a sense of defeat about how large the task at hand truly is - the student handbook policies are growing progressively more specific and more strict, not only including condemnation of "homosexual acts" in comparison to "sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, incest, adultery, and fornication" but also banning any student groups that the administration disagrees with, and new policies that sound specific to transgender students who are transitioning (referring to students "changing their appearance so as to become unrecognizable"), which is unusual for a Christian university. Students speculate that this most recent amendment may have been written in response to the increasing publicity of one of their former students, Allyson, who now works for the Human Rights Campaign.

But in the midst of such a heavy task, there is still a sense of hope. More than that, there is a sense of feistiness and creativity. Yesterday during my time at Common Grounds, I spoke with students about the plans they have and the steps they're taking (I hesitate to post them publicly here, but I'm excited for Sanctuary Collective to support them!). I also learned that the time I spent here and our willingness to take such a public stand has turned into a part of Baylor students' own narrative - a starting point for questioning policies, a conversation starter, a reminder that this work needs to be done, even when it seems impossible.

These students volunteered to be photographed for our blog so that other young people reading could see their faces and know that they are not the only ones concerned for the inclusiveness of Christian communities.

Sanctuary Collective is for you. For the person wondering how to reach LGBTQ people when they are unable to do anything publicly. For the person sitting in their congregation hearing their pastor unknowingly condemn them. For the first-year student unwilling to spend four years under a policy that hurts their friends. For the person who recognizes the worth in the fellowship they find at their Bible study, but cringes at comments and jokes that are made. None of you are alone. We are all in this together.

Let's do this.

Wrapping up in Austin

On our last night in Austin, I went with Cait to see our friends Jessie and Reid from the 2006 Equality Ride perform in a show. The show was marvelous, and even though the sound system cut out halfway through the second song, the performers were flexible and did some creative improvising until a solution could be found. The audience was also amazing, and it was a really fun way to end our time in Austin.

We got up early the next morning to pick up Andi and Asher and drive up to Waco to speak at Central Texas MCC (video to come soon!). The folks at the MCC were so welcoming, and provided some fruit for our breakfast, and coffee for the coffee drinkers among our caravan. Some students from Baylor came to the service as well. It's always fun to meet people face to face who you've only been communicating with over the phone and email. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them more while we're in Waco.

One student in particular came up to speak to me, and shared how one of her parents had come out while she was in high school, and what a difficult time that had been for her family. The student affirmed that she knew it was all for the best, and that things were very positive now. It's wonderful to hear people's stories. It reminds me of why we do this work.

We hung out for a little while after the service, and then Jesse (our gracious host in Waco) drove us up for Dallas Pride! We already know some folks in Dallas, since that's our next stop, so we got to hang out with them earlier than we thought we would. It was a marvelous afternoon.

After the festivities and a trip to Panera full of fun conversation, we headed back to Waco, exhausted from our traveling and hanging out in the sun.

During our time in Waco, we are spending a lot of time at Common Grounds - right near Baylor's campus. If you're in the area, stop by! I'll be wearing my Phillies hat, and probably typing away on my laptop. If you'd rather schedule some time, you can call me at 646-571-8266

Our First stop

Roman and I flew out of Laguardia at 8 am on Thursday - our backpacks filled to capacity with the clothes we're going to be wearing for the next 7 weeks, and the supplies we're going to need to get the word out as we travel.

Our lovely friend Cait picked us up from the airport in Austin. She was on the phone interviewing an applicant for the 2010 Equality Ride at first, but once that was over, we got to be excited about seeing each other. Cait just moved to Austin to work for Soulforce, and after some delicious fajitas at Magnolia's Cafe, we met up with Andi and Asher to sit together and do work on our laptops. Roman fell dead asleep almost as soon as we sat down!

Later that night, we went to Andi's house to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. There were delicious apples and honey, and we got to have some great conversations.

I met Candace and Phoenix, and we talked about our experiences and frustrations with times others have expected us to choose one of our identities over the rest. Both of them seemed excited to talk more about what supporting Sanctuary Collective might look like for them (and if either of you are reading this, send me that email!).

We're looking forward to the rest of our time in Austin, and excited to travel up to Waco on Sunday!

justly named airports

Roman’s First Video Blog