SAGE promotes acceptance, normalcy

Loiter. Gum. Mile. Tease. Goo.

None of the words spelled out during a game of Scrabble played Friday in Dunn Meadow were particularly noteworthy.

Behind the four students playing the game, similarly uneventful games of chess and Frisbee were also happening, as was a spirited game of “Gossip Girl: Never Have I Ever Game.”

The atmosphere of Homosexual Acts in Public, an event organized by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality, was similar to that of a friendly game night.
The normalcy of it all was the whole point, said sophomore and SAGE education chair
Barton Girdwood.

“Many people have this idea that homosexuals are going to be out being very flamboyant and excited about our sexuality,” Girdwood said. “But we are also just people, and we want to be recognized as people.”

Groups of students sat in the grass or on blue and yellow blankets, chatting and playing board games while a table was set up with information and flyers. Senior Julia Napolitano, SAGE’s outreach coordinator, stood by the table and greeted students passing by.

The event, which had been primarily advertised by sidewalk chalking during the past week, served two purposes, Napolitano said.

“First, we’re hoping that people will come and we’ll get the word out about SAGE,” she said. “But we also want to get out this message. So often we qualify gay things and homosexual acts as such, and it’s ridiculous. We’re just like everyone else, doing the same kinds of things.”

SAGE, which focuses on activism and equality by connecting with other organizations across campus, is still a young student group, Napolitano said.

“We’re going to reach out to other campus groups,” she said. “We’re about social justice and education. We want to get people thinking about identity and how different groups are connected.”

Girdwood said the group hopes to become more active this year, with its next event, a dinner at Wright Quad food court, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday.

SAGE secretary and junior Rachel Schoumacher, took a moment from her game of chess to reiterate the day’s message.

“The word queer implies strange,” Schomacher said. “We may have adopted that word now for ourselves, but it still has that insinuation that we’re odd or weird. We just want to be recognized as being normal.”