More than 300 students crowded into Grant Auditorium Wednesday night and another 350 late Thursday afternoon to join a panel of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender guest speakers discussing sexuality diversity.

The event was hosted by the Human Sexuality courses, CFS 388. Joseph Fanelli, professor of the classes, introduced the six guest speakers, all of whom were welcomed with roaring applause.

The audience was a mix of straight and LGBT individuals, and that was part of the message given to nearly 700 Syracuse students this week; it’s not ‘what’ someone is that defines them, but who they are and what experiences make them those people.

The first speaker, Marc Mario, told the students about his journey as a transgender in a homophobic and intolerant society.

‘I knew something was different about me, and I had a very lonely life as a child,’ said Mario, a female to male transgender person. ‘I really didn’t know who could help me, especially discovering this at age 5.’

Denise Rhone continued the discussion with a story of her rejection from her family and fighting her inner demons while maintaining her faith. Denise was asked to leave her church when her desire to transform from a man into a woman was discovered.

‘I was having a very hard time dealing with who I was. I used to cry out to God, ‘Please make me normal,” Rhone said. ‘They made me feel like some kind of freak.’

Rhone was not alone in her experiences with discrimination and intolerance. Ashley Kessler, a senior from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, spoke on behalf of the bisexual community and the troubles she faced while coming out.

‘I grew up in a very conservative area,’ Kessler said. ‘I was supposed to like guys, not girls.’

The lecture continued with three more speakers, representatives of the gay and lesbian community.

Nikki Lynk spoke about being a lesbian mother in America, followed by William Knodel, who spoke about being a member of the gay community and being a father.

‘One of my hopes was to become a parent, and I thought it would never happen,’ Knodel said. ‘The notion at the time was that gays were pedophiles. People often confused the two.’

Knodel read children’s stories to the class to show how the ungrounded fear of society has kept and reinforced ignorance and intolerance against the gay community.

‘I don’t think there’s anything dangerous about a book like ‘Daddy’s Roommate,’ a book designed to help confused children understand having gay parents,’ Knodel said.

Knodel presented a short film, which had asked children of gay couples how they dealt with teasing and ridicule in school. Later, Lynk spoke about political inequality in the American education system.

‘It’s not OK to say the N-word in class, but teachers are light on you if you say ‘fag’ or ‘queer’,’ Lynk said.

While the overall tone of the lecture was serious, laughter broke up parts of speeches to lighten the mood.

Roslyn Rasberry, a panel speaker, walked onto stage singing gospel song, encouraging students to find their own ‘corner in the sky.’ She described her personal and spiritual journey as a lesbian, describing it as both confusing and rewarding.

‘The hardest thing about being a lesbian is when people tell me that I choose to be gay,’ Rasberry said. ‘I can’t imagine being anything else; it’s like drinking water or breathing air.’

After all the speakers humbly presented the story of their journeys, they gathered and sat at the end of the stage, welcoming questions from a curious audience.

‘Transamerica,’ a transgender-themed movie, was among the topics discussed, as well as the Westborough Baptist Church’s stance on homosexuality and its recent attacks on the LGBT community. The speakers offered resources to LGBT and questioning students, assuring them they were not alone in their journey.

Students were encouraged to visit the Central New York Pride Family Project, currently on display in the Schine Student Center.

Alex Berman, a freshman entrepreneurship major, said the panel discussion was interesting, but a little confusing.

‘I couldn’t tell at first who was gay or transsexual,’ Berman said. ‘Before this class, I would often confuse the different kinds of sexual orientations and identities, and this experience really gave me clarification.’

Alex Adelson, a sophomore communication and rhetorical studies major, said the lecture was enlightening and inspiring.

‘I feel like there’s no better way to understand different people’s lives and lifestyles except by hearing from people who have those stories,’ Adelson said. ‘I think there’s a general consensus on campus that this class is not only the most useful, but most rewarding class SU offers – for reasons like tonight’s lecture’.

Rdjone03@syr.edu

Published on March 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm