LGBTQ students take stage in ask a queer.xml

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Part of LGBTQ students take stage in 'Ask a Queer' panel

content: V
OLUME
'105,'N
UMBER
'24
WWW
.
DAVIDSONIAN
.
COM
W
EDNESDAY
,'A
PRIL
'30,'2014
The Centennial Year
1914-2014
See ASK, page 3
Uninvited(guests(swarm(campus(during(Frolics
Staff%Writer
See#YOWL,##page%6
See#LIVING,##page%5
See#SPORTS,##page%11
Are# you# in# desperate# want# of# a#
cheap#thrill#or#a#quick#laugh?#Well#
take# a# break# from# studying# and#
check# out# the# YOWL.# It’s# totally#
worth# your# time# this# week# C# JonaC
than#Marchuck#promises.#
Sports# features# a# roundup# of# the#
current# NHL# playoffs.# Lucas#
Mykulak##gives#his#thoughts#on#the#
slowly#comes#to#a#close.##
Enjoy#a#preview#of#Youth#Map#by#
Sam#Winstel.#Learn#about#the#new#
exhibit#and#more#in#this#week’s#LivC
ing#Davidson#section.#
BTQ# issues.# According# to# Timmy# Basista#
’15,# one# of# the# coordinators# of# the# event#
and#president#of#Queers#and#Allies,#said#the#
event#had,#“a#fairly#good#turnout.”
According#to#Batista,#the#purpose#of#setC
ting#up#an#event#like#this#was#to#help#people#
gain#a#better#understanding#of#LGBTQ#culC
ture.
#“There#are#still#so#many#opinions#people#
have# about# the# LGBTQ# world# [and# LGC
BTQ]# individuals# that# are# based# solely# on#
poor# information.# Ignorance# leads# to# disC
crimination#like#nothing#elseW#after#all,#how#
can# anyone# treat# someone# like# an# equal# if#
they#don’t#even#understand#what#that#person#
is?
“The# purpose# of# our# organization# is# to#
eventually# make# ourselves# obsolete,”# BaC
tista# continued.# “Eventually,# we# hope# that#
information# regarding# our# differences# and#
similarities#will#be#so#correctly#ingrained#in#
the#public#mind#that#we#won’t#have#to#have#
Co,Editors%in%Chief
Police enlist help of Cornelius
and Huntersville police
%Photo%by%Shea%Parikh
This#weekend,#estimates#of#several#hunC
dred#uninvited#guests#arrived#on#campus#for#
this# year’s# Spring# Frolics.# Many# of# these#
Coalition# (BSC)# and# FIJI,# both# of# which#
were#not#expecting#the#large#crowds#at#their#
registered#events#on#Saturday#night.#
Todd# Sigler,# Chief# of# Campus# Police,#
estimated# that# about# 400C500# additional#
guests# arrived# on# campus# Saturday# eveC
ning,# as# he# “was# cognizant# of# the# number#
of# vehicles# that# were# on# campus# and# the#
number# of# people# in# each# vehicle.”#While#
he# stressed# that# this# estimate# could# be# a#
number#of#visitors#surpassed#the#one#guest#
per#student#policy.#
Will#Vaughn#’15,#President#of#BSC,#asC
serted# that# the# BSC# did# not# reach# out# to#
those# guests,# and# only# those# accompanied#
by#a#Davidson#student#gained#admittance#to#
BSC’s#registered#party.#
LGBTQ(students(take(stage(in(‘Ask(a(Queer’(panel
at Davidson
C
cant# events# on# campus# passed# us# by.# The#
event#was#nowhere#as#pious#as#Easter#and#
not#nearly#as#well#attended#as#Frolics,#yet,#it#
is#one#that#will#continue#to#impact#campus#
culture.
#The# event# in# question# was# the#Annual#
Ask# a# Queer# Panel,# in# which# a# collection#
of# eight# different# students# (ranging# from#
Freshman# to# Seniors)# got# up# on# stage# in#
the# C.# Shaw# # Smith# 900# Room# of# the#AlC
varez#Student#Union#and#answered#any#and#
all# questions# the# audience# had# about# LGC
“We#didn’t#invite#a#single#soul#as#an#orC
ganizationW#that’s#not#our#job,”#Vaughn#said.#
FIJI# hosted# a# pancakes# event# on# SatC
urday# night.#As# Marston# Morte# ’15,# presiC
dent#of#FIJI,#explained,#there#were#“mostly#
Davidson# students# to# start.”# As# the# night#
progressed,# however,# “there# were# a# lot# of#
people#in#the#house#we#
didn’t#know,”#he#said.#
According# to# Sigler,#
the# police# did# not# enC
counter#any#major#inciC
dents# the# entire# weekC
end.#
“I# think# it’s# what#
I# would# envision# as# a#
good#Frolics#to#be,”#SiC
gler#said.#
Vaughn# pointed# to#
the# prevalence# of# poC
surrounding# the# BSC’s#
house#on#Patterson#Court#that#made#students#
think#that#an#incident#had#occurred.
“A#lot#of#the#misunderstanding#is#coming#
from#the#overrepresentation#of#the#police#at#
the#event#and#after#the#event,”#Vaughn#said.#
“The#fact#that#there#were#blue#lights#all#
over#the#place#after#the#event,#and#there#were#
lot#of#people#think#that#something#crazy#had#
happened,# or# some# type# of# altercation# had#
occurred,# when# in# fact# that# is# not# true,# at#
least#on#the#BSC’s#premise.”##
Sigler# noted# that# the# increased# police#
presence# was# a# precautionary# measure.#
While#enlisting#the#help#of#Town#of#DavidC
from# Cornelius# and#
Huntersville# also# arC
rived#on#Saturday#“in#
an#effort#to#avoid#poC
tential# for# problems#
based#on#crowd#size,”#
Sigler#said.#
While# Sigler# acC
knowledged#
that#
some# students# might#
think# bringing# in#
was# an# overreaction,#
Sigler# disagreed.# “I#
don’t# think# it’s# an#
overreaction,#I#think#it’s#precautionary#planC
ning,”#he#said.#“And#that’s#the#kind#of#nature#
of#our#business.#We#plan#for#the#worst#and#
hope#for#the#best.”#
When# asked# why# the# police# did# not# do#
more#to#enforce#the#one#guest#per#Davidson#
student#policy,#Sigler#responded,#“We#want#
to#be#as#fair#and#as#impartial#about#the#enC
forcement#of#anything#that#we’re#a#part#of,#
and#it#was#my#position#that#if#it#could#not#be#
done#fairly#and#impartially,#then#we’re#not#
going# to# try# to# be# overly# aggressive# about#
it.”#
The# police# restricted# access# to# campus#
late#Saturday#night#as#an#additional#precauC
tionary#measure.#
“I# know# it# was# apparently# an# unusual#
step#to#take#but#my#experience#has#been#that#
I#rather#try#and#keep#things#on#a#manageable#
level#before#it#happens,”#Sigler#said.#
Both# Sigler# and# Vaughn# believe# many#
people# found# out# about# Frolics’# events#
through#social#media.#“It#not#something#that#
we#can#necessarily#control,”#Vaughn#said.#
Sigler,#on#the#other#hand,#posed#that#soC
cial#media#is#not#so#different#from#“picking#
up#the#phone#and#calling#friends.”#
“That# is# part# of# the# conversation# that#
needs# to# occur# on# how# are# we# going# to#
manage#this#ourselves.#It#really#falls#on#the#
shoulders#of#the#people#that#are#hosting#the#
event,#which#I#think#in#large#part#is#the#stuC
dents.”##
Both#the#BSC#and#FIJI#had#measures#to#
place#to#manage#attendance#at#their#parties,#
but#were#surprised#by#the#large#numbers#of#
students#and#guests#who#arrived.#
The#BSC#had#registered#parties#for#both#
Friday# and# Saturday# night.#The# event# staff#
See FROLICS, page 3
“A%lot%of%
misunderstanding%is%
coming%from%the%
overrepresentation%of%
the%police%at%the%event%
and%after%the%event.”%
;%Will%Vaugn%`15
President%of%BSC%
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