GSA to Print Discrimination History

The Harvard-Radcliffe Gay Students Association (GSA) will stage a walkathon around the campus this weekend, raising money for a pamphlet on anti-gay discrimination at Harvard to be distributed to faculty members in February.

The pamphlet is partially a response to the May Faculty Council rejection of a GSA request to add a clause to University statues prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Harvard's admission and hiring policies, J. French Wall '83, president of GSA said yesterday.

The pamphlet will include a history of anti-gay discrimination at Harvard, and the results of a University-run poll of students' opinions on gay issues. More than 1300 undergraduates signed a petition in favor of the policy last April when the Council was considering the clause.

The GSA "hopes the Council will reconsider its decision," Wall said, adding that if it does not, the GSA will ask the Faculty to discuss the matter at a general meeting.

The GSA plans to poll individual members of the Faculty Council when the pamphlet is released next year, and if response is favorable will formally resubmit their proposal, Wall said. If the Council members are "unreceptive, we will approach the faculty in general," he added.

Jennifer L. Kapuscik '83, president of the Radcliffe Lesbian Association (RLA) which is co-sponsoring the walkathon with GSA, said one-third of the council changes every year and, "the more we can do to educate them, the better chance" the non-discrimination policy has of being adopted.

The Faculty "can add another chapter to our already thick book of discrimination or they can come clean" and endorse the clause, Wall added. Only the Faculties of Arts and Sciences, and Business Administration have not adopted a non-discrimination policy.

The Harvard Admissions Office currently includes a statement against sexual discrimination in the material it sends to prospective students, but it is not required to by the University.

To raise the money for the pamphlet the GSA is sponsoring "Pink Triangles Weekend" which will include a walkathon to all eight Harvard schools which have adopted a non-discrimination policy, a dance and films.

One of the films will be the world premier of "Pink Triangles," a film which surveys the different feelings people have about discrimination towards gay people.

The title of the film and the weekend refers to the pink triangles homosexuals interred in Nazi concentration camps were forced to wear on their uniforms. The pink triangle has since been adopted as a positive symbol by the gay movement, Michael G. Colantuono '83, former secretary of the GSA said yesterday