Homophobia Forum Marks Gay Awareness Activities

Combatting negative perceptions of homosexuals on campus was the focus of yesterday's fifth annual Harvard Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day (GLAD).

Two forums on gay issues and an award winning documentary on gay men and women marked the day's activities, held at the Science Center and attended by about 75 people.

Differences in Style

The most lively part of the day was a forum discussion of the question of homophobia, in which participants traded ideas on how to make society better accept gays.

"The forum is a place to talk about the negative forces that exist for gay people at Harvard," said Jake Stevens '86, head of the Gay and Lesbian Students Association (GLSA), which sponsored the day

Stevens and other participants said that many students at Harvard have not accepted gays into the community. They cited as an example the pulling down of signs around campus advertising the day's activities.

"The average wall time for GLAD posters is between three minutes and a half hour," said Jennifer L. Kapuscik '84, coordinator of yesterday's events.

She said that gay organizers expected its posters to be pulled down and the only way to solve this problem was to print a lot of posters. GLSA printed 2500 posters for yesterday's sessions.

Turnout

This year's awareness day attracted about the same number as it did last year, though far fewer than the 500 who attended the first. That year, however, saw much more controversy, when a participant was physically attacked by a student onlooker.

Organizers said they were pleased with the turnout but said that many people who needed to come did not.

"The publicity is more important than the actual event," said Stevens. "Even if they don't attend, they will still have to think about it."