Students Gather To Cheer On the Stars

Members of the largest queer student group on campus cheered the success of “Brokeback Mountain,” the story of two cowboys struggling with their sexuality, in the 78th Annual Academy Awards, as the film won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay honors.

The biggest film story of the night was that stories portraying the lives of gay, bisexual and transgender individuals broke through to attract mainstream attention and critical acclaim.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for his potrayal of an openly gay author in “Capote.” But “Brokeback,” which garnered top honors at the Golden Globes, failed to turn in an encore performance at the Oscars last night.

The co-chair of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA), Ryan R. Thoreson ‘07 provided perspective: “It was disappointing to see queer cinema lose the big awards, but this has been a landmark year for queer cinema,” said Thoreson.

“I think this year’s films have been important because they’ve gotten a wide audience to start talking about the issues that matter to a lot of queer individuals, like prejudice, love, and survival, and that’s an important first step in a lot of respects.”

To celebrate the achievements of queer-themed films, the BGLTSA served somosas at an Oscar screening in Lowell Grille.

That was just one in a cast of on-campus parties on a night that Harvard went Hollywood.While the stars took their walks down the red carpet and into Los Angeles’ Kodak Theater, the students took their places in Cambridge’s Eliot, Pforzheimer, and Lowell Houses to enjoy the show.

The festivities varied in size and scope, but the common thread throughout seemed to be free food. Popcorn was the standard, but some venues went beyond.

Eliot House’s Oscar observances were punctuated by a special Eliot HoCo-sponsored deal at the Eliot Grille.

Starting at 8 p.m., the first $100 of ordered food came free, a number that was reached in “the first 15 minutes,” according to Grille operators Dan Y. Lee ’09 and Alan Ramos ’09.

The largest Academy Awards celebration was held in Pforzheimer House’s Wolbach Hall.

With a massive projected display, speaker system, and “balcony” seating, Wolbach’s dining hall became a fitting host for the nearly 100 students in attendance.

Chris R. Skarinka ’07, one of the Pfoho attendees, was also impressed with the refreshments available.

“I was not expecting to have all this candy,” he said of the fare, which included a huge supply of M&Ms. “This is awesome.”

At the BGLTSA event in Lowell, the chocolate came of a decidedly higher quality, with the group importing Finale cake for its fest.

But the HoCo didn’t let them eat cake at a separate screening in Lowell’s Junior Common Room.

A $20 Finale’s gift certificate went only to the winner of a contest challenging students to correctly guess the winner of the night’s six biggest awards (Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Director).