UPDATE, 10 p.m.: The Senate has postponed the resolution in support of the GLBT Center, which effectively kills it, according to gay campus activist Camden Breeding. However, the Senate also upheld the veto of the anti-gay bill passed two weeks ago.
ORIGINAL POST: Two weeks after an anti-gay bill passed Texas A&M’s Student Senate to defund the campus GLBT Resource Center, senators are hoping to pass a resolution supporting the center.
The resolution, entitled, “The GLBT Resource Center Support Resolution,” aims to show support for the value of the campus center, as well as support “continued funding for the services that the GLBT Resource Center provides.”
Student Senator Robbie Cimmino said he spearheaded the resolution to show the community that the center is a needed resource that helps students come out, as well as educate them and support them when they come out.
“It isn’t about being gay for us,” Cimmino said. “It’s about being a resource for people who need it.”
He said the anti-gay bill drew 400 students to the Senate meeting and made LGBT students feel targeted. The student body president later vetoed the bill, which would have allowed students to opt out of funding the center with their activity fees if they had religious objections.
“There was a lot of tension and a lot of people felt discriminated against,” he said, adding that many senators who supported the bill for religious reasons didn’t realize the impact it would have on students.
Cimmino said many senators who backed the anti-gay bill will likely back the resolution after seeing the campus response.
“I think people will be genuinely supportive,” he said.
Camden Breeding, former president of the GLBT Aggies, said he also thinks the resolution will gain support when senators vote on it tonight.
“There’s a fair amount of support already,” Breeding said. “I’m hopeful.”
“This is an opportunity to enhance the campus climate for the LGBT community,” he added.
Read the resolution below.
S.R. 65-13 the GLBT Resource Center Support Resolution
