Ball State University has come a long way in 35 years.
In October 1974 there were few organizations directed toward the GLBTQ community in Muncie and at Ball State. It was an issue and topic not often discussed – even ignored.
Today things have changed.
This is the 35th year of a GLBTQ organization being on Ball State's campus. Despite the name of the organization changing at times, it has always served as a social outlet for GLBTQ members and has helped promote tolerance and a better understanding among all Ball State students.
Starting out as a small group called the Gay Activist Union in the 1970s, today Spectrum has emerged as one of the most influential groups on Ball State's campus. The group has become visible with everything from representation in the Student Government Association to October's P.R.O.U.D. Month events that raise awareness to GLBTQ issues.
However, as much as times have changed and more people have become tolerant and accepting of the GLBTQ community since the 1970s, there are still problems.
Only five years ago here at Ball State, a former Spectrum president had the word "fag" carved into his chest with a hanger.
Spectrum's P.R.O.U.D. — People Respecting Our Unique Differences — Month fell this year on a historical landmark for national hate crime legislation. On Oct. 8, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expand federal hate crime legislation to include "gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability." The legislation will give the Justice Department $5 million each year to assist local communities and police forces in investigating hate crimes.
The potential passage of this legislation is a huge step in the right direction for reaching tolerance within and for the GLBTQ community, but we are still a long way off from universal acceptance.
Earlier in October, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., told the New York Times that the number of hate crimes based on sexual orientation has been on an upward trend — from 1998 to 2007 alone the FBI recorded more than 77,000 isolated cases.
While the hate crime numbers at Ball State aren't indicative of the same trend — the 2008 Annual Security Report reported no hate crimes on or off campus in the last year — it doesn't mean we are all opening and welcoming toward members of the GLBTQ community.
There has been progress made in the last 35 years, but there is still room to improve. Even eliminating simple phrases such as "that's so gay" is a step toward developing a stronger level of tolerance.
Tolerance does not mean that an individual has to fully agree with every GLBTQ issue or support every gay rights cause. Instead, it means a willingness to accept people for who they are, regardless of their sexual orientation.
And that is something hopefully everyone can agree with as we move forward to the next 35 years.
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