In light of the tragedy that has happened in Orlando, it makes me wonder what we could do here on our own campus when we get back to school this fall. We do have a LGBTQ community, and we have clubs such as Spectrum that help us recognize that people of different sexual orientation exist. However, there is a disappointing lack of recognition for the people on our campus who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and everything in between. Our community needs to recognize the minority groups on our campus because they matter. However, the problem we have to identify is how our beliefs in the community are being respected.

For instance, the #RaceMatters campaign became a heavily prolonged event throughout last year. The #RaceMatters program was put in place by our university to help students recognize the racism that exists on our campus. This all started when, on January 19, the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life was ruined; specifically, when a portrait of MLK was vandalized during the night in the University Chapel, according to the Bona Venture newspaper. This tore up our campus, especially those who treasured MLK for his legacy.

In regards to the university’s stance, as a private institution they did not want their image to be ruined. So #RaceMatters came in as a solution. It’s been decently successful with its seminars, public speakers, and documentaries explaining the history of racial oppression and gave progressive ways to identify racism. But, the moment we started progressing towards equality, we were publicly humiliated.

When the students at the University of Missouri were protesting against inequality and discrimination, their struggle became national. In support of that, more than 100 students, faculty and staff members from our university gathered later that fall to show their support. Later on that day, however, alumni and parents started loathing us students, describing our efforts as “a mindless group thinking” and a “disappointment” after the news was posted on St. Bonaventure’s Facebook page. That humiliation sickened me to my very core, because they ended up being the people that represented the hatred we try to liberate ourselves from.

Now, we are faced with our own battles for the rights of the LGBTQ community because what happened in Orlando is national and devastating to all of us. The only advice I can give is that the hatred that is present in our society can only be fixed by changing the way we think. Our goal now for this year should be to identify and respect our LGBTQ community as human beings who are free to love and exist in this world.