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GAY STUDENT ORGANIZATION STIRS CONTROVERSY

By SAEED AHMED

It was well on its way toward becoming Morehouse's first chartered gay student group.

With the recent approval of the College Committee for Campus Organizations, all it needed was to garner two-thirds of the votes at the next Senate meeting.

Adodi received none.

At the October 26 Student Senate meeting, the 48 organizations represented voted unanimously to deny Adodi, a proposed support group for gays, its charter.

"Morehouse is a Southern, Black, Baptist, all-male school, and this club goes against our very Baptist tradition; our very morality," said Robert Brown, Senator for the Political Science club.

Other senators expressed similar sentiments. Most said the concept of Adodi was antithetical to the image of Morehouse, and that hey based their decision on the fact that such a group would not sit well with the students.

"If the organization is approved, nobody is ready for the reaction of the student body," said Shaka Scott, representative for the International Student Organization. "Neither the administration nor the SGA will be able to control the type of chaos that will result."

But for Keiron Williams, the organizer of the club, the Senate decision was "just a small defeat." When asked what he intended to do next, Williams responded:

"I will contact the media. I will also enlist the support of the various gay organization in the Metro Atlanta and the country. Yes, I think Adodi is that important."

The Senior English major believes that what he plans to do is justified given the "intense homophobia and discrimination that exists at Morehouse."

"There is a large homosexual population; there always has been," Williams said. "And it makes no sense for Morehouse to keep refusing to acknowledge it because they think the integrity of the college will be compromised."

I think that this is the ideal time for Morehouse to move out of its dark stages."

In an earlier interview with The Maroon Tiger, Williams outlined the aims and goals of Adodi, and the support it enjoys among faculty and alumni.

"The club's purpose is twofold," Williams explained. "One, to promote a safe haven for closeted gays to express themselves and to address any concerns they may have; and two, to promote a greater tolerance [for] and a better understanding of the homosexual lifestyle among the students."

The club was initially conceived two years ago by a student named Geera Peeples. A proposal was submitted and tentatively approved, but the club fell through when the college stipulated that, like all other college organizations, it had to meet on campus.

"We were uncomfortable with that, given the sensitive nature of our group," said Williams. "Since the support aspect [of the club] mainly deals with helping students deal with their sexuality, meeting on campus would severely affect their confidentiality."

Adodi, which is a Swahili term for 'men loving men,' currently boasts fifteen members and, according to Williams, the backing of many alumni.

"There have been alumni who have contacted me stating that they support us and [that] they feel that it is time we had something like this," he said.

Williams also contends the group enjoys the support of "several faculty and administrator", including Emily Allen-Williams, the faculty advisor for the group; Eddie Gaffney, Vice-President for Academic Affairs; and John Bellamy, Dean of Campus Life.

"They have the right to form an organization like anyone else," Bellamy said. "The institution would be hard pressed to come up with a reason to deny them."

But as the Senate vote proves, not everyone seems to share that outlook.

Before the meeting, a group of students rallied outside Kilgore Center, venue for the meeting, protesting the charter with chants of "Hell, no! Gays gotta go," and "Fight the Faggots."

Darius Jefferson and Virgil Maupin, both Business Administration majors, voiced their disapproval by ringing the "Bell" - a call-to-arms, reserved for the most dire of emergencies.

"This is not the image of Morehouse that we want portrayed," Maupin said. "We aren't all gays."

At the meeting, Robert Brown echoed these same concerns.

"[Adodi] will demean and cheapen all of our degrees bolstering the contention that Morehouse men are gays," Brown said in his speech against the chartering of the group. He added that "homosexuality is illegal in the state of Georgia and it is wrong for Morehouse [to endorse a club] whose stated purpose is illegal."

Brown also believed that Adodi, by recruiting students "who say they're not sure of their sexual orientation will become the Atlanta Church of Christ of sexual orientation on this campus."

All of his comments met with wholehearted approval of the standing-room only crowd.

In his rebuttal, Williams pointed out sodomy, and not homosexuality, is illegal in the state, and that it was not his organization's purpose to actively recruit people.

I don't want to bring you out of your closer; you can stay there for all I care," Williams argued. "But if you do want to express yourself, Adodi will be the safe haven for you to do so."

Following Williams' rebuttal, the Senate moved to discontinue discussion, and vote on the issue.

And with a 48-0 outcome, the charter of Adodi was denied.