LGBTQ+ Support at George Mason University
In August of 1997, one anonymous student took to the student newspaper to write an opinion piece about the appearingly increasingly conservative BOV. This came after a BOV decision to designate $50,000 to the club football program. The author believed this decision to be unjust after the BOV had previously rejected the hiring of an LGBTQ+ councilor that would have only cost the University $15,000. The BOV claimed there was not a "demonstrated need" for the councilor, but the author of the opinion piece argued that GMU had not embraced its NCAA and CAA sports, so the designation of $50,000 dollars to a club sport did not appear to be a "demonstrated need" either.
This opinion was not the only negative one regarding the BOV decision. After BOV Rector Marvin Murray voted against the funding of both an on-campus GLBT center and the appointment of a GLBT staff member to the Office of Minority Student Affairs and group of students publicly requested his dismissal from his position as he was not fulfilling his duty to serve the needs of the student body. This action was co-led by the Campaign for a Hate-Free Campus and the D.C. Lesbian Avengers. The group believed that Rector Murray could not be unbiased in his service to the community as in his discussion of the center he brought up the topic of sodomy. These groups placed a letter on the seats of each Visitor that cited the BOV bylaws that would allow for his dismissal.
Rector Murray’s objections to the establishment of a GLBT center on campus were in vain as Mason eventually established an LGBTQ+ services on campus. In the mid-90’s the LGBTQ+ services office began hosting and organizing a Pride Week on Mason’s campus. In March of 2009, the infamous Westboro baptist church scheduled a picket on George Mason's campus in order to protest against the University's upcoming pride week. This protest came nearly one month after George Mason crowned a drag queen as homecoming queen. The group of 10 were seen holding signs such as those stating "God Hates You" and "American is Doomed".
The students of Mason were not receptive to the presence of this organization on their campus. After hearing of the WestBoro Baptist Church’s plan, students quickly organized a peaceful counter protest. The event was initially organized through a facebook post by freshman Kat Reach, but quickly gained the support of the University’s Pride Alliance and the Driving Equality Project. The two groups organized what they referred to as a Phelps-A-Thon in which for every minute that the WestBoro Baptist Church protested, the group would be taking donations for LGBTQ+ resources.
Many individuals outside of the Mason Community joined the counter protests to show support including students from Marymount University and local Churches. One member of the Rock Spring United Church for Christ stated, “We are adamantly opposed to discrimination” when asked about his support of the Pride Alliance. Many other passersby showed their support through honking their horns as they drove by, with some individuals even rolling down their car