Friday morning saw Wesleyan’s most creative protest thus far: an energetic kiss-in for Queer Studies at the Office of Admission with
attendance of over 200 students. On the weekend of the third annual Board of Trustees meeting, these students also presented their goals
to have a Queer Studies faculty line and program at Wes, voicing demands that began three years ago. 

Wesleyan sells itself on diversity. While racial, ethnic, and international groups are numerically represented, these are the students whose diversity can count in the University’s image. Perhaps because queer students are a newer minority, the University has yet to be able to account for them in the diversity of academic offerings. However, the queer movement is a significant social change of our time, and that should be reflected with a small program, at least. 

Other top schools like Amherst, Brown, Harvard, Smith, Princeton, and Stanford, to name a few, have Queer Studies programs, and
wouldn’t Wesleyan like to argue that we are, in fact, the one known for diversity? 

It is understood that there are limited funds to hire new faculty and develop a new curriculum, but with Queer Studies courses, more
students would be exposed to queer issues, creating a comfortable and less homophobic student body. Learning about an often
controversial, contemporary field should be a central part of a liberal arts education. The University should make it a top priority to
accept new, free thought, and perhaps in ten years we will be embarrassed by our current hesitance to aid the nationwide movement for queer tolerance.

Fight for your rights and have a good spring break.