I am so all about finding a solution to war and discrimination and all of these hateful things consuming our world. If I were a beauty queen, I'd tilt my head around and tell you how badly I wish for world peace.
But I'm a writer. And you're gonna think I'm a hippie for writing this.
My desire for peace is so strong I make it my burden. The weight of the world rests heavy on my shoulders, and it hurts me. My tears are your tears are God's tears are the melting icecaps of the Arctic are the pulsing waves of the moon is the dripping faucet in my bathroom. It stretches out so far and collapses back in. And you realize: The universe is in the center of your palm. It is the rhythm of your heart. It is the warmth in the dark pupils of those around you, the people you love deeply and the people who love you. The universe is you. And you are so small. And you are enormous.
What I love about Loyola is that, as an entity, we strive for peace. Pat Leahy said it best in the Oct. 18, 2006, issue when he wrote, "Here at Loyola, we're crazy about peace and justice. We march for peace. We fast for peace. Every week at church we preach about peace. And when we tire of that, we squeeze in some social justice just for kicks.'"
Beautiful, isn't it? Despite our differences, "Republicans" and "Democrats" can work together! Just this week, an all-night peace vigil was held. Food Not Bombs brought food that otherwise would have been wasted to hungry people and several organizations raised money for cancer research. I look around me and I see amazing people (and a lot of shaven heads). I see people I am proud to know, who care for others and express a love for humanity through both words and actions - and they aren't afraid to combat and express outrage and struggle against the violence through peaceful means in order to achieve harmony.
Loyola is hosting the Fourth Annual GLBTQ Conference for Jesuit Colleges and Universities, a student leadership conference focusing on GLBTQ issues - the same issues that affect every community. Loyola is taking part, though several administrators have been reluctant to do so. The irony is that the same administrators opposed to it are the same ones coming in and out of the closet (depending on what their professional careers are looking like). And many of the group's issues are "controversial" to those outside the community.
When I said "you are so small," I meant it. Loyola's participation in this event is one tiny step in the direction toward achieving equality, and it is with a pitiable hesitation. The Loyola community is but a microcosm of the world. Each person at Loyola is but a microcosm of the Loyola community. Individuals such as Adam Cebulski, who have fought with patience and tolerance to secure this event at Loyola, are microscopic examples of what we are all capable of doing together.
When I said "you are enormous," I meant it. The strides he, along with other members of the group, have made are huge.
At the conference, one of the issues scheduled to discuss is the hierarchy that exists within the GLBTQ community. We've all heard it before, if not in THESE terms, in terms that describe someone's race, political affiliation or religion: Feminine gays hate masculine gays. Masculine lesbians hate feminine lesbians. Everyone hates bisexuals. And no one can agree on the how far the terms "gay," "homosexual" and "queer" can be extended. A hierarchy exists in the gay community because of a human inclination toward having separated communities, a problem that arises, even within the gay community - where you'd think gender equality could possibly exist - out of an internalized homophobia: And what is it, but that ever-existing fear of difference?
Once we stop fearing it, we're home free. It is with strong conviction that I insist that all our relations can be harmonious. One person affects one person who affects one more person who affects an entire community who affects a larger community who affects a larger community, until the community may be as large as, let's say, America. If Loyola shows this much promise, if Civil Rights and gender equality have shown this much promise over the last century, I don't see how achieving equality is hopeless.
You are so small. You are enormous. You are everything you create. Just as easily as it cannot be, everything can be peace and love and harmony.
Jen Larson is chief copy editor. jlarso5@luc.edu
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