The legislation passed by the city’s board of aldermen on Wednesday entitles monogamous partners, regardless of sexual orientation, to the same rights as married couples at all city-owned facilities.

To be eligible, couples must be 18 or older and have lived in Clayton for six months. Partners must also be mentally competent, monogamous, not related to each other and committed to staying together.

The process involves going to the city clerk’s office, signing an affidavit and paying the $50 registry fee. A similar registry has already been in place in University City, Olivette and St. Louis.

Some local LGBT groups have expressed support for the change, though City Clerk June Waters noted that as of Friday afternoon, no one had actually come to her office to be added to the list.

“I wasn’t expecting people to come show up the next day, [but] I think people will come when they have the time,” she said. “I just assume that people will come in as soon as they get a chance to.”

Sophomore Vinita Chaudhry, co-president of Pride Alliance, said while that type of legislation may be beneficial, it typically does not go far enough to create equal rights for all couples.

“It’s good to hear about civil unions and domestic partnership registries [that] allow for legal rights that married couples get legally, but it’s still not the same,” she said. “It’s having all the rights of legal marriage (that matters).”

She doubts the registry will actually affect people at the University.

“Unless people are graduating and planning to stay in this area and they want rights with whoever they’re with…I’m not sure it would affect students much,” she said.

Junior Jenea Nixon, the group’s other co-president said that while she disagrees with the institution of marriage as a whole, she thinks such laws may be a helpful and realistic way to achieve equal rights for LGBT individuals.

“I personally don’t believe in the idea of marriage because it’s an exclusive design that only exists to give certain people rights and [others] not,” she said. “[But] I think it would just be easier to give people marriage than just to take it away completely, especially when children are involved.”

Waters said the legislation stemmed from a change to the city’s housing code last November, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Then they wanted to expand it to offer Clayton residents the opportunity to formalize their domestic partnership and to have that status recognized [by all] civil facilities dependent on family status, for example family memberships.”

The board of alderman’s vote on Wednesday was unanimous.

“The board was very supportive,” Waters said. “[It] was very in favor of getting this on the agenda and not dragging it out.”

As students, we also have shared concerns that differ somewhat from those of the general population. While the range of political opinions on campus prevents us from speaking for the entire student body, we do believe there are key issues that are at the forefront of our campus dialogue. We therefore wish to highlight these issues in the hope that the candidates running to represent us will speak out on these topics.

First is an issue that is dominant on many college campuses and has been subject to a great deal of interest, discussion and activism here: alternative energy. Student groups such as Green Action have a large following on campus and work both to improve sustainability at the University and to enact policies nationwide that would counter global warming and protect our environmental future. Given the University’s research on coal and other forms of energy, as well as its fairly recent commitment to sustainable design, alternative energy has become a topic of constant debate on campus.

Next is gay rights. Although views here are of course not unanimous, this is the topic that perhaps generates the most agreement on campus. Because campus organizations for LGBT students are active, because many students here have lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender friends and because the norms of our generation favor equality, many students here have passionate views on issues like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, employment discrimination and marriage equality.

Naturally, higher education, and particularly student loans and financial aid, may be the issues that hits closest to home for the most students at Wash. U. Not only do students here worry about their own tuition bills, but socioeconomic diversity has also become a key issue on campus, as evidenced by the emergence of groups like United for Undergraduate Socio-Economic Diversity (U/FUSED). Students here are concerned about ensuring access to higher education for all.

K-12 education is also a major passion of many students. Teach For America, tutoring programs and education majors are all popular here.

Fourth, just like the larger voting population, we are worried about the state of the economy. For seniors who are about to enter an unfriendly job market, this subject is one of utmost personal relevance. The other members of the student body are hoping that the economy improves before their own graduations. Students also care about their tax liability, both for their families now and for themselves in the future, as well as for the long-term economic viability of their chosen professional field.

Aside from these four major issues, there are others that occupy important niches on campus. All students here have Wash. U. health insurance, but graduating seniors will soon be affected by new health care regulations. While, for many students, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are a fairly distant reality, there is a sizable ROTC program on campus. There is also a large group of students who are passionate about U.S. foreign policy with regard to Israel.

As the voter registration period ends and Election Day grows closer, we encourage candidates to share their views on these topics with us. We will be listening.

Senior David Dresner doesn’t want his children to have parents who are second-class citizens.

Over the next two years, Dresner hopes to jump-start a national movement by applying new strategies to gain equal rights for the LGBT community.

Dresner’s journey as a gay rights activist started just seven weeks ago when he was approached by Brian Elliot—the older brother of 2008 Washington University alum Marc Elliot—to join him in a project called “The Right Side of History.”

Senior David Dresner works with sophomore Michael Weiss in his mission, entitled “The Right Side of History,” which strives to launch the gay rights movement into the mainstream and eventually to pass legislation guaranteeing the LGBT community equal status. (Sam Guzik | Student Life)

Dresner and Elliot—both openly gay men—hope that The Right Side of History will reshape the status quo of the LGBT movement by using straight youth to garner mainstream interest and propel the movement into the national political sphere.

Equal rights in 26 months

The Right Side of History’s 26-month goal is to pass legislation akin to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that would ultimately afford the LGBT community equal rights in the United States.

The idea to engage straight people in the struggle for gay rights came to Elliot after he read a Columbia University study conducted in every state. The study showed that at least 75 percent of each state supported equal legal rights—a figure much larger than Elliot had anticipated.

Despite this widespread support, however, 29 states do not have laws on record prohibiting employers from terminating employment based on sexual orientation. Additionally, 13,000 people have been discharged from the military in violation of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” for admitting their homosexuality.

“The second takeaway of the study was [that] the young folks overwhelmingly support the most controversial issues,” Elliot said. “Young people were the vanguards of the civil rights movement. This is their generation’s turn to hold our country to its own ideals. It’s not fine for laws to treat people differently.”

Straight support

Dresner said it mathematically makes sense to place a large emphasis on targeting straight people since straight people make up between 90 and 95 percent of the population.

“My efforts right now really need to be focused on the larger 95 percent of the people, and if I’m going to really demonstrate and get the show of force that I’m looking for, I need to go for the harder demographic first,” Dresner said.

Dresner said he believed that gays in the United States would achieve equal rights within 30 years time. But when Elliot said he could fast-forward these results to the year 2011, Dresner knew he wanted to take part in this movement.

Facing Congress

Every year since 1994, Congress has attempted to prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual identity and orientation as well as disability through the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. That bill has consistently failed to garner enough support to pass both houses of Congress.

Senior David Dresner (second from left) leads a meeting of students involved with nascent organization fighting for gay rights; the movement, known as The Right Side of History, hopes to see sweeping gay rights legislation passed nationally in the next two years. Also pictured are, from left to right, are sophomore Jeremy Cramer Gibbs, sophomore Michael Weiss, junior David Klein, junior David Dobbs and Gregory Hogan, regional director of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. (Sam Guzik | Student Life)

If passed in its entirety, the proposed bill, The Civil Rights Act of 2011 with Religious Exemptions, would be more expansive than the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The 2011 Civil Rights Act would prohibit job discrimination and afford LGBT Americans the same federal rights of citizenship that are afforded to heterosexual Americans.

The ‘Theory of Change’

Elliot and Dresner hope to tackle this ambitious goal by following the “Theory of Change”—a model developed by the movement that aims to empower youth and engage millions to make change and demand equality.

By doing so, Elliot and followers of the movement hope to pervade American culture and make the issue of gay rights a prominent one–one on the minds of national legislators.

“We’re hoping to engage millions of youth across the country,” Dresner said. “We’re trying to charge straight youth in an autonomous action.”

Powerful support

A professional group, dubbed “Creative Geniuses,” has been formed for The Right Side of History in New York and Washington, D.C. A leading executives from consulting firms are already on board and they said they have spoken with several strategists responsible for the Obama campaign’s success.

Dresner and Elliot are currently seeking to expand the group.

A band of brothers

Dresner is launching the campaign at Wash. U., and he found his first supporters in his fraternity house—Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp). His brothers have provided assistance to the movement at the University.

“At SigEp, there are a lot of people who want to get involved and help out,” said junior Lionel Johnnes, a member of SigEp. “The challenge will be branching out and stepping outside of the Wash. U. bubble and spreading to the majority of the population.”

While the support has already spread beyond SigEp on campus, Dresner said he hopes to use the fraternity as a platform from which to reach other college campuses.

With more than 13,000 current members, Sig. Ep. is the largest fraternity in the nation in terms of current members, and Dresner has plans to visit SigEp chapters through the country to garner support.

A group of approximately 25 Wash. U. students has been meeting each Saturday to discuss strategies for spreading the group’s message and expanding the movement.

The right approach?

Although Dresner said he has received overwhelming support for his campaign on campus, The Right Side of History’s tactic to primarily engage straight people represents a controversial stance within the gay rights movement.

In the past, the gay rights movement has traditionally been led by members of the LGBT community.

Junior Ayla Karamustafa, an advocate for LGBTQIA rights, said that while she respects Dresner and his team, she believes the movement disregards the history of the LGBT movement and excludes many people who have devoted their entire lives to the cause.

“Our movement centers on gaining rights for individuals of various sexual orientations and gender identities of all racial backgrounds; to take away those identities or to refuse—at the very least—to acknowledge them renders the entire thing senseless,” Karamustafa said.

Senior Laura Lane-Steele, president of Pride Alliance, said her group agrees with the intention and goals of the Right Side of History but will be working toward the goal of equality in different ways.

“Obviously everyone on Pride is going to have a different opinion on this movement and the issues surrounding it,” Lane-Steele said. “Pride and the Right Side of History have different strategies in achieving goals for LGBT people.”

The ultimate goal

Dresner said he expects challenges along the way but will continue to garner support until he gets the American youth on the right side of history.

“I think a lot of people at Wash. U. care about this issue,” Dresner said. “People can’t believe these types of inequities exist in this country. Wash. U. can be the start of a civil rights movement.”

With additional reporting by Kate Gaertner

Senior David Dresner doesn’t want his kids to have parents who are second class citizens. Over the next 26 months Dresner hopes to jump start a national movement by applying new strategies to gain equal rights for the LGBT community. The idea for the movement, which is calling itself The Right Side of History, began with St. Louis native Brian Elliot. Specifically, the pair hope to engage the straight community to pas sweeping civil rights legislation that would grant the LGBT community the same rights that are afforded to heterosexuals.

Click here to read the full story.

There are many student organizations that cater to the needs of students of all sexual orientations and genders: Pride Alliance (the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual student group), Safe Zones (a peer education group), and the Alternative Lifestyle Association (ALA), to name just a few. Professors and peers create a classroom environment where every non-violent comment is tolerated and respected. Couples of any gender can walk around campus hand and hand without fear.  The only thing not tolerated at Wash. U. – by professors, administrators, and students – is intolerance.

We must take advantage of the four years we have to live in this judgment-free world. It is easy to slip into a sense of complacency when we can be ourselves without ridicule or criticism, and it is easy to look around Wash. U. and forget that this is not the case in most other places in our country.  Violence and intolerance plague our world, and not only against LGBTQIA people.  People are discriminated against and even murdered for their religious, racial, and political identities.

At Wash. U., we have the unique chance to do something about these problems.  Join Pride Alliance and protest anti-gay legislation on the State House steps. Join Safe Zones and teach Resident Advisors and other peers about LGBTQIA issues. It is a waste to go through Wash. U. just taking classes, jumping through hoops, and walking away with a piece of paper without taking full advantage of what this university has to offer.

We have to take the opportunity we have here to work towards making the world’s level of tolerance mirror that of Wash. U. We must use the advantages and resources we have at Wash. U. to work for the good of the disempowered, marginalized, and oppressed. Get involved, volunteer, take classes that educate you about the issues you care about, and most importantly, care about something. Get excited, freshman – this will be an experience unlike any other.

Professor Susan Appleton, Father Gary Braun, Mike Brown, coordinator for LGBT student involvement (not pictured) and Professor Tonya Edmond, (not pictured) speak at a panel on gay marriage. (Matt Lanter | Student Life)

Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage starting in November 2003. Connecticut came next in October 2008. Iowa and Vermont quickly followed this past month. The new ruling for Iowa and Vermont will become effective starting April 27 and September 1, respectively.

California had recognized same-sex marriages from June 17 until November 5, 2008, when Proposition 8—a bill that eliminated the right for same-sex couples to marry—passed in the state.

For Elizabeth Beier, a sophomore at Washington University and a California native who voted in Missouri in November’s election, the passage of Proposition 8 came largely as a shock and a setback. Meanwhile, the prospect of legalizing same-sex marriage in Missouri remains dim.

“In Missouri, gay marriage is not very plausible at the state level, because it’s been outlawed twice,” Beier said.

Instead of falling into the trap of becoming discouraged in the fight for expanding the LGBT rights, however, Beier decided to continue lobbying on the local level with a renewed energy.

According to Beier, there are currently two bills up for consideration for the state of Missouri: the Safe Schools Bill and the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act (MONA).

Safe Schools would ensure that students at public schools cannot abuse other students based on sexual orientation, religion, race and other traits.

“The current situation with bullying is there is a bill that says ‘no bullying,’ just in general, which you think would be enough,” Beier said. “But unfortunately, what’s happening is that when gay students are bullied, the leaders of the school say, ‘Well, this is your fault to be out and acting in an effeminate way. You should start changing your behavior.’”

MONA would add homosexuality, sexual orientation and gender expression to the list of traits that are protected from discrimination.

“We brought these to the capital. I went with a group called My Tyme Missouri, [a nonprofit organization] that distributes newsletters [on LGBT issues],” Beier said.

Despite her own activism, Beier senses a certain amount of apathy in some within the gay rights movement.

“I think Prop 8 sort of [angered] a lot of people, but there are some people who say that gay rights are inevitable, that we just have to wait,” she said.

Although Beier thinks the view that gay rights will be granted eventually does have some validity, she still strongly believes that the LGBT community must continue its fight because otherwise, “conservatives will still continue sticking it to us along the way.”

Some students, like sophomore Jovana Husic, co-director of Safe Zones, believe that the most important advocacy work she can do as a student is raising awareness within her own community.

“All we can do is try to educate Wash. U. to make sure we’re good allies and we’re informed on these issues. We can’t change what the courts in California are going to decide,” Husic said.

Husic personally feels that the University is a relatively friendly environment for LGBT students.

“I think Wash. U., compared to a lot of schools, is absolutely wonderful. We have a 4.5 out of a five-star rating in LGBT friendliness,” she said.

Husic also applauded the LGBT community on campus for its activism and involvement in advocacy and educating others.

“We have a very active, very alive, very supportive gay community that I am so proud to be a part of,” Husic said. “However, I do find that sometimes professors can be very ignorant, just people make a lot of assumptions, but I don’t think it’s anything other than typical heterosexism.”

Most recently, same-sex marriage was the focus of a Controversy N’ Coffee session that was attended by nearly 200 students and other members of the University community who met to listen and discuss the issue.

With the continuing work of Beier, Husic, members of Pride Alliance and others, LGBT issues are likely to draw greater attention and receive greater awareness in the years to come.