On Valentine’s Day, the Gay Straight Alliance held a protest in the cafeteria called Queer Kiss-In.

“We’re trying to be inclusive, so that’s why we used the word queer; we want to make it positive,” said Priscilla Cortez, president of the GSA. “It’s a term we’re reclaiming for our community.”

Cortez said that the reason the GSA held this protest was to show students on campus that Valentine’s Day is for everyone.

“It’s a non-violent protest because Valentine’s Day is a largely heterosexual, normative event,” Cortez said. “And we want to show the campus that no matter what your sexual orientation is, love is love.”

In addition to seeking equality, the GSA held the protest with the firm belief that homosexuality is undermined on campus, having dealt with negative reactions from students during past events.

The event started at 12:05 p.m. with various members of the GSA making out for two to three minutes after receiving a Valentine’s Day balloon from Cupid, played by Student Body President Ray Parenti-Kurttila.

“I was approached by the GSA, and they requested I participate in the event, and being the student body president, I wanted to be supportive of clubs on campus,” Parenti-Kurttila said. “I believe that love has no bounds, and that regardless of who you’re with, love is love, and you should be yourself.”

Cortez and other members present at the time said that the reason for the public displays of affection and the participation from the student body president was to send a message by getting noticed.

“Usually protests involve signs and chanting, but instead we’re doing something geared to be more

visually emotional,” Cortez said. “We hope to gain more visibility on campus.”

The event was originally scheduled to take place in the quad, but because of weather problems, the GSA was forced to relocate to the cafeteria.

It was during this time that the GSA met with Beta Theta Omicron, who had their own booth for selling Valentine’s Day gifts, and decided to work in conjunction with them.

Charity Walden, president of BTO, said that they didn’t originally plan to work together because GSA’s event was about raising awareness of homosexuality, and BTO’s event was about raising money for Relay for Life, a cancer awareness walk-a-thon that will begin April 31.

But because Walden is a member of GSA and helps them publicize events, she decided to help them out both as a member and as a firm believer in gay rights.

“I’ve always felt that it’s a civil rights issue, and just because someone else lives a different life than

your own doesn’t mean they have to be discriminated against,” Walden said. “I have support in both clubs, so we’re helping each other for this day.”

Walden has been an active member of GSA for three years and has attended all of their previous events during that time. She even helped in the preparation for the protest by printing documents and designing some of its boards but didn’t do any of the paperwork to get the event approved.

Most students who showed up for the protest did so in support of the GSA and its message of equality.

Students like Gabriela Rojas did so to make up for times she couldn’t make it to club meetings.

“It’s Valentine’s Day for everyone, and even though homosexuality is still controversial, I think today is meant for people to be open and comfortable,” Rojas said. “It’s promoting awareness to people, and I really like that idea because there are people who are still uncomfortable.”

Some students, however, didn’t know about the event and didn’t feel strongly either way.

Brian Bruce, a student getting coffee at the time, felt largely indifferent to its message and gay

rights in general, stating, “It doesn’t affect me.”

But on the other hand, he liked the public displays of affection aspect of the protest.

“I like it; I mean, it’s cool. I say if they’re just having fun with it, then why not,” Bruce said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight.”