2010 V&A Award Recipients

George Aumoithe is currently a junior at Bowdoin College double majoring in History and Africana Studies with a minor in Gay & Lesbian Studies, expecting his Bachelor’s in Arts in May 2011. In an independent study he explored postcolonial critiques of nationhood, examining how the Western concept of ‘nation’ has marginalized ‘non-Western’ GLBTIQ people. This past summer he conducted research on 1980s HIV/AIDS rhetoric and the exploitation of the disease to close down gay male bathhouses. Through his research, he hopes to use his undergraduate studies as a gateway to a Ph.D. program in history.

At Bowdoin College, George is the Student Director for the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity – organizing many events on campus. He also serves as a Residential Life First-Year Proctor – being a mentor for 14 first-year students. George co-founded and serves as the co-editor to Q-Magazine – a student-led publication that addresses GLBTQ issues on campus. Not only is George a tireless activist, he also sings in the third oldest all-male a cappella group in the nation, theMeddiebempsters, as a baritone.

George has organized impressive events around topics such as;Black Soldiers, Primary Sources, and the Whitest State in the Union – which looked at the lives of black soldiers in Maine during World War II, Proud of My Whole Self: Intersections of Identity in the LGBTIQ Community – that examined the different ways of being LGBTIQ influenced by factors of race and ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic class, region and nationality, and many other factors, as well as Gay Is NOT The New Black – which focused around the Advocate Magazine Cover that read “Gay Is The New Black.”

Campus Pride asked George to share the challenges he thinks Generation Q (LGBT and Ally) will face or are currently facing in our movement to achieve fairness and equality.

Here in Maine, we recently lost in a bruising fight for marriage equality. But while the news headlines chronicled the contentious fight between the forces for equality and the forces for disfranchisement, stories of physical violence against LGBT persons was drowned out. Less than half a month ago, Jorge Mercado, a gay Puerto Rican teenager was brutally murdered by Juan Martinez Matos. Compared to coverage of Matthew Shepherd’s murder, Mercado’s has barely pierced the loud clatter of the mainstream media. Why is it that this young man not being venerated? Why is news of this atrocious murder not being disseminated across this country? In short: where is the outrage?

Perhaps this is blatant disregard for the life of this young gay man of color or perhaps we just take for granted that LGBT folks will lose their lives to horrific violence. Whatever it is, violence against LGBT people is one of the greatest challenges – indeed threats – that our community faces in an effort to achieve our goals of justice, fairness, and equality. While we attempt to gain social acceptance through marriage, we also forget about the real-life threats that face the less privileged in our LGBT family. As long as carrying out bodily harm against LGBT persons is okay, we cannot achieve our larger goals of marriage equality and full acceptance into society. Our basic dignity as human beings must first be affirmed, protected, and defended!

For those of us who can think about our sexuality and gender in theoretical, abstract, or cerebral terms, we lose sight of the real violence that threatens LGBT people every day they walk outside, or hold hands with their partner, or even exercise their right to be heard. We can only remedy the sick strain of thinking that justifies the murder of innocent LGBT people through education and more vociferous protest. If the news media is not covering the story, then we should protest and bring this omission to their attention. In my view, the LGBT movement has a long way to go before we become as legitimate a civil rights movement that I know we can be. But first we need to truly voice all of the atrocities that are happening to us. News that Uganda is soon to pass an anti-gay bill that warrants executing homosexuals is yet another example of injustices that we as a movement need to focus on. We have been too meek and accommodating to the placations of politicians who tell us to wait a little bit longer on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or to not push the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. If we are not our own strongest advocates then no one else will be.

Through education and through getting the message out that LGBT people are not only under threat of physical terror but are actually experiencing it, we can change hearts and minds on other issues important to LGBT people. Similarly, there are other silent killers in our community – namely HIV/AIDS – that have been pushed lower on the totem pole of concerns in a drive for normalcy and marriage equality. While marriage equality is important and vital to many in our community – the people who don’t have the voice or resources to protect themselves are often the ones who hurt the most. The LGBT movement needs to think much more broadly and it needs to reach out to larger groups of people. This means networking and building alliances with various people of color communities, immigrants, women’s rights organizations, and so on, in order to create a lasting coalition for change.

Campus Pride asked George to describe a time when he was unsuccessful at bringing about positive change and what he learned from this experience.

When the second issue of Q Magazine was released, the Director of Student Life, a gay man, was appalled at what we put on the cover. The theme of the issue was “deviation,” and we showed a photo of two women in a kitchen about to engage in oral sex. The director was infuriated with our cover choice even though we thought it would be a thought-provoking and engaging artistic depiction of same-sex pleasure for students on campus to see.

While we were ultimately allowed to distribute the magazine, we worked with the director to open up a system of communication to distribute the magazine. We learned that, in terms of working with college administration, there are limits to what we can do. But if open communication from the outset is established, we will be much more successful in achieving positive change.

The lessons that George learned from this experience is a lesson that takes some leaders years to learn and to fully understand. We can all learn something from George’s experience – we can learn that communication is key! It is very okay to challenge the system, but that very system also needs to be respected at the same time.

Recommendations — What makes George a Leader?
George is both a leader and an innovator. He has dedicated his time at Bowdoin to opening up avenues for both straight and GLBTQ students to assess their role on campus and to create a welcoming environment for all students. George’s seemingly endless energy and creative insight have positioned him as a person to be regarded with respect, and someone I am proud to count among my closest friends. I cannot turn around without hearing praise for his efforts to create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for GLBTQ students at Bowdoin. ~ Phoebe Sprague, Bowdoin College Class of 2011

A faculty recommendation of George wrote:
Outside the classroom, George is very well known on campus—partly because if you’ve been in a class with him, you can’t help but admire and enjoy him.  That said he is modest, humble and would be surprised to learn that other students admire him. George contributes to the campus in numerous other ways—and is, in fact, quite ubiquitous. George is immediately likeable—kind, extremely responsible, very honorable, very appreciative of the opportunities afforded him, thoughtful, energetic, interested in others, with a great sense of humor.   ~ Jill Pearlman, Lecturer in Environmental Studies

Campus Pride is so proud to be able to recognize George Aumoithe as one of the 2010 Campus Pride National Voice & Action Leadership Award recipients.