Student travels to faith-based colleges for LGBT rights

By Megan Scarborough     11/6/08 6:00pm

Some Rice University students spend a semester abroad perfecting their French in Paris or studying native cultures in Argentina. But Brown College junior Cait MacIntyre is choosing to spend hers traveling through the Southern United States being verbally abused, socially rejected and even arrested. MacIntyre is traveling with the members of a civil rights group called Soulforce on its second annual Equality

hotline on behalf of the organization. The team also takes turns planning each stop on the tour, including getting in touch with administrators of faith-based universities. MacIntyre said being part of the group has been worth it.

"I feel honored to sacrifice my own time and comfort, if it changes even one heart or comforts one battered soul," MacIntyre said.

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MacIntyre said she has a personal reason for getting involved with the Equality Ride. She grew up in New Jersey listening to her father play the organ in church every Sunday, but after he came out as gay, church leaders began to denounce him from the pulpit. MacIntyre responded by questioning her own faith. Eventually, she met a pastor who was gay himself, and who believed that loving one another was the most important tenet of Christianity. MacIntyre said after this affirmation she experienced a renewed sense of faith, which led her to the Equality Ride.

Though many of the institutions they have visited have welcomed the Equality Riders and allowed them to share their message, a few have forbidden them to set foot on their grounds. At Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, the group was barred from attending a worship service they had been invited to by students. When they tried to enter the church, six were arrested.

"You hear about people being shut out of church, but it's another thing to watch that with your own eyes," MacIntyre said.

During the same visit, someone broke the glass door of their bus, apparently to communicate disapproval of their mission.

MacIntyre has been arrested twice in the last month while with Soulforce: on Oct. 17 at Heritage Christian University in Alabama and on Oct. 20 at Mississippi College. Both times, she was arrested for trespassing with other Riders onto the lawn while holding letters containing personal testimonies of students at those schools who had been discriminated against because of their sexuality. One such letter read:

"I honestly fear that when I do decide to let the public know who I really am, many of the organizations and activities with which I am involved will turn me away."

The letter described how the Mississippi College student had already been the target of anti-gay speech on campus.

MacIntyre was released shortly after each arrest. Though she describes the arrests as unpleasant, seeing the reality of exclusion and maltreatment on these campuses has been the most difficult part of the experience for her.

"We've stood in freezing cold rain, and people won't even let us get under cover, because they don't like the message we bring with us," she said.

Though MacIntyre may be missing out on the traditional study abroad experience, she said she would not choose to spend her semester any other way.

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