Dear Ellen,
We think you are pretty amazing. How many letters a day do you get that start off with that? We’re going to guess 25,000, but let’s get back to you being amazing.
We don’t know if you knew the impact you would have on the LGBTQ community when you came out, but today you serve as a reminder to us all that something like sexual orientation should not be and is not a limiting factor in the success of an individual.
LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ individuals alike look up to you as a role model for being unafraid to be true to yourself. You have inspired so many people to come out to their friends, colleagues, families, parents, strangers, and more. You have changed so many lives simply by living your life and being yourself!
We are a collection of students, faculty, staff, and administrators at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Our GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) started a committee, appropriately named “Ellen2BC”, in the hopes of garnering your attention and inviting you to be a keynote speaker here at BC for our sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary.
As you know, it is not always easy to be an LGBTQ individual in certain situations. Here at BC, it is often challenging to be an LGBTQ student as the religious ties of our university make support for this community difficult and, in some situations, contested.
The GLBTQ Leadership Council itself was not created by the university but was instead a student Senate initiative in 2004, less than ten years ago. This came after formal university rejection of an LGBTQ group four times since 1974. Since the creation of GLC, students have played a key role in leading the charge for LGBTQ visibility, resources, and education on campus.
As recently as 2005, Boston College’s nondiscrimination policy did not include sexual orientation. Students began a petition for a referendum vote by the student Senate to correct this; it won in the Senate with 84% of the student vote. This victory was followed by a rally for equality which over 1,500 students attended to show their support for the LGBTQ community at BC. The university responded to this student action and sexual orientation was added to the policy, but to this day it remains in a separate clause from all other protected identities. Although we are progressing, BC continually remains on the Princeton Review’s top 10 list of LGBT-unfriendly universities, and there is so much more work that needs to be done here.
GLC is committed to bettering the quality of life for all students here at BC, especially those that are LGBTQ, and one of the ways it strives to do this is to raise awareness of the LGBTQ community at BC, and acknowledge that they face a certain set of challenges that are too often ignored by the university.
GLC created the “Ellen2BC” Committee in the hopes of generating enough student support to catch your attention and hopefully demonstrate to you why we really need you to speak on our campus. Not only would it be incredible for members of our LGBTQ community to see one of the world’s most prominent LGBTQ icons on our very own campus, but more importantly it would be an immensely educational experience for all those who are not a part of the LGBTQ community here, and who too often forget that it exists.
Straight, gay, and everything in between, we the undersigned all love you and would be honored to have you speak here in Chestnut Hill. We understand that you’re really busy, and awesome, and busy being awesome, but if you ever had a moment or were in the area and could stop by and say a few words or let one of us buy you a sandwich, it would be a momentous occasion for our campus and do wonders to change attitudes toward LGBTQ students.
Whether you see this or not, or accept our proposition or not, we will continue to TiVo your show, dance in public, and watch all of your old stand-up on YouTube instead of studying for finals, but it would mean the world if you would please consider our proposal, especially in honor of our 150th graduating class!
Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
