Notre Dame, Day 2

As we awoke for our second day at Notre Dame, my heart was heavy from the events of the day before. We had been asked to leave campus and, as a result, we had not been able to dialogue with students as much as we had hoped. As I ate breakfast, I wondered what we would face today. Originally, I expected Notre Dame to be welcoming. I don’t know why, but perhaps it is because I have friends who went to Notre Dame. I walked outside to smoke a cigarette, and I walked around our bus. The Eastbound bus had been defaced just one day earlier. I found the word “FAGS” written into the dirt on our bus. It was a poignant reminder of why we are on the Equality Ride in the first place.

We boarded the bus to head over to campus, and six riders prepared to engage in civil disobedience. I still was not fully aware of the importance of our work and the power of civil disobedience until later in the day. Many students e-mailed us, walked up to us on campus the first day, and offered words of thanks and encouragement. As we received warnings and exited campus, many students were visibly upset that their university was treating us with a lack of hospitality. I personally had four different people apologize to me for the way Notre Dame received the Equality Ride.

This morning, we stood vigil and recited the prayer of St. Francis – which begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace” – while six of our riders crossed the street onto Notre Dame campus carrying a gift of three wreaths, symbolizing the Trinity, to place at the statue of gay military hero Tom Dooley. When warned that they would face arrest, each rider stated that they intended to continue onto campus to place the wreath at Tom Dooley’s statue. One Notre Dame student, Eddy Velazquez, carried the wreath all the way onto campus and placed it near the statue. The campus police arrested and processed the riders and returned them to our hotel. As they boarded the bus, we cheered for their courageous effort. We know through the personal stories we heard from students and community members that we made a difference.

We spent the afternoon at the local LGBT community center, where we viewed and discussed a film about a nun who went to the Vatican to invite the Roman Catholic Church to accept the LGBT community. Students from a few different local campuses joined us for this event.

For me, this stop was revolutionary. We made a difference in the lives of people at Notre Dame. I am proud to be a part of this amazing effort, and I am proud that the Westbound bus took such a courageous stand for our community.

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