Tuesday morning began just before nine o’clock. The bus pulled up to Cornerstone University, and we got off and headed toward the chapel, where the administration planned to debrief regarding our visit. Given that many Riders are of a Christian faith, and we had just spent two days conversing with Cornerstone students, it seemed appropriate for us to worship with our new friends, and also it made sense to be involved in a conversation about us. Several schools in the past had invited us to be a part of the debriefing, and though Cornerstone hadn’t officially invited us, the event was open to the public, so we showed up, many of us with our bibles, and sat among the students we had been conversing with in the days prior.

At 9:10, chapel was opened with a prayer, and then an administrator came down and, after making an analogy that compared the Equality Ride to the terrorists of 9/11, asked us to leave, and said he would give us 5 minutes to comply. Katie went to speak with him, and told him of our desire to be a part of the worship service, and to ask why he would choose to keep us from the house of G-d, to which he replied that “this isn’t a church.” After 5 minutes, most of the Riders left the chapel to stand vigil outside, along with several students who saw the absurdity. Angel and myself stayed behind, and the self-same administrator came down, and explained that the plan for the day had been for a group of administrators to explain the Equality Ride visit from their perspective, but, because of our disruption (by sitting unobtrusively in the room), there was no way they could get through everything that they needed to get through, and they cancelled chapel. They asked students instead to come to a “sexuality forum” to be held later this week.

As they were leaving, several students hugged us and smiled and said hello. One student thanked us for our willingness to come to Cornerstone. Angel and I, at that point, decided to go to the Cornerstone bookstore. The two of us hadn’t been asked to leave campus and hadn’t received any warnings from administration or police, so we asked a student to escort us to the bookstore to get some postcards.

After visiting the bookstore, as we walked back toward the chapel, a campus security guard called to us, and we turned to face him. He asked us where we had been, and we explained the whole story about chapel and then being escorted to the bookstore, and how we were heading back to join our friends. He waved the police over, since he was “tired of warning us.” We tried to explain that we had not once been asked to leave campus, but the police came up behind us and cut the conversation short.

They asked for our identification. We both pulled them out of back pockets, and the one radioed in to have our records run. We were asked if we had been arrested before, and both in unison replied, “yes, sir”, then he asked for what, and again in unison we replied, “trespassing.” The officer gave us a funny look, but when we didn’t have any warrants on our record, we were asked for the first time to leave campus, which we did.

This stop really drove home to me how much work we have to do as Equality Riders. This school is less than an hour away from where I grew up, and the gay students there live in fear every day. Students at this school are indoctrinated in hate.

I give thanks to every student who, over the course of our time at this school, took the time to talk with us, and to try to find a place of understanding and reconciliation. You’ve taken a brave step, and I commend you for it. Now, let’s keep the conversation going.

Our day at Calvin began at noon. As the bus pulled onto campus, we were greeted by a gaggle of students who had volunteered to be our hosts for the day. My host, Audrey, greeted me with a smile and a name-tag, and we sat down and began looking over an article she had brought with her, regarding pastoral care for “homosexuals.” She had underlined parts she thought I might like to take a look at, and we talked about it for a while, until we went to lunch.

At lunch, I sat at a table with a bunch of administrators from other schools who are on a tentative list of schools for next year. They were brimming with questions about our mission, and how we conduct ourselves on campus. One woman said she seemed surprised at how “well-behaved and polite” we were, given that some of the non-welcoming schools have painted us in a negative light. I explained how much easier it is to justify inhospitality when you slander character of the group you’re being inhospitable to. Most importantly, I stressed that we do indeed just want to start a conversation.

After lunch, my host and I went down to the campus café and had coffee, and talked to students. One of her friends had come by campus specifically to talk with an Equality Rider—he had been a student at Calvin, but had dropped out shortly after coming out as gay. I sat and talked with him, while several Riders and their hosts, and whoever else dropped by, had a knitting circle, perling and parlaying.

After a little while, we had a presentation scheduled, so we all made our way to the room where the presentation was to be given. It was standing-room only, with about 2 dozen people standing outside of the doorways, listening.

After the presentation, the floor was open for questions. I can say that I was extremely proud of the Calvin community for the depth of their questions, and for being willing to talk about the issues that face the transgender community. There were too many questions to address within our time limits, which was a shame.

After the presentation, we rushed over to the dining hall. I was seated at a table with my host, two students who were amazing, and four faculty members (including a PC(USA) pastor). We had a great discussion about marriage equality, and I felt as if we made some real progress toward understanding one another. I gave each person a card with my e-mail address on it, so we could keep the discussion going after the day was over.

Next we had a panel, where we were asked questions about how our trip had been. Again, the Calvin community surprised me with the depth of their questions. It was really difficult for me to see all these concerned students and faculty and remember that this school is in the top 20 worst schools for LGBT students to attend, according to the Princeton Review.

After dinner, a student came up to me and hugged me, thanked me for speaking with her gay friend, who was really attempting to reconcile his faith and his sexuality. She asked me for advice on what she could do to make the school better. I hope I had an impact on her, and through her, on the rest of the community. I hope the same for the rest of the Calvin community.

So, here it is, the first day on the road, and I almost want to say the hard part is over. We’ve been three-times chosen, we’ve braved 13-inch snowfall, leaving many of us stuck in airports and bus stations across the country. We’ve been trained by the best possible group of people, including the Reverend Phil Lawson, who was involved in the non-violent resistance movements of the 1960s and 70s. We’ve been strengthened in spirit and conviction by our communities. As Jess from the West Bus put it, “we’ve got this.”

I know it’s rather simplistic of me to say that the hard part is over, though. I know that we’ve got a difficult and draining two months on the road ahead of us. I know we’ll be exhausted and empowered, that there’ll be tears and laughter, but I feel prepared.

Training was intense. The most difficult part was the training on non-violent resistance, where we had to learn to respond to verbal violence, so that, should it happen on the ride, G-d forbid, we’ll be at least a little prepared.

I was chosen as the first person to be initiated into the training. Katie, in the middle of a discussion on training, just started screaming at me, hateful and destructive words. I can honestly say I have never had someone yell at me for who I am in my entire life, and my blood sugar immediately dropped. I didn’t know why she was yelling at me, and how could she?

Then we had to take turns verbally attacking one another, and responding to that attack. Why? Well, as Rev. Lawson says, “you don’t know how you’ll react until you’ve been attacked.” For the person attacking, it was gaining the knowledge of how much it hurts to be that angry. Many of us couldn’t remember the words we had had yelled at us, or the words we had yelled, but the pain we felt, on both sides, was intense. There were many tears and many hugs to follow.

And yesterday, our last night together, we ate Chinese food, just as the Freedom Riders did their last meal before they began their journey. There were hugs, there were photos, and we took turns drawing and verbalizing our strengths and our hopes for the ride. Many of us expressed our desire to give completely of ourselves, we gave our hearts, our souls, our strengths, and our weaknesses. We wished for compassion, love, and laughter, as well as healthy dialogue and the strength to continue to spread our message of love and acceptance, even to those who wish to make our voices silent.

Then this morning we said our tearful goodbyes, boarded our buses, and started our journey to Sioux Center, Iowa, where I currently sit after having just completed our first meal while being officially on the ride.

And let me tell you, it was a delicious and surprising first meal. The employees at this restaurant deserve a big shout-out for feeding us and being so friendly and welcoming!

I must thank that restaurant for bolstering our spirits; thank you for being so hospitable to the large group of strangers who came to you for food, and thank you so much for the cake, which we thought was particularly delicious, especially since it was from you. Y’all are the coolest bunch of people I’ve met in Iowa, to date.

And to Dordt College, our stop tomorrow, I wish to give you the words for tomorrow from a pamphlet I picked up here in our hotel, titled, Words of Hope: Daily Reflections:

Prayer: Lord, let me share you with another today!

I hope we have a productive day on campus and I can’t wait to start the dialogue, and meet our gracious hosts. Thank you so much, Dordt College, for allowing us on your campus.

This trip will be intense and amazing. The Equality Ride is finally here!