Prop. 8 Awakens Activism in Youth
The Daily Bruin
By Ben Thaler
November 18, 2008

The passage of Proposition 8 has energized a large contingent of college students to become political activists, according to university and student sources.

Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, was passed by voters on Election Day. A day after its passage, thousands of people began to rally and march in protest.

The protests have continued in different parts of the city up through this past weekend.

Fourth-year political science student Dave Valk was present at the first rally and has attended several others since then. He said a large number of the protesters were previously politically apathetic people in their 20s.

“For a long time young people, including myself, have been complacent and satisfied with the way things were going. But Proposition 8’s passage struck a chord because it is denying citizens equal opportunity and equal access,” Valk said.

Valk added that the initial rallies were sponsored by established lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations, but since then the protests have been directed by independent people of various ages.

Danny Torres Lopez, the director of the Queer Alliance, said that he has also seen a substantial rise in young people under the age of 30 who have taken an active role protesting Proposition 8.

“If you look at the trends, young people are overwhelmingly against Proposition 8. Young people are also coming out at an earlier age than ever. So I have seen a lot of youth at the protests, even high schoolers,” Torres Lopez said.

Torres Lopez added that many straight students have come out to support their friends at the protests.

Emily Rokosch, the assistant director of the LGBT center, said she has seen students come out with a new level of passion regarding Proposition 8.

“It’s great that college students are getting passionate and standing up for issues they believe in. At the center we’ve observed a large number of student leaders who have really stood up and took an active leadership role,” Rokosch said.

Rokosch attributed the increased youth activism to the growing clout that many young people have today.

“Young people feel their voices are heard, that they will be listened to, and I’m not sure it was that way in the past,” she said.

Despite the apparent increase in youth activism, their passion did not translate to action at the voting booth, said Naomi Goldberg, a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

“Though voters from the age of 18 to 24 voted more than 2-1 against Proposition 8, they did not proportionately represent their population in the final tally,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg added that she has noticed a considerable amount of youth activism regarding Proposition 8, but said that it is possible many of them did not end up voting.

“Just like we saw with Obama, many youth were excited and passionate but did not end up going to the polls,” Goldberg said.

Not all of the young people fired up about Proposition 8 are its opponents. A significant number have joined Facebook groups by the thousands supporting the proposition.

David Schmidt, a 24-year-old man from Fresno, created a Web site called iSupportMarriage.com and has enlisted over 10,000 members in his Facebook group, which he said are primarily college students.

Schmidt said he was concerned about what he says is the combative nature of many anti-Proposition 8 protesters.

“The people of California have affirmed their wishes to define marriage as between one man and one woman. My focus now is on safety and education, as many Proposition 8 supporters have received threats,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said he was not surprised that many youth were taking to the streets against Proposition 8.

“(Gay community members) express themselves in bold ways,” he said. “We see that in their street celebrations ... so it is not surprising to see them continuing to express themselves.”

Valk said he believes a defining moment of the protests came during the first rally at a Mormon temple.

“It was just a bunch of us, mostly young, spontaneously coming together. Some of the older crowd warned us to go back but we kept on going and dispersing in different directions,” Valk said.

Valk added that the number of youth who have been politically involved creates a new opportunity for coalition-building in the LGBT community.

“This is not a one-time thing. This is our golden opportunity to bring the young leadership together, from all different backgrounds, to work for a common cause,” he said.