In the classroom where Adam Levitt, the interim public relations and marketing coordinator of the LGBTieS hosted a meeting for the group, were people of all age groups.
The atmosphere appeared friendly and many people talked while waiting for the meeting to begin.
Not long ago Levitt created and distributed flyers for LGBTieS meetings in which two girls are holding each other affectionately with text that reads “I kissed a girl and I liked it!” New flyers with greater distribution is the result of LGBTieS attempting to build a bigger presence in the community in order to achieve more support and civil rights.
Levitt was disturbed to find a “serious and targeted effort on the part of some persons affiliated with our campus” to remove the flyers. A student informed Levitt that flyers in the music department were removed and replaced with one depicting a picture of a smiling banana with the words “I took down flyers and I liked it” written across it. The flyers have been removed from several locations, though, and on the third floor of Rogers-Stout, a flyer was found that recited 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 from the Bible, condemning “homosexual offenders” to eternity in hell.
As a response to this hostility, Levitt created simple, straight-forward flyers that quoted Bible scriptures of Jesus speaking about tolerance: “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” Luke 6:31 and “Judge not, that ye not be judged,” Matthew 7:1.
“The flyers are not meant to change people,” Levitt said. “Only to ask for the LGBTieS community to be treated as people, people who deserve happiness, freedom and a sense of safety just as much as anyone else. The religious flyers are meant to incite introspection.” It was stressed by Levitt that the flyers are not meant as an attack on Christianity, or any religion for that matter.
Fewer of the Bible scripture flyers have been removed, but the LGBTieS club information at the bottom of the flyers is being torn off in some cases, especially in the music department. Regardless, LGBTieS continues their campaign to advertise the organization at ETSU.
Joe Rhymer, a Tri-Cities organizer of the Tennessee Equality Project, and representatives of PFLAG Tri-Cities came to the meeting to offer assistance in deciding appropriate actions for the betterment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The group is well organized, with events such as public viewings of LGBT related films and the humorous yet challenging “Free Heterosexual Screenings” available at Wellapalooza on Wednesday, April 8 starting at 10 a.m. They also discussed ways to overcome apathy and gain more support from ETSU’s administration.

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