The following is a guest blog from University of Notre Dame student Alex Coccia ('14), of Notre Dame's student-led "4 to 5 Movement," an initiative seeking to gain wider acceptance and support for LGBT students on the campus of the Indiana, Catholic-affiliated school. Campus Pride has been keeping up with Coccia's and other students' efforts. Our executive director, Shane Windmeyer, recently wrote about Notre Dame and another religious school, Pepperdine, at the Huffington Post . We believe it is important to support Notre Dame and Pepperdine students in their efforts to make their campus safer and more inclusive for LGBT students.

Statement from Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer:
"Campus Pride commends the LGBT and ally students at the University of Notre Dame for not giving up on their quest for inclusion and safety, despite the challenges posed by administrators," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "Faith empowers us to believe in something greater than ourselves. In particular, the Catholic faith, upon which Notre Dame bases its mission, calls upon each of those in the Notre Dame community to live in mutual respect, love and Christian fellowship. The faith and fellowship of LGBT and ally Notre Dame students is strong and they are showing courage and leadership. The University of Notre Dame and other private, religiously-affiliated colleges need to do the right thing and fulfill their mission to their students and their faith. All students deserve support and safety at college. It is time for the University of Notre Dame to recognize its LGBT students as part of its campus faith community by ensuring their safety and academic success."

The 4 to 5 Movement at Notre Dame: A Majority for Full Inclusion

By Alex Coccia ‘14, University of Notre Dame

The spark for the 4 to 5 Movement – a movement for full inclusion for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students, faculty and staff at Notre Dame – came in March 2011, when Brian Sims, the first openly gay college football captain, spoke about the importance of allies to create a safe and welcoming environment on college campuses. Citing the Pew Forum, Hamilton College polls, and the National Youth poll, he said:

Four out of five college students or college-educated people between the ages of eighteen and thirty in the United States right now support the general package of gay civil rights…. Eighty percent of you support my rights. You only think that it’s about a third of you.

The students who heard that speech recognized the same dynamic at the University of Notre Dame. Experience had shown that there is a supportive majority of students, faculty, and staff; and yet, there is either a vocal minority that keeps the majority silent, or there are structures in place that make it seem as though being an ally is not the norm. In many respects, both cases are true. On campus, a minority contributes to an unwelcoming atmosphere through hateful slurs, ingrained dorm “traditions” which are insensitive to any GLBTQ students, and the presence on campus of those who have claimed that a gay and lesbian student group would be the same as a student bestiality club. However, the structures and policies of the University amplify the voice of the intolerant minority by refusing to recognize any form of a gay-straight alliance student club and refusing to include “sexual orientation” to its non-discrimination clause.

A GLBTQ or GLBTQ-Ally themed student group has been denied official club status at Notre Dame at least fifteen times. Despite pressure from students, faculty, and staff, the non-discrimination clause remains unchanged. (For more information on Notre Dame policy, visit http://nextgenjournal.com/2011/11/the-4-to-5-movement-due-time-is-due-now/). Upon recognition that these structural issues severely hinder any true steps towards inclusion on campus, the 4 to 5 Movement was begun by the Progressive Student Alliance with three goals. First, it aims to raise the voices of the allies on campus—those silenced or overwhelmed by the loud minority. Those involved aim to make it clear that being an ally makes someone part of the majority, and that majority has the ability and the solidarity to raise its collective voice in loud protest to the policies at the University. Second, the 4 to 5 Movement aims to create spaces on campus for dialogue about issues pertinent to the GLBTQ and ally members of the community. Third, the 4 to 5 Movement seeks to address and change these structural issues – the lack of recognition of a gay-straight alliance and the lack of “sexual orientation” in the legal non-discrimination clause.

The 4 to 5 Movement has grown to become a broad coalition comprised of Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, clubs and groups, departments and administrative bodies, alumni/ae, and non-Notre Dame groups that support full inclusion for GLBTQ members of our community. The 4 to 5 Movement is honored to have Campus Pride as a member of the coalition. The first semester of action for the 4 to 5 Movement was extremely successful. The Facebook group has grown to over 1300 members; we hung “Did you Know” posters stating facts about the situation at Notre Dame such as “Faculty and Staff at Notre Dame can be fired because of their sexual orientation” all around campus and in dorms; we held an extremely successful and well attended panel titled, “Queer Queries: Ally, Gender, and Sexual Identity at Notre Dame”; we hosted a Notre Dame Coming Out Day celebration; and perhaps most importantly, people began talking about the 4 to 5 Movement – what it stands for, what it has done, and why it is important.

This semester has already shown signs of success and momentum. The 4 to 5 Movement introduced a resolution to the Student Senate regarding the recognition for a gay-straight alliance student club. This resolution passed 21-0-2. Student Senate is currently discussing a resolution regarding the non-discrimination clause. Athletes, extremely prominent voices on campus, have become involved with the 4 to 5 Movement, posing for posters saying, “I am an Athlete. I am an Ally.” Faculty have become increasingly involved within their departments to garner support.

This semester especially has gained a lot of coalition support. Recently, the 4 to 5 Movement united with CUAllies at Catholic University of America, in order to join the movements for recognition of gay-straight alliances at the two most prominent Catholic universities in America. In the nature of Valentine’s Day, the 4 to 5 Movement hosted an Inclusive Love candlelight ceremony to build community among its members and reflect on the ever-growing need for our University to open its heart to change. This semester, the 4 to 5 Movement aims to organize as much vocal support as possible, as our gay-straight alliance, AllianceND, once again applies for club status.

Now, more than ever, is the time to gather more and more support for our efforts. For change to occur on campus, it is going to take support from those within the University – the students, faculty, and staff – and from those outside the University – the alumni/ae and anyone who believes that one should feel safe and welcome regardless of sexual orientation. We need your help. The 4 to 5 Movement has garnered more support and has organized more multi-lateral initiatives than ever before in the over-a-quarter-century long struggle for equal rights, equal protection, and equal inclusion on campus. Let’s ride the momentum.

If you would like to show your support for inclusion at Notre Dame, join the “4 to 5 Movement” page on Facebook, follow @4to5Movement on Twitter, and add your group as a member of the coalition: 4to5Movement.org/the-coalition/.
For more information on the 4 to 5 Movement, email [email protected], and visit our website at 4to5Movement.org.