"We are very honored to be able to speak out to college students and to show support. Anything we can do to help spread awareness we are honored to do so."
~Richard & Luis Vieira
Staten Island has always been a place where lifestyles collide. It's well-situated geographically, with convenient access to New York and New Jersey. This provides people with great flexibility for employment options. Consequently, there has always been a pronounced immigrant population on Staten Island. Since the Verrazano-Narrows bridge was opened in 1964, the population has exploded.
More people often means more tension, and that tension seems to be coming to a head in 2010. At the time of this writing, there have been more than a dozen hate crimes reported this year.
In June, a Port Richmond man was beaten for being Latino.
In July, Richard and Luis Vieira were attacked and beaten by a group of young men for being gay.
This tide of bad will seems to be taking place on the national scale. Political movements are becoming more recognizable for their angry rhetoric than for their policies. People are angry, and that anger is spilling over. It is beginning to affect those people at the edges of society, those people most easily victimized.
Through the month of September there was a string of suicides. Young people all over this country ended their lives because they could no longer face a life of bigotry, bullying, and alienation.
On the evening of October 7, 2010, the Gay-Straight Alliance at the College of Staten Island hosted the CSI Against Hate Candle Light March. In coalition with many of the organizations at CSI, the GSA brought the community together to declare "Enough is enough!"
The rally was led by GSA President Jeremiah Jurkiewicz. He reminded the assembled crowd that America was founded on the principles of religious freedom and equality, and wondered why society is continually allowed to contradict those values.
"When you see someone committing [an act of] hate against another, then speak up," Mr. Jurkiewicz urged the attendees, "The time for silence is over! Get a little angry at the circumstances in our country right now! Because out of anger comes action and dialogue. And out of these comes change and understanding that has been all too long deprived in this great country."
The Rally was a part of the I Am Staten Island campaign. "I Am Staten Island (IAMSI) is a campaign to promote the idea that we, as residents of Staten Island, are all members of a shared community, and that we must all take responsibility for ensuring that the Island is a safe and welcoming borough for people of all backgrounds."
Coming together as community was another theme of the evening. Mr. Jurkiewicz went on to say "If I am not willing to defend someone or something that has nothing to do with me, then how can I expect someone to do the same for me? It's time to say that any form of hate, regardless of its' target, is not ok! Let's care for each other as if we were blood-related."
It was in the spirit of this statement that participants at the rally were encouraged to share their stories, and urged to "End the hate." Many speakers shared their personal experiences with intolerance of all kinds, ranging from racial and religious persecution, to their struggles with identity.
Katie Cumiskey is the faculty advisor to the GSA and Chair of the Psychology Department of CSI. She shared her insight on the meaning of community, "Communities come together for each other. Communities go beyond the front gate. . . We need to be responsible as college students, faculty, and Staten Islanders. We can be about love and tolerance."
Laura LoBianco Sword attended the rally as a representative of Assemblyman Matthew Titone, who was unable to attend due to a another speaking engagement elsewhere on the topic of marriage equality.
In the most poignant moment of the evening, Luis and Richard Vieira, who were victimized on Bay Street on the night of July 7, 2010, were invited to share their story with the audience.
"We are tax-payers and responsible citizens," Luis explained, "We have the best neighbors, they've given us so much support."
He went on to say that, as college students, "You alone have the ability & power to make changes in this world. Learn the facts. Don't rely on others to inform you. The real truth about things is out there. . . If you think this [hate] has nothing to do with you, you're wrong. It has everything to do with you! If nobody stands up for anybody, who's going to be left to stand up for you?"
Richard then took the microphone, and spoke to the crowd with deep emotion. "I didn't think of myself," he said about the attack, "I thought of Luis. I never fought with anyone in my life! I don't hate anybody. I don't have the patience or the time to hate."
The demonstrators then lit candles and marched peacefully to Victory Boulevard. The rally was attended by approximately 75 people.