By Emily Pate Freelancer
November 4, 2008, Proposition 8 was passed in California, amending the state constitution to ban the legal right of same-sex couples to marry. The NOH8 (no hate) Campaign, created by photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley, rose up in protest.
According to the campaign’s website, http://www.noh8campaign.com, NOH8’s mission is: “To promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest.”
This Friday, as a part of Western’s Pride Month Celebration, NOH8 will come to our campus.
This visual protest will take place in the Werner University Center, May 15, 12 to 3 p.m. There will be a photo shoot in the second floor lobby to document the support of Western students for their fight against hate.
NOH8 is a silent protest. Subjects are photographed with duct tape over their mouths and NOH8 painted on their faces to represent the voices being silenced by Proposition 8 and legislation alike.
Amanda Murray, a senior and interdisciplinary studies major, expressed her excitement at participating in the photoshoot, and for the NOH8 Campaign in general.
“I don’t think it’s needed so much at Western, because we’re already such an accepting community,” Murray said. “However, I think it’s great when the NOH8 Campaign comes here. Not only is it fun, because I always have a blast, but it spreads awareness of the LGBTQ+ community’s struggles.”
Patrick Harish, a junior business major, said he believes in the importance of the NOH8 Campaign’s message.
“I think that it is important due to the fact that when we are born, we are all created equal and it should stay that way,” Harish said.
Like Murray, he plans on getting his photo taken in support.
“I am going to the photoshoot on Friday because I personally want there to be love and not hate,” Harnish said.
The photoshoot is a way for anyone to get involved in NOH8’s message of equality. NOH8’s website reports that the Campaign has photographed nearly 33,000 faces, a number that includes Western students.
While it started as a reaction against the banning of same-sex marriage, NOH8 has become a protest against all discrimination, a cause aided by campuses like Western.
