'That many?" John, a first year Arts student having lunch in University College Dublin's student bar,had just been presented with the findings of the new study from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), which finds that 12 per cent of male students classify themselves as gay or bisexual, while 8 per cent of their female classmates describe themselves as either lesbian or bisexual. The overall figure for lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) students has been put at 10 per cent, writes Belinda McKeon
"It does surprise me," says John. "I mean, I only know about two people here who I'd say are prominently gay. I don't know any . . ." - he hesitates - "homosexuals or anything like that." Except, he adds, clearly joking, "Mark over there". His companions, who have edged away from the interview to the other side of the table, erupt into laughter. "Mark" makes a witty retort, and they laugh some more. Throughout the day, in conversation with groups of students across the campus, it's a pattern which repeats itself several times. "No, none of us is gay," says a second year Commerce student of his group, "but" - and he playfully ribs his amused friend - "I have my doubts about this fella".
But the students who defaced and tore down several posters placed around campus last week by the college's LGB society to mark its Rainbow Week - a week-long series of on-campus events aimed at raising awareness of sexual diversity in the university - had little doubts about their feelings. Prompting particular ire was the poster which depicted two smiling men with their faces close together, apparently about to kiss. "Love is a good thing", read the caption. However, when homophobic graffiti appeared on the posters - and those of candidates for the Students' Union sabbatical elections, which were held last week - it was clear that not everyone agreed. Spokespersons from LGB societies in Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and University College Galway agree that the negative response of a minority is an inevitable, if undesirable, feature of versions of UCD's Rainbow Week across the country. Denia Yeshua, who was TCD's LGB Rights Officer until 2003, argues that this homophobia is a symptom of a flawed secondary education system.
It was only when UCD's independent student newspaper, the University Observer, reported that two critical e-mails from senior members of academic staff had been received by the UCD LGB Rights Officer in response to an initiative launched as part of Rainbow Week, that it appeared that UCD was suffering from a more serious dose of homophobia than is the norm. Entitled the Positive Space Campaign, the initiative involved the distribution to all UCD staff of information packs and small stickers with the words "Lesbian Gay Transgendered Bisexual Queer: Positive Space" printed alongside a rainbow graphic. A cover letter from the LGB Rights Officer encouraged staff to display the enclosed sticker in their work space, "to create a campus where issues of sexuality and diversity are welcomed and embraced".
But not everyone appreciated the gesture. One e-mail response came from Dr David Brayden, a lecturer in the Veterinary Faculty, who claimed that it would be "inappropriate to place any stickers in relation to race, gender or creed in the offices of staff" as it could "cause real problems . . . it is very ambiguous as to what it is advocating and is to do with sexual orientation . . . The sticker could be interpreted that the office was a place for sexual expression and might in advertently \ encourage unwanted advances from students". Brayden was quoted in yesterday's Irish Times as wishing to emphasise that he was not seeking, in any way, to promote homophobic views.
However, the lecturer who sent the second e-mail proved impossible to contact for clarification as to the intention of his e-mail to the Rights Officer: "I do not appreciate you putting junk in my college mailbox," read the succinct message. "It is one thing to be a deviant. It is another to go around attempting to convince people that it is OK." Student response this week to the comments of the second lecturer appeared to be largely unsympathetic. "Everyone has a right to their own opinion," said Dave, a first year Economics student. "But a lecturer, if anyone, should be more knowledgable and have more of an open view on the subject." Another first-year student is surprised by the sentiments. "You wouldn't think that a lecturer in a college would make a comment like that," he says. "You have the image that college would be a more open place."
"It's very serious," says Luke, a first-year commerce student, "It's oppressive, saying that people can't be gay. It's an old school of thought, but he's supposed to be a lecturer in a modern era, so he should accept that and not be like this. I think he should have to make a formal apology."
The students' reaction to the second e-mail has been matched by a significant degree of outrage from other members of UCD's academic staff. Dr Ailbhe Smyth, director of the Women's Education, Research and Resource Centre (WERRC) is particularly vociferous on the matter. "It's outrageous that anyone working in a University environment would speak in this way," she says. "It's a very serious infringement of the human and civil rights of LGB students in our community." Her colleague Noreen Giffney, a Teaching and Research Fellow in the same centre who co-established the Dublin Queer Studies Group in 2001, says that the incident serves to highlight an "insidious and underhand" homophobia at academic level. Meanwhile, in the English Department, Dr Ron Callan says he has "absolutely no time for views that would respond to a society campaign, any campaign, in this way." The Positive Space campaign was well-received in his department, he says, "because it is excellent, it provides a valuable opportunity. This is a department built on debate and discussion, and an attitude like that is just a nonsense. And I think that it will become clear that UCD, as a whole, does not agree with the view in question."
Michael O'Rourke, a PhD student in the English Department, who teaches courses in Queer Theory, says, "I think it's very damaging. Queer Studies is a growing area, and a lot of students come here for it, from Europe and the US. This won't help."
UCD's Dignity and Respect Policy established by the college in 2001 for the protection of students and staff, clearly speaks out against "demeaning and derogatory remarks, name-calling" in contexts including "e-mail or on the Internet". It is thought likely that the Rights Officer will lodge a complaint against the author of the second e-mail in the near future.
A spokesperson for UCD's Public Affairs Office, while unwilling to comment on the individual case, emphasises that "UCD is a place where people are free to express their views on controversial topics, provided they do so in a manner that is not offensive to an individual or group".
One thing the USI study makes clear is that, for LGB students, a safe college environment is vital. While 49 per cent of students stated that they would not feel uncomfortable upon hearing that their best friend was gay, only 23 per cent said they would have the same response to a sibling's homosexuality. "When it's closer to home, it's more difficult for people to take," says Tadhg O'Brien, LGB Officer with the USI. "And this ties in very closely with the experiences of LGB students. A lot of them have a home-college dichotomy where they can't be out at home, but feel safe coming out in college."