Michael Sam is speaking for LGBTQI+ History Month and people aren’t happy about it

Does Auburn have a homophobia problem?

Auburn University is known for being a family. You can see marketing for the “Auburn Family” all across campus. For a lot of people, the reason they come to Auburn is because they want to be a part of a home away from home when they go to college. But what happens when the Auburn family becomes less welcoming?

Michael Sam will be the keynote speaker for the LGBTQI+ History Month kickoff tonight, Wednesday, at 6pm at Auburn University. An announcement for this event was posted on the Auburn University Facebook page and the comment section has turned into a battleground.

This was just the beginning of a long thread of hateful comments.

I’m not sure why people are confused about where they go to school. And why is he ashamed to have this next to our name? I wish he would explain this to everyone. Auburn is very obviously not a “christian school.” We have students from all over the globe, from different religions and cultures. And what is the correlation between Michael Sam coming to Auburn University and our country being doomed?

The LGBTQI+ community does not want special treatment. We just want to be treated fairly and equally. Also, we are not “making other life choices.” Why would anyone choose to live a life where they are ridiculed and treated unfairly?

I have so many questions: Why do you think this is wrong? Why is this not a family event? Why is promoting his sexual preference sad? How is this not an inclusive event? What is your definition of a “family event?”

Commenters, like the one above, are the reason we need to have speakers in the public eye.

Oh.

Do you know how campus tours work?

  1. Again, Auburn is not exclusively Christian
  2. Being gay is not a choice
  3. Sorry that you are no longer proud to be an Auburn fan, but if this is what deters you, then you probably weren’t a very good fan to begin with

I have no words.

Because people should sacrifice their own happiness to please everyone else.

I have read these comments and more that you can find here, countless times as the day has gone on. Even though there are many comments of support, it’s hard to ignore these hateful words. As a member of the LGBTQI+ community, these comments make me feel excluded from the “Auburn family.” I hope that we will have many students come to the event tomorrow and I hope that one day the “auburn family” really can be a family.

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