Out In The Mountains : News - Now Who's Turning Their Backs?

by Lynn McNicol

COLCHESTER — As dark rain clouds threatened to chase everyone inside, a crowd of protestors gathered at the entrance to St. Michael’s College to protest a speech being given by Gov. Jim Douglas on the last day of May.
      Douglas was speaking at a diversity conference, “Welcoming Communities,” at the college for teachers to expand their social horizons.
      Ironically, for the GLBT crowd who recently witnessed the governor’s veto of the Gender Identity and Expression bill, Douglas spoke at some length about actions he’s taken to end discrimination, including safe schools and anti-bullying legislation.
      The bill Douglas vetoed (H.865) included a provision to protect students from harassment regarding their gender identity and expression.
      The protestors carried their signs toward the auditorium where Douglas was to speak in a few minutes, but campus security asked them to leave the signs outside.
      They did.
      As Douglas spoke, about 25 people in the audience stood silently and turned their backs to the governor, who continued speaking as if nothing unusual had happened. The storm outside erupted into thunder and pouring rain as Douglas continued to speak, and the protestors continued to stand.
      After speaking for about six minutes, Douglas ended his discourse on eliminating discrimination through scholarship programs and enriching cultures, to light applause from the approximately 50 people who remained sitting in the audience.
      The audience then slowly filed out, into the soggy spring air. The dark clouds had rolled away and the protestors stood outside again with their signs in the last falling drops of rain.