Friday"s "Kiss-In" and rally on the Diag, the final event of Queer Visibility Week, was an overwhelmingly positive affair. That the week went successfully and peacefully reflects well on the University and its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trangendered programs. Members of the community also responded to the protests of outside groups creatively, using the presence of protestors to increase awareness of LGBT issues and raise money for LGBT causes and organizations. Although much of the reason that more than 500 people showed up to support the LGBT community on Friday is due to protestors" presence, it is also the University"s and students" continued commitment to LGBT causes that made Friday"s rally a model of civil rights activism.

On Saturday, protestors congregated at a local gay bar to continue their confrontation with the queer community. The community response to this bigotry was phenomenal. Instead of direct engagement with the protestors, organizers sang songs and raised funds for the county"s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. For every minute anti-gay protestors stood outside, a small pledge was raised. In little over an hour, $6,000 was pledged to the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Committee. Any group seeking a nonviolent response to hateful groups should use that presence to galvanize fund raising efforts and community support.

The University of Michigan became the first major university to offer LGBT support programs when in 1971 the University hired two co-coordinators, called "Human Sexuality Advocates," to work on a committee dedicated to gay and lesbian concerns on campus. As the first major university to throw significant support behind LGBT programs, the University serves as an example to which universities nation-wide look to when developing their own LGBT services.

The University"s Office of LGBT Affairs serves about one-sixth of the student body per year. While other Big Ten programs typically serve a similar percentage, these programs" funding and support is not on par with the University"s. At Pennsylvania State University, an April 2000 equity report was submitted by the Pennsylvania State Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity in an appeal for a "fully-staffed, handicap-accessible LGBT resource center with a full-time professional director." That a Big Ten university lacked these sorts of programs until last year indicates that there is still much progress to be made in institutionalizing LGBT support at other universities.

According to the same report, the University stood far ahead of its Big Ten counterparts in the amount of funding it provided for LGBT programs. Ohio State University and Indiana University, schools both comparable in size to the University, need to show a stronger financial commitment to LGBT resources. It is important to recognize that LGBT resources need to be funded in accordance with the benefit they have on the community at large. Not only LGBT students benefit from these services the entire University community gains as it develops a more tolerant and diverse environment.