Despite the passage of the marriage-amendment May 8, those in opposition to Amendment One gathered in community and hope May 9 at Elon University. The university's Student Government Association approved a resolution stating the institution's opposition to the amendment that defines the marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic legal union recognized in the state less than two weeks earlier.
"We're in the liberal havens," said Charlie Loeser, a former student at Elon and resident of Chapel Hill. "This blindsided me."
Students, faculty and staff, as well as members from the community, filed into Moseley to share their thoughts about the results of the North Carolina primary election, during which 61 percent of the state voted in favor of Amendment One.
At the event, Molly McGinn, an Elon graduate and North Carolina resident, sang a song titled "Vote Against Amendment One," which, although initially written by Laurelyn Dossett in order to raise awareness of the amendment, represented an alliance with those impacted and hope for its repeal.
"Looking at the map, I couldn't sleep last night after seeing these very large blocks of blue," McGinn said in reference to the percentage of the state that approved the marriage-amendment. "I'm on your side, and you're not alone, and this isn't over."
The LGBTQ office organized the event to acknowledge the unity between the members in the community, according to Kirstin Ringelberg, coordinator of the LGBTQ office. The atmosphere was charged with emotional energy as individuals expressed their grief and pain from the results of the election.
"There are things people share together and not in isolation, especially when something is done politically to make you feel more isolated and feel excluded," said Martin Fowler, professor of philosophy.
For Fowler, the gathering demonstrated encouragement that people will continue to support each other as attendees promised a continued fight and sustained hope. While sophomore Kevin Moore, president of Spectrum, Elon's queer-straight alliance, attended in hopes of gaining insight into others' perspective of the issue, he found optimism as well.
"It was really moving and inspiring to see so many people so invested in what happened yesterday and let me know that there are people there willing to work with me in the future to help repeal the amendment," Moore said.
But as the attendees contemplated how to move forward, others questioned what the results indicate about the democratic system.
"In a representative democracy, how do we say we want to repeal this without going against the process?" questioned Loeser.
He suggested education as a means to combat the 61 percent that voted in favor of the amendment. Jan Fuller, university chaplain, embraced the responsibility to inform the public about the perversion of religion during this election, she said.
"On the Elon campus I am a representative of religion and when religion gets used badly I want to stand up against it," Fuller said. "I think religion has been used very badly in this issue, and I want to say those people are wrong."
In spite of the religion rhetoric that has been used in support of the marriage-amendment, McGinn incorporated religious principles into her song encouraging opposition to Amendment One.
"Love thy neighbor word and true, your neighbor is my neighbor too," she sang to the group searching for hope and encouragement.