Noted activist visits Middlebury

Author: Rachel Greenhaus

Students, faculty and townspeople gathered in Dana Auditorium this past Thursday to view a program devoted to exploring and celebrating the work of Larry Kramer. Kramer, a renowned gay rights and AIDS activist as well as a playwright, novelist, screenwriter and non-fiction writer, came to Middlebury this past week to speak specifically on the subject of his newest book, "The Tragedy of Today's Gays." The evening's program began with a reading from his 1985 play "The Normal Heart," followed by Kramer and a question - and - answer panel with members of the student body and the faculty.

The reading from "A Normal Heart" was performed by Middlebury students Lucas Kavner '06, Rishabh Kashyap '08, Kevin Tierney '08, Paul Doyle '07 and Lauren Kiel '07 and Professor of Theatre and Women's and Gender Studies Cheryl Faraone. Assistant Professor of Theatre Claudio Medeiros introduced the scenes, saying that "The Normal Heart" "is not fiction - it is a document of a crucial moment in cultural history and a poignant reminder that even today, silence still equals death."

The students performed three scenes centering around the semiautobiographical gay male activist character of Ned Weeks (Kavner) and his doctor Emma Brookner (Kiel) and the way these two cope with the overwhelming enormity of the AIDS virus in its early years.

Doyle explained the value of the play for audiences today: "It's important for us to read it now and understand the voice of anger, to see where we come from. It helps us appreciate what we have and to see where we can do more. It's given me a lot of food for thought."

Later in the evening, Kramer voiced what was on everyone's mind when he remarked that "The Normal Heart" "could be performed today as though it were happening today. Every word is still applicable."

Kramer's speech was brief but vitriolic. Introduced by Dean of Cook Commons David Edleson as a "hero," and "the loudest and most fabulous mouth of all," Kramer took the floor to a standing ovation from the crowd. He spoke about topics ranging from corporate conspiracy to the current AIDS "plague," to the apathy of today's youth and the history of gay activism. Unafraid of offending anyone or everyone, Kramer accused the audience of being passive and powerless. "I don't feel very hopeful," he said, "and that's a terrible message to come and bring to kids today. But you have to fight every single day of your life. Activism is salvation. I haven't in any way changed, I've only gotten angrier."

The student and faculty panel was comprised of students from the Middlebury Openly Queer Alliance (MOQA) and the Diversity Committee: Sam Shoushi '09, Colin Penley '06, Tamara Vatnick '07 and Lauren Scott '09, plus Professor of Theatre Richard Romagnoli and Professor of Russian and Women's and Gender Studies Kevin Moss. Each member of the panel was allowed to present two questions to Kramer. Often the exchanges between Kramer and the panelists walked a fine line between discussion and debate, but the tension only illustrated the highly personal and controversial nature of many of the topics that were brought up. These included the question of what young people should do to become involved, a question which Kramer claimed not to have the answer to, insisting you must "make it up as you go along," and urging those present to find an issue that they cared about to pursue.

In response to a question by Professor Romagnoli, Kramer dismissed the theater as a method for social change in 2006. He urged the "correct" teaching of American history, claiming a systematic elimination of gay figures - including, he says, Meriwether Lewis and Abraham Lincoln - from canonized history books. Calling civil union bills such as that in Vermont "little more than a feel-good exercise," Kramer called for gays to be allowed all the federal benefits of full marriage. He insisted that, in today's political climate "…if you are a sentient human being you wake up every day frightened."

Yet when a member of the audience stood up at the end of the night and challenged Kramer and the grim picture he had painted, asking to know what it was that made him get up in the morning, Kramer ended on a positive note: "I'm not being facetious when I say it's a challenge. But I like to fight. It's possible to be very angry and to despair over the state of the world and to be very happy."

Students in attendance voiced varied reactions to this final statement and to the program in general.

"I think that Larry Kramer brings a type of reality that you don't see at Middlebury. There's something to be said for seeing so much activism in one person," said Michael Jou '07.

"I felt extremely empowered by it," said Pauley Tedoff '06. "He talked a lot about activism in general. It wasn't just about gay activism or even about AIDS - it's about any social movement worth effort. It was uninhibited and refreshing and open and being open is what makes a movement, what creates action."

Allison Corke '08 voiced a different sentiment, stating, "While I respect Mr. Kramer's history and the amount he has done for gay rights and the AIDS movement, I felt that his overwhelming anger lacked hope or any suggestion for improvement of the situation of homosexuals in the United States and the world. He bemoaned the passive nature of the present gay rights movement, while belittling the new marriage rights in Massachusetts."