For the past four years, progressive activists at Dartmouth and beyond have spent countless hours organizing to elect Barack Obama as president. At first, they fought an uphill battle. Pundits predicted that Hillary was an unstoppable political machine, destined to victory from the moment she announced her candidacy. But then Obama won the Iowa caucus, and in his "They said it couldn't be done" victory speech, he laid the groundwork for a hard-fought triumph in the Democratic primaries.
Now, just a day before what is arguably the most important election in modern history, many Obama fanatics are cautiously letting their guard down, riding on the promising poll numbers generated from all their hard work.
But in California, the success of another equally historic battle is far from assured: the right to same-sex marriage.
Early this summer, the California Supreme Court struck down all statutes that limited marriage to a relationship between a man and a woman, declaring them discriminatory and in violation of the California State Constitution. Citing a 60-year-old precedent that struck down a ban on interracial marriage in the state, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the majority opinion, "An individual's sexual orientation -- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."
Thirty days later, same-sex marriage became law for California, and city halls were flooded with eager gay and lesbian couples from inside and outside the state seeking marriage licenses.
Immediately after the decision, however, right-wing activists began collecting signatures for what would eventually become Proposition 8, the initiative measure on the 2008 California General Election ballot that, if passed, would amend the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex marriage.
Most ironically, the amendment would be placed in between the state equal protection clause and business nondiscrimination clause, taking away rights in the very document -- the very section, even -- designed to provide them.
That's right -- in a state often considered a hotbed of liberal activism, thousands of gay and lesbian residents, who finally witnessed their relationships receive the recognition they deserve, may very well be jolted back into second-class citizenship tomorrow.
And unlike the certainty shown in the polls for Obama, pollsters say that the Proposition 8 campaign is too close to call right now.
What does this mean for us Dartmouth students? It means that in this final hour, we need to get involved. The No On Prop 8 campaign has intentionally designed a web site that allows for phone banking and contributions regardless of your home state. Why? Because Proposition 8 is not an issue limited to California; the repercussions of this loss would affect us all.
The eyes of the nation -- perhaps even the world -- are looking at this decision as a referendum on how America views its gay and lesbian citizens.
Defeat would mean more than an end to same-sex marriage in California and more than a major setback to the fight for marriage equality in other states.
Defeat would signal to the radical "pro-family" activists that their homophobic agenda has won out; that they can move forward in their campaign to instill fear and shame in LGBT people through our schools, our laws and our houses of worship.
Defeat would lead to an America even more unsafe for the countless individuals that don't fit the social norm and the friends who have dared to stand by them -- an America where the sting of discrimination and bigotry cannot be escaped, even in the most progressive of states.
As a gay student, I find this threat utterly terrifying. Whether I want to marry and form a family in my future is irrelevant -- what's at stake here is the very concept of equality and fairness for all.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has moved students to volunteer and organize in numbers that this country has never seen before. Without a doubt, if Obama makes it to the White House, it will be because his message of hope and change has ignited one of the most powerful youth movements in American history.
But to rest on Obama's likely success to solve the issues we care about would be to betray the very idealism that has been the centerpiece of his campaign. The symbol of a racial minority in the White House is not enough to combat amendments that institutionalize discrimination. Californians needs to hear that the same students moved by Obama's promise of a better America will unite against intolerance and hatred, no matter its origin.
We are all blessed to attend a school whose codified policies support our rich diversity. Let's fight for a country that does the same.
