It has been more than a year since Students for a Fair
Wisconsin went knocking on doors and putting up signs all across UW's campus.
The constitutional ban on civil unions and marriage in Wisconsin had been both
demonized and applauded, families had been torn apart and millions of dollars
had been spent on both sides of the issue. Arguments made in defense of the
institution of marriage, such as tradition, religion and biology, were all
challenged at every turn by real-life experiences. Telling a couple who had
been together for 49 years — like the one that I had the honor of meeting just
before the vote — that they are hurting the institution of marriage just
because they're men is just one example of discrimination students had to
tolerate over the course of our campaign. Students dropped hundreds of
thousands of pieces of literature, used countless box loads of chalk, reached
out to hundreds of other student organizations, and put up window signs on
thousands of dorm doors and windows. The end result: a more than 86 percent
average student turnout against the ban stood as a testament to the desire
students at this campus have for equality. Students broke voter turnout records
by the thousands and more Badgers voted on the issue of the ban than they did
for governor.

Since Election Day, I have received dozens of e-mails,
letters and Facebook messages from students, faculty and staff expressing their
gratitude toward the students who helped make our efforts last fall a reality.
Many of the individuals identify themselves as still being in the closet,
admitting to having created fake names and addresses in their messages to me.
Other communications have been stories of individuals who have come out of the
closet since November in light of seeing the passion UW students displayed. All
of the messages seem to have shared the hope that our fight would not stop when
the polls closed on November 7th.

I do my best to comfort those who contact me by sharing with
them the thought that the efforts continue to pave on. Students for a Fair
Wisconsin has been resurrected by some very motivated students in the hope that
the advocacy, visibility and education that can be provided can hasten the
ban's inevitable defeat. This group, in conjunction with the statewide Fair
Wisconsin organization, has been reaching out to students and beginning its
operations on campus. I strongly urge anyone who was involved during Students
for a Fair Wisconsin's peak to seek out this new group so that UW-Madison can
continue to be the statewide leader in promoting the destruction of the ban. In
light of the recent Dane County Circuit Court decision in which a challenge to
the ban's constitutional grounding was allowed to continue through the appeals
system, the grassroots advocacy that students and UW faculty could provide to
the public discourse could spare us months, if not years, of discrimination
written into the bedrock of our legal system.

If nothing else can be done, talking to our friends about how
the ban affects families can help further the public debate on this important
issue. Dorm room discussions with your room or floor mates can do more to help
LGBT rights than a stack of literature. A well-placed point of view or life
experience can change a person's outlook on what equality and marriage can
really mean. It was simple person-to-person contacts like these that made
Students for a Fair Wisconsin what it was last fall and what it will finally
become when the ban goes down in flames.