I’m so great to see that the Queer Student Union (QSU) and the Campus Democrats at the University of California, Santa Barbara co-sponsored a highly successful ENDA rally last Tuesday.

As Nhi Garcia, current QSU co-chair, told me, at least 80 people attended a march from the Student Resource Building to the main plaza on campus, and then at least 250 students gathered for a rally featuring television star Daniela Sea.

The entire crowd was dressed in red, pink, or black for solidarity, including even parents of QSU members.

The goal of the event was to educate the campus community about ENDA and make a statement to elected officials that students at UCSB aren’t apathetic.

The way Garcia put it: “We’re college students and we care about ENDA because once we graduate this is the kind of thing that is going to constrain us, especially if you’re in state where you can be discriminated against for your sexual identity.  Everyone is going to be trying to find a job.”

The Dems and QSU brought two incredible speakers, including Sea, who plays a female-to-male transgender character on the popular lesbian show The L Word, and UCSB Professor Aaron Belkin, a specialist in the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy.

In his speech, Belkin insisted:  “It’s wrong to exclude transgender from the ENDA legislation,” Belkin said. “We cannot give in to the politics of divisiveness.”

Sea spoke afterwards, playing guitar for the crowd and saying that "all the good people come out for this kind of stuff. It’s inspiring."

After the speakers, students remained for an open mic, where individuals shared experiences of workplace discrimination.

The event generated media attention, landing a spot in Santa Barbara's Independent and on the website for The Advocate magazine.

Future plans, says Amanda Wallner, member of Campus Democrats?  “We’re going to see this legislation through until the end: to the senate and then onto the president’s desk.”

Awesome.