As The University of Alabama celebrates its 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the school, many events and celebrations regarding civil rights concerns have surfaced.

While we must celebrate the steps taken, we must also look at the state of civil rights on our campus, in this state, and in the country in general. As I look at the University’s stated focus on diversity, I must also look at the Supreme Court’s upcoming hearings on California’s “Prop 8” and the “constitutionality” of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on March 26 and 27.

As these cases approach, our university should watch and reflect on the importance of various civil rights issues affecting us, including marriage equality.

As a student, teacher and member of the LGBTQ community, I value that it is imperative for us as an educational community to be concerned about the Court’s decisions.

As a UA student, it is crucial for me to pursue greater truths and to interrogate the facets of our society at large.

As a UA teacher, my goal is to promote a classroom that focuses on individual ideals as well as building community.

As an American, I have been taught in school to believe in and value justice and equality. As a Southerner, I have seen laws that explicitly discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, further cementing and exacerbating the realities of these inequalities in our towns.

As part of being LGBTQ, I have a personal stake in the fact that while I may complete graduate coursework, educate students and pay taxes, I am not viewed or treated as fully equal in this country.

Part of The University of Alabama’s mission statement reads: “To advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the State through quality programs of teaching, research, and service.” As a teacher, student, American citizen, southerner and LGBTQ individual, I will be tuning into these cases, as it is part of my mission in life to invest in improving the social condition of this campus, state, region and country. Clearly this concept is evident in the University’s mission statement as well.

We must be concerned about the results of these cases because, as members of a higher education community, it is our duty to provide safe environments for all on campus and to quest for social justice. The rulings on these cases affect more than the possibility for marriage equality. Currently LGBTQ individuals face a fight of second-class citizenship in the United States.

At the top of this notion is the privilege of being able to marry the person whom a person loves. The ability to have a legal marriage allows for people to share health insurance, tax benefits and parental rights. With legal marriage creating so many legal privileges, the denial of marriage to individuals presents an image that LGBTQ individuals are not equal in this country.

This notion of inequality affects more than just LGBTQ citizens; it affects the image of the country on the whole. The promotion of inequality directly contradicts the often-mentioned American sentiments for equality and justice.

If we as a country continue to exacerbate the second-class citizenship of LGBTQ individuals, we continue to avoid ameliorating this crisis of inequality. The consequences have been far too tragic. Such is why the Supreme Court’s rulings on these cases matter so much for us as a learning community that quests for advancing the social condition of people.

It is why the rulings of Windsor v. United States and Hollingsworth v. Perry are so important, and it is why the Court must fight against discrimination and promote full equality. As a member of the UA community, as someone who values the improvement of our social condition, and as someone who celebrates the civil rights that have been achieved, I believe that our educational community should be concerned and demand equality for all people.

Collyn Warner is a graduate student studying English.

Leading in today’s Crimson White:

Crimson Tide suits up for first full-contact practice

Alabama geologist’s research continues to benefit state

Student rewarded with scholarship for LGBTQ activism on campus