Three Duke students, junior Jacob Tobia, senior Elena Botella, and sophomore Adrienne Harreveld attended a White House reception last week to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month this past Thursday. They were invited to the reception in recognition for their outstanding leadership of Duke Together Against Constitutional Discrimination, a group that included not only students but staff and faculty as well. About 200 LGBT leaders were invited to the reception from across the country. Duke alum, Maneesh Goyal, and Duke employee, Pam Spaulding, were also in attendance.
While there, the students delivered a letter written by Tobia to President Barack Obama urging him to sign an Executive Order banning anti-LGBT workplace harassment and discrimination at companies that hold federal contracts.
The entire text of Tobia's letter to President Obama can be found on the Huffington Post.
In his letter, Tobia states, "Companies in the United States should not be allowed to discriminate on the basis of an employee's sexual orientation or gender identity. ... By issuing an executive order that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, you can protect millions of talented, productive, and passionate employees in an instant."
The letter adds: "For many of us who are about to enter the job market, the fact that we can lose our livelihood because we are part of the LGBT community is a concern that is all too real."
The letter was also signed by NC College Democrats chapters and LGBT Student organizations across the state.
The White House LGBT Pride Month Reception is an annual happening at the Obama White House.
Pictured in photo: Duke students Jacob Tobia, Elena Botella and Adrienne Harreveld post with Duke LGBT Center director Janie Long, Marty Rouse of the Human Rights Campaign and his son.