UC Hastings College of the Law Professor Kelly Weisberg-who is also married to Chancellor Blumenthal-was on campus Saturday, May 31, as a keynote speaker at the annual Kresge Presents Pride celebration at the UCSC undergraduate college. The event, in its third year, celebrates gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender diversity.
Weisberg was one of 20 family law professors who joined an "amicus" brief submitted to the California Supreme Court in the gay marriage case that the court decided in May. An amicus brief, written by persons or groups who advocate a position, can provide valuable perspectives to help a court reach its opinion. The brief Weisberg joined was authored by Professors Herma Kay of UC Berkeley School of Law and Michael Wald of Stanford Law School.
Because of her role in the case, Weisberg participated as one of two keynote speakers at the Kresge College event; Reverend Deborah Johnson, a featured speaker at the event, also discussed the recent court ruling.
Johnson is the founder and president of both the Motivational Institute, an organizational development consulting firm specializing in cultural diversity, and Inner Light Ministries, an omnifaith spiritual community of approximately 1,500 people in Soquel.
"I was honored to speak on the meaning of the gay marriage case," said Weisberg, whose remarks addressed the case's broader implications and drew parallels between discrimination based on race and sexual orientation.
Kresge Presents Pride also featured performances by student dance group Khaotic Bliss, student a cappella group Acquire, and student poetry group the Kinetic Poetics. A day-long gathering, this year's Pride event enabled hundreds of students to celebrate together, said Kresge organizer Chris Yang. A campuswide march kicked off the event.
Also in attendance on Saturday were Student Affairs vice chancellor Felicia McGinty and SA leadership members Alma Sifuentes and Jean Marie Scott.
For more information, please visit the Pride web site at kresge.ucsc.edu/pride.
