Tovah Leibowitz
New York University
Class of 2012
Program of Study: Double Major: Gender & Sexuality Studies and Filmmaking
Intended profession: Film Editor & Gender Sexuality Professor

“I am deeply honored, but more importantly, I feel privileged to live and work alongside the thousands of students committed to projects of social justice, community organizing, and campus activism. Students are powerful agents of change and organizations like Campus Pride and the V&A National Leadership Award continue to strengthen us by recognizing and supplementing youth action. The work I do at NYU is never just my own, but a result of the relentless collective effort of dedicated students, administrators, and professors. This award not only celebrates the work we've accomplished together, but further unites and empowers us to face the challenges still ahead." ~ Tovah Leibowitz

Tovah has served as president of New York University’s Queer Union and Pride Month for three-consecutive years. Her work with the organizations has resulted in a wide range of academic and activist events, including protests and sit-ins, marches, lectures and neighborhood volunteer work. Tovah also works part-time for Queers for Economic Justice, a progressive non-profit serving low-income and homeless LGBT communities.

As part of the application we ask the applicants to share with us how they identified and what those identities meant to them. Tovah shared one of her identities with us that truly expresses why she is one of our Voice & Action Award recipients this year.

Tovah wrote: “Angela Davis once said that in order for social justice to flourish, 'we must all become fluent in each other’s stories.' For this reason, I personally identify as an 'ally.' However, my identification is not one based on passive “tolerance” of “others,” but I identify as an ally in an ongoing pursuit to actively engage in collective struggle, embracing (rather than erasing) the differences that are, in fact, the fuel for our creative imaginations.”

We can all learn from Tovah about what being a true ally means. She continues display her active engagement as an ally though her essay on the greatest challenges that face our movement currently. Tovah explains: “One of the greatest challenges facing the LGBT community is that of economic injustice. As the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations continue to grow throughout the United States, we must make sure that LGBT activists and allies not be left out of these discussions. More often than not, issues of poverty and economic inequalities are dismissed as being 'unrelated' or 'tangential' to the 'core' goals of the LGBT movement. However, in a society in which racism, sexism, and classism remain pervasive, it is critical that everyone invested in LGBT activism understand the ways in which people of color, transgender/gender nonconforming people, women, youth, and people with disabilities who also identify as LGBT, face a disproportionate amount of poverty and economic hardship. In particular, we must remember the ever-growing number of LGBT homeless youth, specifically in cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, and L.A., who are regularly at risk of being thrown out of shelters due to state-wide budget cuts. According to a 2008 census commissioned by the New York City Council, almost 4,000 youth are without stable housing. The Ali Forney Center, one of the leading LGBT homeless shelters in the U.S., has recently noted, 'Homeless LGBT youth without shelter often are forced to resort to prostitution in order to survive, and approximately 20% become HIV infected. Homeless LGBT youth are at extraordinary risk of suicide, with 62% admitting to having considered or attempted suicide.' One of the central tenets of the LGBT movement has been a politics of 'coming out.' Indeed, LGBT activists, artists, and scholars continue to fight for the right to be open at work, at school, and most importantly, at home. And yet, there are still very few social structures to support those who have come out and, as a result, been thrown out of their families.

“In August I began interning with the non-profit organization Queers For Economic Justice (QEJ) in New York City. As part of my internship, I visit a women’s shelter in Queens where I facilitate a group meeting for LGBT-identified residents and their allies. Upon speaking to the women in the shelter, one of the recurring themes I hear is that of family rejection. Many of the women tell stories about becoming homeless only after coming-out to co-workers, friends, and most specifically, family members. These women do not regret their decisions, but they also pay a heavy price for following the guidance of LGBT proponents. Thus, it is crucial that LGBT activists and allies not only fight for the right to come out, but to live-as-out. That is, we as a community cannot assume that coming-out is the happy ending of every story. Indeed, in a country where homophobia continues to result in extreme physical (and emotional) violence, LGBT persons must not only assist people on how to come out, but also create the necessary support networks to help those who face economic instability as a result of coming-out.”

Continuing on the line of engaging our community, one might think that being a student at NYU it would be easy for students to be active and come together for the common cause. However, Tovah educated us that this is not necessarily the case. She explained in her easy addressing how her work as contributed to bring about positive change for LGBT persons.

Tovah wrote: “New York University has no campus; no centralized space for students to meet and foster community. Since living in an intensely populated urban center easily lends itself to feelings of anonymity and detachment, many students complain that they feel no sense of collective belonging at NYU, but instead suffer from loneliness and isolation. For LGBT students, the feeling of ostracism is intensified. There is a myth that NYU is some sort of ’gay mecca‘ because of its location in the West Village. However, for many LGBT students, browsing through the historically gay neighborhood can never engender the same sense of comfort as finding other college students who share in their experience. Thus, in order to combat the effects of a largely decentralized student body, my work at NYU is always invested in community empowerment and coalition-building.

“During last year’s Pride Month, I sought to focus on identities that become invisible within the national LGBT movement and within the local NYU community. Therefore, the first event of the month was entitled 'Digging Deep: Thinking About Privilege' with disability and transgender rights activist Eli Clare. The event examined the experience of living as a queer person with disabilities. However, it was critical that I not put this event on alone, but that I reach out to other student organizations who may not explicitly identify as “LGBT” but whose work is nevertheless connected. As a result, the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities agreed to co-sponsor the event along with the Organization for Black Women, the United Muslim Association, the Native American and Indigenous Student Group, the Center for Multicultural Education and Programming, and ACLU-NYU. While these groups may initially seem disparate, our collective organizing efforts resulted in a coalition of students making connections with one another from an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds. In fact, the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities had never been asked to participate in any LGBT-sponsored event before, and one member of the group even admitted to not knowing that NYU had a group for LGBT students.

“During the event, the question of 'privilege' and 'accessibility' was at the heart of the discussion, as many students with disabilities are left out of university-sponsored activities because the campus is inaccessible to them. This created a larger discussion about how to create spaces at NYU that are not only physically accessible—making sure student events are held in buildings with elevators, ramps, and ASL interpreters—but also socially accessible—to consciously and consistently create anti-racist, anti-sexist, and queer spaces throughout the university. Thus, by mobilizing students from multiple communities, we as NYU students had begun to see ourselves as a responsible for the needs of one another—physical, social, or intellectual—so as to live as a united body within the university.”

Once again Tovah showed how she is reaching out as an ally to members of our community who are not always included in the conversation of LGBT Equality, as we move toward LGBT Equity. As a wise advisor to Campus Pride once said, “Equality is everyone having a pair of shoes, but Equity is everyone having a pair of shoes that fits!” Tovah is an activist that is insuring our community continues down the path having equitable access to all the great resources of our society.

As part of the application we ask the applicants to have letters of recommendation written on their behalf. One of these letters was to be from a fellow student leader

Martha Cullen wrote: “One could go on for pages and pages listing her accomplishments and pedigree as a leader in the community, but they are not really the core of what is important. Activist work and community leadership are done for many reasons, and specific accomplishments always sound good on paper. What makes Tovah truly special, though, is the way in which she pursues her work as a student leader; Tovah is, in her marrow, an activist. More than simply a fighter of causes, she constructs and maintains -- unto exhaustion – truly exceptional spaces in which people can encounter each other and explore the many facets of identity. Her strength as a leader comes for the fact that she recognizes, and fights to give voice to, the idea that identity is not and should not be limited to one concept. Her event organization brings together queerness and queer activism with issues of race, disability rights, artistry, homelessness, social constructions of the body, and countless other aspects of people's selves, creating not only a safe space, but a space of exchange, a space that has been established with the extreme care of a person who sees the importance of challenging all ideas that may limit the ways we conceptualize ourselves.”

In addition to the student leader letter we asked for two letters to come from faculty and staff.

Monroe France, director of the NYU LGBTQ Student Center, wrote: “While Tovah is unassuming and often humble about her accomplishments, she has received some of the university’s highest leadership recognitions due to her invaluable contributions on and off campus and the inspiration she has been to all of us.”

Thoughts from the Voice & Action Selection Committee: “Expresses a mission and has a purpose in her expression,” “Committed long-time leader organizing extensive events with deep understanding of intersectionalities,” and “Tovah's relentless efforts are legendary.”

We are so proud to be able to recognize Toah Leibowitz as one of the 2012 Campus Pride National Voice & Action Leadership Award recipients.

Edited and written by: Christopher Bylone, Voice & Action Selection Committee, Chair in collaboration with Matt Comer, Communications & Program Director.

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