On Thursday, Oct. 9, junior Michael Cicirelli was featured at the Quick Center kicking off his Project Halo College Tour.
Project Halo is a program created by Cicirelli himself to inform and educate students about the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transsexual (LGBT) community
A packed crowd of students and community members filed into the Kelley Center Theater of the Quick Center on Thursday night. While the room was filled with close friends and classmates of Cicirelli, the majority of the audience consisted of uninformed freshman, attending the event for FYE (First-Year Experience) credit.
Little did students know how much more they would walk away with, than just an F.Y.E credit checked off their list. Cicirelli explained to us the three main objectives of Project Halo:
The first is to educate the greater community on what it means to be LGBT, the second objective is to explore current social norms and biases, and the third objective is to show individuals who might be tempted to indulge in this negative behavior what their victims experience.
He continued the evening giving us a true insiders look at the truly wretched and horrible things he went through being a gay member of his high school community. While the majority of us were scared for our social status or Calculus grade, Cicirelli feared, on a daily basis, for his life.
At one point, three bullies broke his ribs. He suffered internal bleeding on a daily basis, and had constant bruises, which became ritual for him. Cicirelli suffered permanent spine damage, nerve dysfunction, and has to forever live with the psychological effects of this hatred.
Cicirelli then continued with Halo by showing the audience a slideshow he had put together. A collection of pictures made us all cringe; men holding signs displaying homosexual hate messages, pictures of x-rays of broken ribs, bones, even jaws, images of people brutally beaten to death because of their sexual orientation, made people in the audience look away in disgust and horror.
Amanda Smyth, class of ’12, expressed, Project Halo was insightful. It opened my eyes to some of the truly horrendous experiences people who have alternative lifestyles go through on a daily basis.
Nonetheless, as the slides rolled, these images of hate transformed into picture of hope and love; Michael holding his niece, him smiling and goofing around with his friends.
The truly amazing part of this experience was not witnessing hate manifested, but instead being able to see someone who went through of all this come out the other side.
Cicirelli has had the ability to forgive, and today shows all the love and appreciation in the world for his family and friends.
Halo sends an inspiring message of the need for hope and understanding. Project Halo accurately addressed societies need for humanity, and showed that this can start with our school.
‘Fairfield University as a community can show love and understanding,’ said Sara Hoegen ’12.’ ‘ ‘
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