Noah Baron

The 2008 film Milk, about famed gay rights activist Harvey Milk, contains a scene in which he and a number of strategists and activists are contemplating an effort to defeat an anti-gay public school initiative. As Milk looks over the mailings his team has perpared, he reads them aloud: "'Proposition...

It wasn't so long ago that liberals were denouncing President George W. Bush for his administration's violations of civil liberties. It wasn't that long ago that panic gripped civil liberties advocates about the possibility of a "PATRIOT ACT II," which would erode our freedom even more than the...

As support for marriage equality has grown, even surpassing the 50-percent mark this past year, more and more public figures who previously opposed it have decided that it is now safe to "come out" for it. And, perhaps surprisingly (or not), some of those people include those who...

Some weekends ago, a girl named Megan* told me the story of her friend Jacob,* whom she had known in high school. Jacob was a remarkable teenager: as a freshman, he was a varsity athlete, he got good grades, he was outgoing and friendly, and he stood up for the...

In my experience within the Jewish community, I have found that many tend to equate orthodoxy and religiosity. She's religious," a friend might say, "she's shomer shabbat [i.e., she observes shabbat]." The implication of such a statement is, of course, that those who do not observe shabbat in...

During the Proposition 8 campaign, one of the arguments used by proponents of the ban on gay marriage was that, if it was not passed, schoolchildren would be taught about gay marriage when they learned about families. While the opponents of the proposition rightfully pointed out that this...

Over the course of the past year I've often heard murmurings of support for Ron Paul during discussions of the 2012 elections, even among my more liberal friends. Some have said that they want him to win because "at least he's the better than the other candidates," or that "at...

I spent a lot of time on the Internet as a teenager. I also, as I always have, placed myself firmly on the left of the political spectrum. And, of course, I had known that I was gay for years. As I argued with socialists, liberals, conservatives, libertarians...

"You have heard, O Lord, their taunts,
All their designs against me,
The mouthings and pratings of my adversaries
Against me all day long.
See how, at their ease or at work,
I am the butt of their gibes."
(Lamentations 3:61-63)

Stop. Put down...

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" might be over, but the legacy of second-class status for LGBT Americans, including those who serve in the military, is not. Without a doubt, the repeal is a good thing. At long last, the lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans who risk their lives every day for...

As the families of millions of American high school students have noticed, the cost of a college education is now at the highest that anyone can remember. While loans are within the grasp of many, if not most, to pay for the expense of this education, the cost of paying...

To the Columbia University Community:

As I am sure you are aware, the Columbia University Senate is once again eager to push for inviting the Reserve Officers Training Corps to Columbia (or what has more colloquially been termed the "return of ROTC") in light of the recent vote to repeal...

Before winter break, I was talking with a friend, when the issue of same-sex marriage came up. We talked about the various ballot measures banning it until, at one point, we both sighed. She said, "we should just get government out of marriage entirely -- everyone should just get civil...

Recently I've heard a lot of people talking about how the shooting in Arizona was merely the product of violent rhetoric on the part of America's right-wing. Such claims, I feel, are disingenuous. What information I can find about the situation points to the killer being more mentally

I suspect that most posts around this time of year will be themed around the "Christmas spirit," and I suppose that, in many ways, mine is not much different in that respect (though I am Jewish, I'm writing this post by the light of my interfaith family Christmas tree and...

Earlier this month, a fifteen year old boy hung himself after years of being bullied and called a "fag" and "gay."

In response, Dan Savage, a relationship and sex advice columnist, started the It Gets Better Project, in which older gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people share...

‎...if you have not gotten up out of your comfortable chair to campaign for homosexual and all civil rights -- campaign, not just passively support -- may you think about this crucified man, and may you mourn, and may you burn with a moral citizen's shame.

I have been noticing lately the increasing tendency to equate the term "religious" with "Christian," and "Christian" with "Evangelical Christian." As a religious Jew, I feel that it is important to point out that such such an equation is not only incorrect -- it is dangerous. While an overwhelming majority...

When students apply to college or graduate school, they discover (or rediscover) the status of the Underrepresented Minority (URM). Underrepresented minorities are often specifically sought out by educational institutions in order to increase their diversity. So who gets counted as a URM? The Association of American Medical Colleges

In 2008, the RIAA announced that it would no longer be prosecuting individuals for copyright violations. For many, myself included, this marked the end of any extensive attention paid to issues surrounding "piracy". Yet the state of affairs after the announcement was not terribly different. According to