TONIA MOXLEY The Roanoke Times

Theresa Burriss (from left), director of the Radford University women's center and rally co-organizer, doctoral candidate Paige Cordial and others sing at a rally Thursday at the school.

RADFORD -- About 30 people rallied at Radford University on Thursday in support of the inclusion of sexual minorities in the school's nondiscrimination policy.

The group, standing in front of the Bonnie Student Center, held signs, chanted and at one point broke into song in support of gay and lesbian rights.

"We shall, we shall not be moved," sang the group, led by longtime faculty member and women's studies director Moira Baker.

No opposition to the rally was apparent.

A similar rally is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. today in front of the Squires Student Center at Virginia Tech.

In fact, rallies and forums in support of employment protections for sexual minorities were held at public colleges across the commonwealth this month, many of them organized and advertised on Facebook.

The groups were responding to a letter sent March 4 by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to presidents and boards of visitors of public colleges and universities advising them to remove sexual orientation from their nondiscrimination policies.

Cuccinelli, like a string of previous Republican attorneys general -- including Gov. Bob McDonnell -- have argued that only the General Assembly may enact employment protections for sexual minorities. Bills that would codify those protections have been repeatedly voted down, including one this month.

According to Baker, in 1986 Radford became the first public university in the commonwealth to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy.

On Thursday, faculty and students rallied together in support of those mostly symbolic protections.

"As a straight ally, it's my responsibility to stand side by side with my gay and lesbian colleagues and friends," said Theresa Burriss, director of the campus women's center and co-organizer of the rally.

Burriss said that as a professor, she also feels a responsibility to set an example for her two sons and her many students.

"If they [gays and lesbians] are being targeted, it's my responsibility to say that's wrong," Burriss said.

"I want the campus to be aware that the [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] population ... is vulnerable to discrimination," Radford doctoral candidate Paige Cordial said. "We should not rest until the problem is solved."

One of the rally organizers, 21-year-old Radford mathematics major Tom St. Clair, announced that he and others would form a new campus gay-straight alliance to raise awareness and advocate for stronger protections for sexual minorities.

Although the alliance would have ties to the existing pro-gay campus group Spectrum, it would focus more on education and political activism, St. Clair said.

The fledgling alliance has an e-mail mailing list of about 30, he said.

John Leonard of the department of student activities is one of two volunteer alliance advisers.

"Awareness is key," he said. "It's still legal in 26 states for people to fire someone for their sexual orientation."

Although McDonnell recently issued a directive disallowing discrimination against state employees for any reason other than merit and performance, the degree of legal or administrative protection it provides gays and lesbians remains unknown.