About 150 people took part in the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s first-ever Lambda Symposium Feb. 1. Staged by Penn LGBT group Lambda Law, the daylong “Beyond Formal Equality: The Fight for LGBT Rights” featured panel discussions on such topics as anti-bullying, employment nondiscrimination and the LGBT-equality measures needed in the military. Speakers included Azeem Hill (from top), a staff member at the Philadelphia Student Union, who served on the youth-focused panel; out Penn Law Dean of Students Gary Clinton, who delivered the opening remarks; and former Congressman Patrick Murphy, who spearheaded the DADT repeal and served on the military panel. Organizers called the event’s theme “intentionally optimistic.” “As the constitutionality of [the Defense of Marriage Act] comes before the Supreme Court, the military works to implement the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and President Obama continues to reference LGBT issues from the bully pulpit, legal equality for the LGBT community has never been closer to reality,” organizers said, noting, however, that events such as the symposium are integral in pursuing the question, “in a world with legally mandated protections for the LGBT community, how do we ensure actual — rather than just formal — equality?” Scott Drake