The following article was submitted to the Grizzly on October 9th. It is meant to respond directly to the verbal harassment and comments overheard by students while chalking. Due to fall break, and the specific deadline of the Grizzly, this article was not published until October 23, 2008, when the situation had escalated to include "counter-chalking." This article, however, does not intend to address that issue, and a response to those incidences involve a very different tone should they ever be published.
As follows:
On October 8, the Ursinus College Gay-Straight Alliance sponsored an annual campus-wide event where Ursinus students use sidewalk chalk to write positive messages of encouragement to closeted members of the study body. The events marks the Ursinus celebration of National Coming Out Day, which seeks to encourage openness in the LGBTQA community. Unfortunately, Ursinus LGBTQA students were not the only ones coming out of the closet: underlying homophobia comes out as well. Homophobic sentiments are expressed loudly and clearly within ear-shot of students participating in the event and closeted students at whom the messages are directed. These homophobic sentiments discourage closeted and even openly LGBTQA individuals from expressing who they are as human beings. Although all of the participants and allies are proud to see support literally all over campus, this homophobia is extremely detrimental and demonstrates a lack of respect for fellow students and faculty members who are being honored on this day.
As the Gay-Straight Alliance of Ursinus, we are here to foster love, equality and acceptance between all people, and embrace all of our differences. However, on this day in particular, we seek to celebrate the differences in the LGBTQA community. It is disturbing that universal values like love, equality and acceptance would be demeaned on a campus that prides itself on being an enlightened liberal arts community, simply because they encourage and celebrate LGBTQA students.We ask you all to please remember the importance of these values, and the dignity of your fellow students as human beings, every day, but especially on those days we seek to celebrate them.
The Gay-Straight Alliance and its Exec Board
[discrepancies due to typos and/or Grizzly editting]
[direct link the to the Grizzly PDF here]
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I'm a freshman this year ('09-'10). I saw the chalked messages in October, and I sincerely hope that there was less, if not a complete absence of harassment this time around! I haven't witnessed any discrimination here, but I realize that such derogatory sentiments still exists, even on an "enlightened" campus like Ursinus.
ReplyDeleteGay? Fine by me! ;]