« Andy's Garage offers a unique environment | Main | Letter to the Editor: Resources available for victims of sexual assault »
March 15, 2005
Letter to the Editor: Hate is not part of the Hamline Plan
I am writing to draw attention to the hate crimes anonymously chalked on walls outside Osborn and Schilling residence halls. They were noticed on the morning of Wednesday, March 9, and read “Keep your shame in the closet” and “Marriage = Man + Woman.” Res. Life responded quickly to this incident by having the chalkings removed and contacting residential life staff and members of Spectrum, Hamline’s GLBTA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and ally) organization, as well as sending out a campus-wide e-mail.
I greatly appreciate this prompt response by Patti Klein and her coworkers, but I feel that the comments made should be addressed in the public sphere, as I believe the timing and nature of these anonymous comments highlight topics currently under discussion at Hamline and in the state of Minnesota.
The ongoing struggle for equal marriage rights is exactly that: ongoing. With the recent passage of state constitutional amendments prohibiting marriage equality in 11 states, a precedent of discrimination has clearly been set. The issue of limiting marriage rights in Minnesota has come before the Minnesota State House Civil Law and Elections Committee previously, and it has so far been defeated before going any further.
I hope that it will once again fail to advance on March 18 in Grand Rapids, but in the current climate of discrimination, I have good reason to be concerned. It is not that long ago that interracial marriage was illegal; working for marriage equality is everyone’s responsibility. We need to be more aware of what is going on in our state government and act on it.
It was pointed out by Manney Anderson in the March 8 issue of the Oracle that the U.S. military’s “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” (DADTDP) policy of discrimination against GLBT people has cost the military significantly not only in terms of funds, but also in manpower and the collective skills of its soldiers.
In that same issue, the Oracle reported that Hamline’s administration would continue to comply with the Solomon Amendment, failing to enforce its own nondiscrimination policy regarding military recruiters.
Dean Davenport tells us that “The risk is too great.” I would like to remind the dean of the risk that GLBT people face every day simply for being who they are in a country rife with homophobia and bigotry.
Coming out is an ongoing process, one that can be empowering if done in a supportive environment, not one that seeks to push you back into the closet. It upsets me that others would want to impose their bigotry on our otherwise tolerant and accepting community. Hamline has always made it clear to me that there is no “shame” in being who I am and being proud of it. I would like to ask the people who chalked in the Heights: Are you proud of what you did? If so, why not come out and say who you are? I have.
Katelynn Jensen
CLA Student
Posted by msveum at March 15, 2005 01:44 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)