Treat everyone with ‘respect,’ not labels

On many occasions, I have heard President Michael Rao say two words:“civility”
and “respect.” Central Michigan University would be a much better place
if we all understood the fact that we each have our own set of ideals, morals,
beliefs and we should respect those and treat each other civilly, whether we agree
with them or not.
I completely agree with you, John Thorpe, that Brian Granstra and Brandon Hendrick,
two heterosexual males, are entitled to have and show pride in their sexual orientation
without fear of being condemned for it; and I hope that by members of the gay
and lesbian community showing pride in who we are, we helped Brian and Brandon
be proud of who they are.
From my own experience, it is not an easy accomplishment to be proud of who you
are, and the leading cause of suicide among lesbian and gay teenagers is the fear of being condemned for who they are will not allow them to be proud of
themselves. It is a spirit-lifting moment to finally be able to take pride in
yourself and your sexual orientation; and I applaud Brian and Brandon for coming
out and being proud.
Because Brian and Brandon are proud of who they are and their sexual orientation,
they hung posters on their door to express their pride, just like gay and lesbian
community members have posted flyers and hung posters all over campus during Gay
Pride Week. And, just like the members of the gay and lesbian community have experienced
here at CMU, Brian and Brandon’s posters were torn down and individuals chose
to write hurtful or hateful comments on their door.
There is a civil and respectful way to express your opposition and there is a
damaging or harassing way to express your opposition. Tearing down posters and/or
writing hurtful or hateful comments on someone’s door does not help or solve
any problems nor does it bridge any differences, it is neither civil nor respectful,
and it is the wrong thing to do.
I agree 100 percent with Sherry Bourgeois’ comment, “I don’t know what
the reason they hung the posters was. If it was to feel pride in their sexual
orientation then that is fine. If it was to dampen Gay Pride Week, that’s
sad.”
Though I am happy that Brian and Brandon are able to be proud enough in their
sexual orientation to want to display it to the world (or at least to those who
walk past their residence hall room), I ask them: Out of respect, why not leave
your heterosexual pride signs off of your door or add a [Straight but not narrow”
sign to your door and support the gay and lesbian community during Gay Pride Week
– not because you are gay or lesbian or that you agree with our sexual orientation
– but because you respect our struggle and encourage us to show pride in
ourselves, too.
If the heterosexual community, even the heterosexual community on this campus,
feels the need to have a Heterosexual Pride Week, I would support you, not because
I agree that you need a week, because personally I think every other week out
of the year is heterosexual week, whether you show your pride or not, but because
supporting you in showing your pride is the civil and respectful thing to do.
In closing, Mr. Thorpe, I ask you: Have you helped Brian and Brandon by publicizing
their negative experience on the front page of the newspaper or have you exploited
them? There are several offices on campus, including the Affirmative Action Office,
the Office of Residence Life, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Student
Ombuds Officer, the RHD, and even the RA, all of which you could have simply referred
Brian and Brandon to for help with their situation. Instead, you chose to sensationalize
the situation on the front page of the newspaper.
Certainly, some campus offices, as a response to the headline and article, may
have gone into action to rectify Brian and Brandon’s situation, but the offices
would have done so had Brian and Brandon come to them with their concerns and
they would have done so without exploiting them.
Jon Humiston is an administrative assistant in the Affirmative Action office and a member of the Association of Lesbian and Gay Faculty and Staff.