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History of the GSA
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EDITORIAL
Earvin "Magic" Johnson's shocking revelation that he had tested HIV positive is truly a tragedy. For a man that positively affected billions with his athelitc prowess and decent conduct on and off the court, his contraction of the fatal AIDS virus will affect people in an entirely different way. As should be expected from this class individual, he will use his unfortunate circumstance to help others. With the same vigor with which he dunked basketballs and assisted his teammates, he will put out the message that NONE of us are invincible. One regretful sexual or drug-related experience is all it takes.
Whether Magic was a homosexual, cheated on his wife or used an unclean needle does not matter now. What does matter is that we all realize, especially while we are young and vibrant, it only takes one slip-up and our lives can come to an abrupt end. Magic Johnson is only one of millions to contract the AIDS virus. But what sets him apart from the others is that as a heroic public figure, he shows us that EVERYONE is subject to this dreaded disease. If a vibrant personality with exceptional athletic talents can contract AIDS, so can the intelligent college student. Remember that!
SEG
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"Editorial," November 12, 1991
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Magic Johnson
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Opinions Editor Steven Grubb argues that the cause of Magic Johnson's contraction of AIDS doesn't matter; rather, we should learn from him and protect ourselves.
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Steven E Grubb, Opinions Editor
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The Grizzly
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Ursinus College
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November 12, 1991
AIDS
HIV
homosexual
Magic Johnson
-
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History of the GSA
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To: The Grizzly
From: Ronald E. Hess, Professor of Chemistry
Date: 12 November 1991
Topic: Letter to the Editor
On Saturday, November 9, I watched proTheatre's marvelous production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a play which deals with the injustice perpetrated by intolerance, the absence of compassion, and the holier-than-thou attitude of overzealous Christians. On Tuesday, November 12, I read John Ronning's vile diatribe directed at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and Collegeville, Pennsylvania in 1991! It is sad to see that some things never change, even in the ivory tower. Mr. Ronning,"Judge not, that you be not judged" [Matthew 7:1].
____________________________________________
Dear Editor and Ursinus Community,
In John Ronning's letter regarding GALA, printed in the November 12th issue of the Grizzly, he presented some of his emphatic opinions as fact, and strongly implied a number of erroneous points. I would like to offer an alternative perspective on some of these points and indicate the non-factual status of others.
First, Mr. Ronning considers it "cruel" to allow peers to help one another sort out conflicting ideas about their sexuality; but many other people do not regard this as cruel. Rather, some consider the possibility of having a venue within which it is SAFE to discuss sexuality a real service to young adults. Whether hetero- or homosexual, many individuals struggle while coming to terms with their sexual identities.
Certainly the hostility toward homosexuality evinced in Mr. Ronning's letter indicates that, at least in some areas, the climate remains particularly unsafe for homosexual and bisexual students.
Second, Mr. Ronning equated "normal, healthy" people with those who find "homosexual acts" a source of "disgust and revulsion." Since many, many "normal, healthy" people do not share this attitude, Mr. Ronning's correlation is a troubling logical lapse--one made especially troubling given that the letter is from one trained in a rigorously logical intellectual field.
Third, despite Mr. Ronning's implications to the contrary, gay culture is exciting as is straight culture. However, both certainly do include sub-cultures which are neither representative of the whole, nor necessarily appealing to all people. To equate the part with the whole is both inaccurate and a disservice to readers who are unfamiliar with the culture--and who therefore may assume Mr. Ronning's representation as accurate.
Mr. Ronning's "counter-offer" is considerate, in that some people do wish to deny their sexuality--and now the ones who do on this campus know one place to turn for assistance. But Mr. Ronning's frightening logical leaps in the same paragraph in which he made this offer make it all too evident that his own strong feelings have temporarily overridden his training in logic and reason. This stance makes me wonder if he can even-handedly assist students dealing with a matter as delicately and potentially fraught with turmoil as is this one.
While I do disagree with Mr. Ronning's assessments, I am writing laregly to indicate the holes in the logical fabric of his argument. For were one to read his letter without care and attention, one might be wayed by the vehemence of his words. Siince we live in a culture in which both science and teachers are accorded authority, his appending "Physics Department" after his name might serve not only to identitify him but also implicitly to promise an apparently undeserved credibility to him as an author. As members of an intellectual community, we must demand that people address serious issues with all of the critical skills they have at their disposal; we must insist that those who can contribute to the community as teachers do not indicate--by example or otherwise--that an argument based solely on "revulsion" is a viable argument.
Sincerely,
Dr. Margot A. Kelley
Dear Editor:
The opinion written by John Ronning in last week's Grizzly was the saddest piece of work that I have read in many years. Though he pretended to offer advice to homosexuals, the venom in his letter made clear that its purpose was to hurt, not to help. What would possess anyone to publicly vent such feelings of hatred and loathing for other human beings? What could be the motive behind such deliberate cruelty? It certainly could not be a Christian motive. Though I am by no means an authority on Christ's teachings, even I know that hatred and cruelty have no place in His religion. Mr. Ronning should search in his heart to learn the source of his anger, for it seems terrible indeed, and could harm him as deeply as it does others.
Robert Dawley
Biology Department
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"Faculty Members Speak Out," November 19, 1991
Subject
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Ronning's Letter on GALA
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Ronald Hess, Margot Kelley, and Robert Dawley speak out again John Ronning's letter.
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Ronald Hess, Margot Kelley, and Robert Dawley.
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The Grizzly
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Ursinus College
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November 19, 1991
Crucible
Dawley
faculty
GALA
Hess
homosexual
Kelley
Ronning
-
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History of the GSA
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Dear Editors:
In response to John Ronning's letter describing, quite graphically, his aversion to GALA, we offer the following response:
1)Sexual preference is not a matter of choice. With the exception of fundamentalist right-wing kooks, everyone pretty much accepts this principle as a fact. Numerous scientific studies have shown that "curing" homosexuals is only successful when the patients are carefully screened beforehand and have had a great deal of hetersexual experience (Davidson 1976). Other "follow-up" research shows that very few "cured" homosexuals remain wholly hetersexual. Past "cures" have included hypnosis, intensive psychoanlysis, prefrontal lobotomy, electroconsulsive shock treatment, chemical castration, aversion therapy, and many other barbaric methods (McGonaghy, Procter, & Barr, 1972).
2) At no time has GALA ever referred to the homophobic tendendies of closed-minded bigots as a "mental illness." Is racism a "mental illness?" How about sexism? Is intolerance and hate-mongering a "Mental illness?" If GALA considered your homophobia to be a mental illness, we would gladly put you in touch with a group of "ex-homophobes" that could help you avoid that short, miserable lifestyle. Of course, this offer is based on the conviction that homophobia is an unfamiliar perversion. Sound familiar?
3) Ronning's rather foolish belief that homosexuals "live with one disease after another, and die young," is yet another example of ludicrous self-delusion. Unhealthy sexual practices and sexually-transmitted diseases are not limited to homosexuals. Last week's announcement by Magic Johnson proves that point. Most gay men and lesbians today are hyper-aware of safe sexual practices.
4) Attempting to link homosexuality to all of Ronning's graphic sexual acts is nothing more than old-fashioned ignorance. Not all gay people engage in the activities he listed. Nor are these activities engaged in exclusively by homosexuals. Heterosexuals outnumber homosexuals ten to one. Statistically it is ridiculous to say that all sexual perversity is practiced within ten percent of the population, while the other ninety percent have uniform sexual practices. GALA is the GAY AND LESBIAN ALLIANCE, not the "whatever-sexual-leanings alliance." So don't ask us to open up to necrophiliacs, pedophiles, and those who practice bestiality. GALA wouldn't want that many heterosexuals in our group anyway.
5) If normal sexual behavior is not to be defined as "non-mastrubating, non-pre-marital, non-pornographic, non-oral, non-anal, non-fantasy, non-anything-but-you-and-your-spouse-under-the-covers-lights-out-missionary-position-for-producing-children-sex," then Ronning has quite a task ahead of himself. If two consenting adults engage in sexual activity in the privacy of their own home, who cares if they want to urinate on each other? Couldn't Ronning spend his excess energy feeding the poor or sheltering the homeless, or doing something more important than standardizing the sexual habits of a nation? Homosexuals are not the only group that is threatened. After we are "cured," who is next? Will these fundamentalist right-wingers stop there? Don't count on it. I ask Ronning: What are your views on divorce, birth control, pre-marital sex, inter-racial marriage, or working women?
To end this letter with a question, I ask: "How tolerant should we be of intolerance?" In a time where "political correctness" is becoming a dirty word, what is the "proper resposne" to mis-informed bigots? How many will not contest this lunatic under the meager excuse, "everyone's entitled to his opinion." Everyone is entitled: So voice your disagreement. Send a message to close-minded, bigoted, extremist, fanatical, narrow, prejudiced, intolerant zealots on this campus and beyond.
Respectuflly submitted,
Michael Cyr, Jeffrey Bell, Elisabeth Hauser
GALA Executive Committee
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"Gala Replies to Letter," November 19, 1991
Subject
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John Ronning's letter to the editor.
Description
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The Executive Committee members offer a strong rebuke of John Ronning's letter and sentiments.
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Michael Cyr, Jeffrey Bell, and Elisabeth Hauser.
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The Grizzly
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Ursinus College
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November 19, 1991
Bell
Cyr
extremist
GALA
Hauser
homosexual
Ronning
-
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History of the GSA
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Dear Editor,
To those who expressed appreciation for my November 12th letter, particularly those gutsy enough to do so in print: thank you for your support.
To those who told me to mind my own business: I point out (again) that I was solicited by GALA in a letter to faculty which stated, among other things, their intention to combat "homophobia" (GALA has their own private definition for the word, but those who invented the term knew that phobia is used in compound words to indicate irrational fear; thus "homophobia" would have the ring of "mental disorder"--precisely the message they wanted to convey). My letter was a response to their announced intention to attack my value system. If GALA is going to peddle their perversion in public then they shouldn't whine about persecution when someone who doesn't go along with it point out what's really being sold.
To those who said I should offer "proof" that homosexuals really do the things that I listed: I refer you to GALA's November 19th letter, under point 4): "Not all gay people engage in the activies he listed." They denied something I didn't say (that all gays do all the things I listed) because they can't deny what I did say (that such things are characteristic of gay culture). The Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (to which Joyce Lionarons so helpfully referred me in her letter) describes the gay lifestyle as a "markedly hedonistic lifestyle, which includes drug usage, frequent change of sexual partners, and a restless search for new diversions and gratifications." I simply detailed some typical "gratifications" gays pursure, and asked if that's what Michael Cyr meant when he said he wanted some recruits to whom he could show (by demonstration, I presume) the wonderful and exciting features of gay culture (he has yet to answer). I left out anal intercourse and oral-genital sex because I'm sure that's not news to anybody. To those interested in further documentation I'll gladly provide it.
To those who accused me of hatred, rage, and venom: there is a difference between disgust of certain acts, and hatred of people who do them. If that were not the case, then I can charge you who expressed disgust at my views with hatred towards me. What justifies your hatred but not that of others?
To those who expressed the opinion that our society is now more tolerant than in the past, and that this represents progress: I point to the personal attacks agaisnt me expressed in the last two issues of this paper, with all their vilification and hysteria, as proof that our society has merely changed the thing of which it is intolerant. In another age the words "vile" and "criminal" would be used without controversy to describe homosexual acts (which were in fact, and still are in half the states, criminal felonies or misdemeanors for which homosexuals could be locked up for the rest of their unnatural lives). In the present, Dr. Hess uses the word "vile" to describe my exposure of those acts, and Lionarons says my opinions are ignorance, which is nearly "criminal." Is that progress, or the evidence of a sick society?
To those who quoted Scripture or otherwise referred to the teachings of Jesus in order to advise me about how I should behave or think: I suggest you read the whole book. You'll find that the same One who said "Judge not, that you be not judged" (aren't you judging me, Dr. Hess?) also said "Stop judging by mere appreances, and make a righteous judgment." Context indicates that the standard of righteousness he was referring to was the Law of Moses, which repeatedly describes homosexual acts with the word "abomination." (Moses' first Book also has the record of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which the men of Sodom used the "judge not" line against Lot when he objected to their demand to hand over this guests so that they could practice their deviant homosexual gratifications on them.) Those who want a hero for tolerance won't find one in Jesus. And who did Paul have in mind when he siad "it is disgusting even to mention the things they do in secret?"
To Dr. Kelley, who insisted that gay culture is exciting, I suppose driving down the street at 140 mph or robbing a bank would be exciting too. The question is whether such behavior should be encouraged as a particular "orientation" or wanred against as a moral perversion that harms the individual and society. Your detection of a "troubling, logical lapse" in my letter seems to be due to an assumption on your part that by "normal, healthy" I mean those who are merely not homosexual. That is not what I meant. In my opinion, heterosexuals who do not find homosexual acts disgusting have a real problem, just as you no doubt think people who don't find my opinions disgusting have a problem. Our disagreement is not over logic, but values. You also misrepresented me by saying that I said it was cruel "to allow peers to help one another." I said it was cruel to hand a student over to a group that was going to hurt, not help him or her. Again you disagree; but if you have to twist my words then you are confessing that your argument is weak.
To Kathy Gretzenburg: thank you for showing by your use of analogy that the charge of "hatred and bigotry" against me is as silly as charging George Bush with bigotry for pointing out in his campaign that Michael Dukakis regularly let convicted 1st degree murderers out of prison for unsupervised weekend furloughs--like Willie Horton who decided to go to Maryland and rape and sodomize a young woman and torture her fiance. Thank you also for agreeing that gay acts are "lewd and disgusting."
To the GALA Executive Committee: I nominate you for "hypocrites of the year" award for preaching "tolerance" in your diatribe against "fundamentalist right wing kooks," "closed minded bigots," "ludicrous self delusion," "old fashioned ignorance," "these fundamentalist right wingers," "misinformed bigots," "this lunatic," and "closed minded, bigoted, extremist, fanatical, narrow, prejudiced, intolerant zealots." This should also get you the ad hominem and name calling awards and these others:
The "pseudo-science award" for classifying as "kooks" the tens of millions who disagree with your claim that "sexual preference is not a matter of choice." Is that the politically correct way to prove a point? It's interesting that in 1970, only 9% of homosexuals believed they were "born that way." I guess that means 91% of homosexuals at that time were "right wing fundamentalist kooks?" From your long list of cures that don't work you omit that one that has been working for 2,000 years. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, "That is what some of you were [i.e. homosexuals, adulterers, crooks, and tohers whom he said would not inherit the kingdom of God.] But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." That it is difficult to get out of the gay lifestyle is granted (the same is true of crack cocaine addiction). All the more reason not to get into it.
The "straw man award" for attacking positions I never took. I didn't say all gays do the things I listed--but what I did say is true and much more could be added. Neither did I saw [sic] that perversions are confined strictly to homosexuals--but it is a fact that they are far more characteristic of the gay community (which has cute names for them like "fisting" and "golden showers," I left out "rimming" in my first letter; placing the tongue in the anus), and heterosexuals who engage in them did not form a campus group and solicit my support (or they would have heard from me too). Nor did I say that STD's and unhealthy practices are confined to gays--but again, such things are rampant int he gay community to a much greater extent (as is well known in the medical community). If it is "ludicrous self delusion" to suggest that men should stay away from gay culture like the plague, then why is it that the Red Cross will take my blood but not yours? Even before AIDS, some health officials advocated exclusion of homosexual men as blood donors because of the prevlance of Hepatitis A and B (and now C) in gays. Way back in 1980, the homosexual newspaper The Sentinel said that the "risk of contracting disease among gay persons is approimately ten times that of persons in the general populaiton."
The "change in the subject award" for asking my position on other issues. Adoption of this strategy is an admission that you can't win the debate. But since you asked; on divorce: it's one of the greatest tragedies that can befall a family, as those who have been affected by it can tell you. On birth control; I'll give you a hint--in three years of marriage I've had two children, and we hope God gives us ten more (and we'll raise them to think just like us!). On pre-marital sex; I agree wholeheartedly with Daniel Flickinger's letter printed November 19th. On inter-racial marriage; my opinion is the same as my opinion of non-inter-racial marriage. On working women--what's the question?
To Joyce Lionarons: you make a list of charges agianst me almost as long as GALA's (I'll give you 1st runner up in name calling), which altogether only amount to a mere assertion that what I said was not true. Not one fact, reference, etc, to back up any of your assertions, not one reference to my letter to illustrate what in the world you are ranting about (eg, what are my "tacit assumptions" that you mentioned; and why does the listing of typical gay behavior constitute "pornographic fantasy?"). You do provide some condescending advice where I can go to get educated out of my "little less than criminal" "ignorance" (i.e., indoctrinated in political correctness). It turns out the source you mentioned confirms much of what I said in my letter (I cited only one example above), even though it comes from the perspective of GALA and can hardly be considered an objective work (for example; readers may be surprised to find out that, according to this Encyclopedia, the only reason most of us don't practice anal intercourse is not because it is repulsive, unnatural, or extremely unhealthy, but because we have happened to have found more pleasurable things to do). You shield yourself against the extensive evidence contradictory to your beliefs by saying that virtually all "reputable" research in all relevant fields agrees with you; evidently the criterion by which research is judged "reputable" is whether it agrees with you! That would be arrogant even for experts in those fields; you are an expert in none of them (I never claimed to be but I can read and think independently). I'll let you share the "pseudo-science award" with the GALA executive committee.
I knew that my letter would be about as popular in some circles as sunshine in a bats' cave. I would prefer to carry on discussion in the more moderate tone of Andrew Economopoulos' excellent letter (which will likely be ignored or dismissed with a contemptuous sniff by the P.C. crowd). I tried to craft a letter that would not only state my position but also put GALA and their allies into their unthinking, cliche spouting mode in which they would condemn themselves far better (and more believably) than I could do by myself, thereby letting everyone see what GALA is really all about. Mike Evans' letter of November 26 describes how my strategy succeeded, and I must say, far beyond what I expected.
Moses described two world views as "the way of life, and the way of death." I hope that readers of The Grizzly can now tell more easily which is which.
Sincerely,
John Ronning
_____________
Correction:
The second sentence in the fourth paragraph of Mike Evans' letter to the editor in the November 19 issue was printed incorretly. It should have read: "In their zeal to discredit Ronning's perceived message, his detractors stumble through their efforts without understanding or improving upon the devices of his letter." We apologize for the error.
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"The Last Word from Ronning," December 10, 1991
Subject
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Ronning's final word on the GALA controversy.
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Ronning thanks his supporters and rebukes his detractors--in detail.
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John Ronning
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The Grizzly
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Ursinus College
Date
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December 10, 1991
AIDS
Cyr
GALA
gay
Hess
homosexual
Lionarons
-
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6ebb104d7a102b2cfeb174776951ebb9
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History of the GSA
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As Americans, we are guranteed the freedom of speech by the First Amendment of the Constitution. This amendment does not, however, gurantee that what we write will be of good opinion or in good taste. In the last issue of The Grizzly, two faculty letters expressed views concerning the recently founded Ursinus chapter of GALA. Generally, I feel (as I believe a majority of the students at Ursinus feel) that students look to the faculty not only as experienced teachers of selected subject matter, but also human beings with a greater understanding of life. Therefore, it would seem that a faculty letter regarding GALA would give substantial reasoning for why GALA should or should not exist at Ursinus in the context of the school rather than based on personal judgement.
While I feel that everyone has the right to express their opinion, I believe that Mr. Ronning's letter in the last issue of the paper did not even attempt to relate GALA to the context of the school or to the need it would provide a certain poriton of the student body. Instead, Mr. Ronning's article attempted to explain the reasoning behind why he felt "homosexualitiy is an unhealthy perversion" rather than why he felt the GALA organization should not exist. For a man of science, surprisingly, Ronning's article lacked scientific reasoning and proof. Ronning created a stereotype in which he explicitly suggested the sexual practices of the entire homosexual population. Does he feel the sexual practices of the entire heterosexual population are "normal" in comparison? To prove this assumption false, one has merely to turn on the news or glance at a newspaper to hear of the strange (may I even suggest perverse) practices of a percentage of the hetersexual population. As a heterosexual person, I would not like to be placed in a stereotype with many of the heterosexual people that frequent singles bars and clubs across the country. I think it is just as ridiculous to assume that all homosexuals participate in the practices that Ronning offers as "regular features of gay culture." Stereotyping all homosexuals as perverse, raging sex fiends allows those that Mr. Ronning considers "normal, healthy people" to continue to debase the homosexual population and deny the validity of their existence. To accept homosexuals as people who are capable of monogamous, loving relationships would mean admitting that they are similar to "normal, healthy" heterosexuals.
In consideration of Mr. Ronning's feelings regarding the safety of homosexual actions, many diseases that were known originally to have been spread throughout the homosexual population are now prevalent among hetersexual populations. With the recent announcement of Magic Johnson's contaction of the AIDS virus, many people were awakened to the fact that AIDS does not discriminate, and to the fact that even heterosexual practices can lead to contraction of the diesease. It is impossible to question the safety of homosexual practices without quesitoning the practice of all sexual human beings.
As for Ursinus in regard to the GALA, no one has to like the organization, people mrely have to accept it and the needs of the students it is serving. GALA has had some complications surrounding its beginning on campus, but these complications arise in any college organization. GALA has been approved by the Student Activites Committee (SAC) and does plan to provide activities such as speakers, programs, and awareness evetns. Dr. Oboler's letter published in last week's Grizzly stated that SAC is "debating as to whether the campus will beneift from the organization." Would an organization take the trouble to approach SAC with a proposed constitution if it was not serious in its intentions? In what other campus clubs are people putting their lifestyle on the line in order to gain campus recognition as a legitimate organization? Letters like Mr. Ronning's (who sadly represents a significant portion of the country's population) should remind us that the time has come to accept people who are different from ourselves. Although some of society has changed its opinion to the point of tolerating homosexuality, many others are still classified as "homophobes." Perhaps it is wrong to belive that all unaware and uncomfortable people suffer from "homophobia." In that case, the services GALA plans to provide through programs and speakers should help to educate the portion of the campus population that is unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with homosexuality. As Dr. Oboler stated in her letter last week, "I believe that all students will benefit from any organization that makes efforts towards increasing appreciation of diversity."
The preamble of the Constitution gives all United States citizens the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The time has come for these rights to extend beyond hetersexual people to include all people. As human beings, the time has come to accept that other people have needs which differ from our own, and that we may possibly benefit from the views and opinions of others. Mr. Ronning's opinion served the college community well; it made others strengthen and reevaluate their own opinions concerning the GALA organization. Unfortunately, I don't believe society will move in a positive direction if people continue to hold opinions similar to Mr. Ronning.
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"Writing in Good Taste," November 19, 1991
Subject
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John Ronning's letter on GALA
Description
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Ellen R. Sylvester, the Assistant Opinions Editor, argues that Ronning's letter was harmful and stereotyped the homosexual populaiton.
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Ellen R. Sylvester
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The Grizzly
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Ursinus College
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
November 19, 1991
AIDS
GALA
homosexual
homosexuality
Magic Johnson
Oboler
Ronning
Sylvester