Homophobia not dead
Re: Sexual preference no reason for levy, Mar. 15
Noel Semple’s response to my article about the 69 cent LGBTOUT levy contains significant misrepresentations.
It is highly disingenuous to suggest that my article “invoked the old homophobia bugbear” to justify the levy. First of all, homophobia is hardly imaginary. For many students, it is a lived reality. Second, LGBTOUT called for financial support not because of homophobia, but because queer students need to be empowered to advocate for change and create services that represent them. LGBTQ students should not have to hope for straight-dominated groups and societies to do what they think is best for us. Semple apparently has no problem with queer student dollars being spent on events that focus on the needs of heterosexuals.
Semple, who during his unsuccessful run for SAC prez in 2002 claimed to be in favour of giving more power and money to student groups, now wants to exclude groups that “identify themselves by the sexual behaviour of their members.” He notes that he’d be willing to support a student levy for a U of T food bank, homeless shelter, or psychiatric counselling facility.
Presumably he is unaware that 30 per cent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, and that stress related to sexual orientation leads LGBTQ youth to attempt suicide at a rate 2-3 times higher than their heterosexual peers. LGBTOUT and organizations like ours are working to try to change things, to raise awareness and acceptance of sexual diversity in society so that LGBTQ students and youth don’t need to feel helpless, hopeless and alone. It’s great that Semple claims to have “gotten used” to queers. It’s not enough.
Paul Bowser
LGBTOUT member
Riposte re: posters
Re: Language ban revisited, Mar. 15
I am writing in response to Mr. Stephen Kwon’s misleading letter.
I would like to clarify the fact that the Elections Committee Chair does not single-handedly control the Elections or the codes that govern them! The Chief Returning Officer, the Board of Directors, and the Elections Committee all take part.
It is inaccurate to blame me personally for the decision of a seven-member committee to request that posters be in English or French.
A more grossly misrepresentative inaccuracy is to condemn me for this act, and never mention the remedy: Why does Stephen Kwon not mention that it was I who within three days of the original policy passing brought forward a motion to the Elections Committee to allow multi-lingual posters?
Why does Mr. Stephen Kwon allege that I do not want students whose first language is not English on SAC when my first language is not English, and I along with the Students Administrative Council have clearly supported students from many ethnic and national backgrounds getting involved in campus leadership roles?
My sense is that Kwon was hoping to score cheap political points for one of the candidates by getting publicity for a cause that is dead. SAC allowed multi-lingual posters on March 2nd.
Now, two weeks later, neither Justin Kim nor any other candidate has designed a multi-lingual poster. What a waste of the Elections Committee’s and students’ time!
Alexandra Artful-Dodger
VP Operations, SAC
Local 98, CFS
Security wall or land grab?
Re: Security fence has a purpose, Mar. 15
The wall is not built in “Israel,” but mostly in the illegally occupied Palestinian Arab territories in the West Bank. Also, Zionist terrorists and murderers have been massacring tens of thousands of Palestinians for decades. If anything, it should be the Palestinians that build a separation wall to protect themselves from Sharon and his ilk.
Lastly, if Sharon’s wall is purely about protecting his people from militants, why not build it on the so-called “Green Line?” Why does it dig deep into the West Bank and encroach on Palestinian lands so much? The wall is nothing but a land grab, simple as that. It is the latest in Sharon’s numerous tactics to pre-emptively annex as much Arab soil as possible before negotiations towards a final settlement.
Peter Riad
Oops
Re: Sexual preference no reason for levy, Mar. 15
I noticed an error in one of the pieces you printed. “The ROSI vote this week isn’t a referendum on homosexuality; it’s a request from a student club for a quarter of a million dollars of your money.”
I’m pretty sure that $25,000 is one tenth of a quarter of a million dollars.
Aaron J. Meyers
