LETTER: Use incident as wake-up call

Editor,

Allies on Campus wishes to extend our support to Rusty Rigby after an e-mail, sent by another student, jeopardized his candidacy for the position of ASUSU vice president for diversity and organizations by outing him as a gay student. We find this student’s homophobic statement to be hurtful, insensitive and a betrayal of trust. It was written to sway the outcome of an important student election, and apparently may have violated USU’s agreement on the proper usage of students’ e-mail accounts.

This incident demonstrates the need for continued dialogue on our campus on issues of diversity. It also demonstrates the need for USU’s Allies on Campus, a network of more than 120 trained faculty, staff and students who: 1) are committed to providing a “safe zone” for anyone dealing with sexual or gender orientation issues; 2) respect all people regardless of age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, race, religion or sexual orientation; and 3) believe that diversity enriches our lives.

Our university is a microcosm of a larger multicultural society. Allies believe that every person on our campus deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, irrespective of sexual orientation, religious, political, cultural and other differences. Religious beliefs cannot be used to justify hurtful acts toward others. Trained Allies hang an insignia on their office doors indicating their commitment to creating a welcoming and supportive campus environment where all opinions and views may be aired, and all students, faculty and staff feel safe and supported.

Let us use this unfortunate incident as a wake-up call to recommit ourselves to intellectual and civil dialogue on these issues and avoid, at all costs, the unfortunate human tendency to do harm.

Elizabeth York, Allies on Campus co-founder

Les Roka, Pride Alliance adviser