COLUMN: Discrimination not good for campus
As many of you have already heard or seen, the rally to petition gay marriage last Wednesday has already stirred up quite a bit of controversy. I, for one, am not polarized nearly as much as the rest of the country seems to be right now on this issue.
On the other hand, I do have a big problem with a rally that bribes people to sign their petition by giving out free wedding cake, and hearing bits and pieces of the College Republicans’ speech while passing by that are completely degrading to homosexuals. Hearing things like, “Who here hates homosexuals?” followed by a group of people cheering afterward really makes me think about how the dignity and respect toward other people will never be at a sub-par level in this country.
There is a way people should carry out a rally, and there is a way people should not carry out a rally. A rally usually does not consist of gathering people up to breed hate against a particular group; that would be discrimination. And this particular way to not carry out a rally is exactly what happened last Wednesday.
In my opinion, the College Republicans should at least make an attempt to be respectful to those they do not agree with, not bribe people to sign something with that degree of importance by giving out free food, and most of all, watch what they say in public.
A message for those “vocal dissenters”: Thank you. I thank you for being brave enough to stand up for what is right. I thank you for keeping an open mind and challenging others to do the same.
This issue is huge in this country right now. The last thing we need is a group going out to breed hate against a segregated group of society. You can’t erase words, so don’t make a mark you’ll regret later.
For those of you who signed the petition, I have a few questions. Do you understand what you were agreeing with by signing that petition? Do you even care what side you’re on, or was it just for the free cake? Do you support the College Republicans’ actions from Wednesday?
Lastly, I have a few things just for the College Republicans. Please, if anything, release some kind of public statement apologizing for those you might have offended. Right the wrong. You can still disagree with what they are doing in San Francisco, but don’t conduct rallies for open discrimination against the gay community. Train a public speaker who isn’t going to blurt out things that would offend so many people in the first place. All of this turmoil could have been avoided if you were willing to do so.
I apologize if I offended anyone with this article. I thought it would be nice to speak out against hate at USU. If anyone has any questions, or anything they would like to tell me, feel free to send me an e-mail. I would love to hear others’ opinions on this matter.
Brandon Gibson is a freshmen majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to bgibson@cc.usu.edu.