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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1993)
: u mi THE LAST CIVIL RIGHTS FIGHT? v Activism in the collegiate gay community reaches a new level TrM Fromm* (toft) and nwmton of Qu**r Campua at U. of ttotewara Mpraaa gay prid*. R\ Miilulc I hcl)uil\ Hamm. I .of Iciinrxxrr Modeling iht*11 i.d in s aftri i.idu .il oigani/atinns like- yurri Nation, known lot its militant shock value ai none, these students liavr adopted what thrs trier to at an "ill vour-face" atti tude Frommr. a gav at imd, oigam/rd a Qurri < ampus i Itaptrr in ( h tolirt HWI at the I ol Delaware "Il wae getting to the point where I was treling mote radii a) measures were nriTiMn Irrtaitsr the ion sr tvativr route wasn't get ting through." tie savs I hr idea behind Queer ( a in p 11 s is to "support ipierr pride and enjov our selves while at the same tune, using tn-voui -fat e' methods to heterosexuals and hoinophobu I-1online saw 1 ol Delaware s Qurri Campus organic rd a lienrfit SK race for \I!)S research, whrtr parttiipants dressed in drag. I lies also |>om lontiosri sial liters t aming messages like "Sue k tin k. lit k i lit, homophobia's got to quit." and "Hoinoxcxualilx. a tiuh Creek tradition* with an accompanying photo ol two naked men kissing, with the words "Ms brother tan Ink sour brother." fflorts like these base elicited varied responses from heterosexual students Some claim the tactics arc just plain offensive rather Tres Fromme, a gav student at thr I’, of Delaware, first came lace u> lac e with hetero sexism when he was harassed lor kissing Im boyfriend on campus I le wore a T-shirt with the word "lag" on it; his friend wore a shirt depicting two men kissing I wo passersbv began mix king them — harassing them in a stereotypical affected gas male voice When they called campus police. Fromme savs the responding officer's attitude was anything but sympathet ic With I-shirts like that - what did they expect? Fromme says he was angry. "1 mean what is the differenc e between that and the frat boy who wears a T-shirt about why beer is better than women?" he savs. In an attempt to address perceived homophobic cli mates on campus, homosexual students like fromme now are taking bolder steps to heighten their visibility and acceptance nationwide. They want to create an environ ment in which images like Harrs and Sails are balanced with equal representation from Harrs and Bob. And to achieve this parity, homosexuals are using shocking, near ly militant tactics and graphic imagery to attract attention. Groups like Queer Campus, Students Honestly Opening L'p Together and Strong Queers United In Stopping Heterosexism have surfaced on college campus es as a result of what some gav activists call "the last great civil rights movement." (tun persuasive Joseph Dus, president of «he Student Government Association al Northeastern l,'.. savs he does not believe these are effective methods tor confronting die issue. “A sc are tactic will make the homophobic not like the organization even more If anything, scare tactics will nuke homophobics worse." Ihas saw Hut homosexuals do not necessarilv perceive their actions as scare tactic s or even radical Students at the U. of Nebraska, lancoln. staged a kiss-m as an awareness activ itv but did not consider it to be a radical measure. *A kisx-m. I mean what are people doing — thev are doing something heterosexuals do everyday. It reallv should not be that shocking," saw Vanessa Spencer, co director of die Ciav. lesbian. Bisexual Student Association there. Militant tactics on college campuses also confront hel erosexism and attempt to change altitudes about sexual orientations, savs Adriane Carrier, president of (lay. lesbian Bisexual Students United at California Stale L'., Icing Beach Queer Nation long Beach, 95 percent of which is nude up of Cal State students, put up billboards depicting het erosexual couples in bed and the slogan: "We don't care what vou do in vour bedrcxnns" written undemeadi ".Some students were pissed off but there were those who said. 'Oh, I never thought of it that way.’* she savs. John (analis, a student at Cal State, long Beach, says he supports thr use ol udu>il inr.i%mr% ‘I think lli.it thru tut tit' are gn«Kl I think people nerd to Ik- shot kt-d " S|K-iun sals homosexuals tired to make .1 statement to the hrlrrn«cxual t ummumtv *We ran do all tin- tiling you tlo. ntdon It air what vt hi think You will np|)ir» in annul'hr uu Kvrn though (^iirri ( aiupii' rtnplovs ladii al tai In I-fortune va" hr tirlirvr' a conservative 'idr ol gat ai tni'iii t' nrrdrd on i ampin tot hataiii r "Delinilrly hoth approai hr' air I input taut W r i an ino'r ahead and push timin' and tlio tan 'inooth timin' out." ( >nr ol the "tin-"" who mtnht hair to 'iniMitli timin' out n Wallet (iadrtki, vur pir'idrnl ol the Northra'trin I Kisevunl. larshianand(w»\ A'VKiation Hr '.IV' the | m il it it al goals of gtoup' hkr Qurri ( ampin dilTrrrntiatr them liom tanipus organizations that exist loi 'tipp<it t and awairnr" Km hr supports the mrssagr radii al gtoup' rx|Miund “You kimw who thrv air, don’t you? A lot ol people think thrv go too l.u and ollrnd Km othris will sav it’s time to be offended ’ 0 ► Affidavit fuels fires The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps has stirred up more controversy with it* decision to make midshipmen repav scholarship money if they refuse to sign an affidavit denouncing homosexual behavior m the military. In the wake of President Bill Clinton's plan to lift (tic Department of Defense policy prohibiting gavs I from the armed servic es, some see this as a vindictive measure against gays and lesbians. "Now the Navy is making gay people pay for the Navy's discrimination,’ says William Rubenstein, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Lesbian and Cay Rights Project. ’It's McCarthyism.* But Lt. Bob Carcia, spokesman for the Office of Navy Information-West, says the clause only was implemented in an effort to establish a method—sim ilar to ones already in use by the Army and Air Force — to ensure that midshipmen understood policies regarding homosexuality. "The Navy wanted to avoid using NROTC funding to train persons who would not be eligible to serve in uniform," he says. The controversy began when midshipmen at Cornell U objected to the wording of the statement they were asked to sign. One student showed the affi davit to a lawyer, who contacted the ACLU. Rubenstein says the potentially discriminatory aspect of the policy has not been tested legally, but the ACLU has represented several students in the past and the military has backed down in every case. Army ROTC cadet James M. Holobaugh was dis charged in 1990 and asked to repay his $25,000 schot arship funds after publicly admitting he was homosex ual. When the ACLU told the Army that Holobaugh would complete his term or refuse to repay scholar ship funds he already had received from ROTC, the Army forfeited the money. Lt. Cue Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Navy, says students who admit to being homosexual after they have completed the ROTC program will not be asked automatically to repay their scholarships. Repayment will be considered on a case-by-case basis, the says. Although Mueller would not speculate on the fate of the affidavit, if Clinton lifts the ban, the affidavit theoretically becomes ineffective, a Rhonda Stunt, TV CuwfJ Unify SamConuffU.