OPINION
Save yelling matches for rainy day
Ah. springtime. Then I
was, si rolling across cam
pus. basking in that sense
of serenity that only a sunny day
in Eugene can produce. 1
approached the EMU. sharing
that particular jocularity with
other students who, temporari
ly lost in euphoria, were ignor
ing the fact that the end of the
term is near.
This is not to lx> confused with
"Tin- End is near." which was the
message I encountered next. Lo
and behold, those pastoral hills
surrounding the EMU were not
as peaceful as I had imagined My
vision of sipping iced tea from
my refillabie mug and reading
Cultural Sun’ival Quarterly on
those sunny slopes evaporated as
quickly ns snow on Flag Day
i believe in free speech. 1
believe in tolerance But it will
take some convincing before I'll
suv 1 apprei iate the veiling matt h
I heard at the EMU ( ourtvard
Actually. I saw the sign first
BABY KILLING (ABORTION)
AND SEXUAL IMMORALITY
(FORNICATION. ADULTERY .
LESBIANISM. HOMOSEXUAL
ITY ...) BRING JUDGMENT
UPON THE LAND REPENT OR
PERISH."
Gee. and all of this time I naiv e
ly thought it was the corrupt
multinationals who were respon
sible.
1 digress.
So there I was. just walking to
the EMU when I bei a me ac tru
ly aware of a major theological
conflict A group of Christi ms
were touting signs and ( rouses
and verbally assaulting the
crowd. 1 was rather surprised to
see a large group of students, in
various stages of repose, taking
the news of their impending stay
in hell so calmly.
However, not everyone took
the news laying down In fact.
some students were quite
incensed to be told that gays and
lesbians should l*> punished and
that people who have A HIS will
die alone.
I stayed fora while I listened
to people t all each other bigots,
graphically describe sotm es of
sin. kick scripture and history
around like foothags. and gener
ally make generalizations
I watched one woman practi
cally lose her voice refuting a
speaker She obviously had a lot
at stake personal^ But people
around me were commenting on
the verbal sparring like they were
\t .itching the Olympics. "Good
one.” the guy to my left said. Was
this spectator taking her view
point seriously, or just enjoving
the game?
A man came up to me and said.
"I'll give you a dollar to yell.
Burn all the Christians!"' I hes
itated. and he pulled out his wal
let "Save your money.” I said,
and someone chimed in. "Yeah,
veil it yourself
This is not mv idea of free
speech I found this to he a
deplorable level of discourse
What have we come It) as a i am
pus community if we can com
midifv our opinions, turn a blind
eye to the ideas and pain of oth
ers. and essentially make a mock
ery of intellectual interchange?
I am glad the courtyard is open
for public debate But the mes
sage "repent or perish" does not
allow much room for dialogue
In the words of the aforemen
tioned woman. "Damnation is
not Ok I felt threatened. As a les
bian and a |ew. 1 felt unsafe "
The courtyard should he a safe,
comfortable place for people to
exchange views, not for painful
yelli ig matches Free speech is
important. But name-calling and
On a ram sunny
day in Eugene,
don't we have more
important things to
do than yeti at
each other in the
courtyard? Couldn't
we be reading,
playing Frisbee,
making music,
falling In love, or
even finishing our
papers?
arguments won bv volume. nol
reason, do not belong on this
ca in pus.
Students should not have to lie
sub jet ted to loud disi ord over
lengthy periods of time, espe
cially when it's springtime and
we re all feeling generous (After
all. where is that urge to cons art
others when it's rains and gray'
Are we not alt destined for hell
unless it s at leasl h5 degrees
out?)
Let s he fair On a rare sunny
day in Iwigene. don't we have
more important tilings to tin than
sell at each other in the i ourt
surd' Couldn't svo he reading,
playing Frisboe, making music,
tailing in love, or even finishing
our papers? Couldn’t we he
showing some respect for our
campus community and the sanc
tity of discourse '
lirth Hegr is a \tudiwt ni th i
tit's reporter for thr Emerald
I
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