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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1995)
EDITORIAL Students, society hurt by book bans Tin* Color Purple by Alii a Walker is a book often road by high school students in English classes Some might have read it in college literature classes or on their own. Hut if some parents in function City classes got thair way. the book might not be read bv anyone at Junction City High School. Several parents objected recently to the inclusion of Walker's book on a reading list for an elective English class for seniors at junction City High on the grounds that the hook is "saturated with filth.” A committee appointed by Don Anderson, district superintendent, voted to keep the book on the reading list. Now the debate will move to the school hoard, with parents threatening to vote out those members of the board who don’t vote to ban the bool. junction City High School is jus! one of the latest schools to he targeted by .1 group of parents claiming to represent community values in the quest to remove lit erature from the reach of teachers and students From Ilut klrbvrrv l inn to \ Catcher in thr H\ r. books are being challenged and in some t uses removed from pub lic school curricula. Hook banning is clangorous Thorn'* no question about that. Bui oven more of a throat is the attitude of some {unction City parents who apparently think that their < hildren should only read items that fit in with their reli gious or sue ml norms and shelter them from the rest, No student is required to read Thr Color Purple. Stu dents in June lion City have the option to read different selections in lieu of Walker’s work I in* idea that "pornography." as several parents call The ( olor l*urph\ is lining fore ed upon unsuspecting, innoc ent high school students l(> and 17-yoar-olds. no less is preposter ous. Heading, being a form of education, presents ail with new ideas and experiences that someone might not oth erwise be able to relate to. Heading also helps students to < haltenge their own thoughts and beliefs, something that is essential for students about to step out into the world as citizens for the first tune Students should have the right to read a wide variety of materials during their edu t ation and throughout life. The students in question are licit young and it is unlikely that the contents of the bouk would come as sh.H kn.g '(. eveii !!.,• iiwsi sh.-itered .idolesi ei.t Students need to hear, see and experience different points of view and experiences as a way of bettering themselves a* peo ple. Students vvill lose if The Cohn Purple is removed from the list, but tlrev will not be the only victims Society will be the ultimate victim if parents dot ide to pic k and < house what literature that their children get to read, what opinions they get to see or what experient es they get to participate in. function City should keep Walker's, and all, books on the shelf. Reading promotes learning. Banning perpetu ates ignorant e. Emerald —11 mi i1 i i ——— biO Of»y -f f^> f. w t# sS rJvV f fA- i4> (j?VifijOjh I'f ejflr* thi' fftag s(Cty f d-kH -m » t UiUM Now* Ar1 IsMof f l $tt&r umm imm Jn&*- Pastffty i C*. Ski£Lc,&Sfc Now* tJSw* t Cf*l(X Supplement* CdMo* Night i (Jilo# a V.{?' - 4 T«wm New* Th&rr. 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' ~ J * r*- >'•. v, i i,l> ■ f •. *,v flvi**ne*v K..t' , •* ’• .. -•, PfOdui.i**>*' Dr* .» *A • i '•»,-*« 4 A£*K«? 14' 4 ' >:t- !■'-•«?. fcVi*d Jws W M i\v'S» •»’•• n-Hj* •- .j-,1 ■ »>** Het*%*oom 344 5511 Dimply Adv**tiding 346*3712 Oftic« 346 6512 Adv©#U*my 346-4643 .Tue Un'Ted *5 /MMUS6 "no HERRORiS.na <!/ the r-.'XPIDDKP myth ■ COMMENTARY Not all men potential rapists M ■ ' it- f ■ : " Thi’ current display in tin* 1 Ml about rape ,ns an ness is the set olid attempt by one group or .mother on cam pus to link the objet lifiuilion of people in the media and rape (his s« hool \ear They presented the images of suduttively i lad women and men selling mainly women's products to mainly women in major (mainly woman's) magazines edited by (you gues.eil it) mainly women The wall display goes on to ask questions and asks for a response Two of the questions deal with the subjet t of media objectification and rape but the question presented in the mid dle panel of the wall does not That question asks. “Are all rnen potential rapists'" That question is the most big oted, sesisl offensive question I have ever hoard In the first plai e. the answer is no’ Not all men me potential rapists To think that even a small fraction of men are potential rapists dis plays a profound ignorance of the male condition and our sen t ei v The person who could evmi entertain such a question dis plavs a level of feminist condi tinning unsurpassed by even The Manchurian Candidatr It is apparent that the level of inflam matory rhetoric concerning gen der issues has escalated to the (mint when; it would share even the lawyers in the O | Simpson trial Beyond being an absolutely ludicrous question is the bu t that its answer could never be yes It directly impugns the charac terol all men everywhere by implying that it could be true. The question is a simple yes or no question where ves is not a valid answer and the no answer merely states the obvi ous fact that all men could not Ih- potential rapists What possible insight into rape could be gained by such an obvious attack on men? How does the question relate to the objectification oi women and men in the media and the pos sible link to r«[Mf' Why the ques tion at alt? The question is not rbetorii ally informative 1mm a use the only possible answer is no! The question does not ask for information nor is it relevant to any discussion a 1)0ut rape or its causes The question is, howev er, pejorative, offensive, in flam matory and slanderous There is no possible si enario under which the answer could 1m* yes The question "Are all men potential rapists?" does not pro mote debate, discussion, or awareness about rape it is a naked attack on the t.harai ter of the men of this University and the world, it is hateful speec h and harassment it creates an intimidating and hostile envi ronment that presupposes guilt based on gender alone. This is not the env ironment 1 had in mind when i came to this University The ODE typii ally runs 100 percent more articles and editorials supporting or defending women's issues than men's Kverv bulletin hoard on campus has al least two sexual harassment notices and more AS1!() Women's Center-support ed activities than you could shake a stii k at There is a woman's studies curriculum, the gender-exclusionary Sfla-riiiu program and a massive intrauniversity support system solely for women The Women s Center has a paid staff to research women's issues and receives a huge amount of fund ing for gender specific activities When 1 look around the Univer sity for an equivalent support structure and advocacy group lor men, 1 see none Bat ! am asked it I am a potential rapist All in all. I would say that this University spends a huge amount ol money supporting women and their issues and very nearly nothing on men and their issues I think maybe it is time for an ASi’O Men's ( i-iiter Men need ,i well-funded center to research men's issues and maybe dispel some of the common miscon ceptions. like all men may he potential rapists or the majority of men are batterers We need a plat e to communicate amongst ourselves and make common cause against the problems we face that no one on campus seems willing to address. We need to reach out to young black men who will most likely be shot, go to jail or commit suicide before they are 20 years old and given them fw< k some hope. We need to address the fact that the highest rate of suicide in Ameri ca belongs to young white males We need to make sure that gay men have a place of acceptance and to know that they are not lesser men due to their sexual preference We need to find solutions for domestic abuse, light for our reproductive rights and demand equal and fair treatment in the courts with respect to custody and support for our children. We need to increase the level of our com mitment to the education of our children and the prevention of social injustices due to the igno rance of others i he answer to the question, "Ant all men potential rapists'” is no! It you do not believe that, then contact me at me«-«.gtad stone and 1 will explain to you whatever part of no you do not understand. You may also t unmet me at that e-mail address if you are interested in forming an ASUO Men's Center Mu haul Emhcott is a chrirusln ma/oral the Univanitv ■ COMMENTARY POLICY The Oregon Daily Etiwnld welcomes commentaries from the public concerning topics of interest so the University com munity. I I numt-nCir les sinM.lafTM- iif!\s <•(•<! I,f K l ; ;■! Mi li 1 j- ... . bits, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style
