Page 103 - Phoenix1998-99

Thursday-February 4, 1999 - Page 3 Letters to the Editor Come into the light Wyoming, killed for the simple rea- communityabout sexuatdlversiry. WritetocommL New"Year, In looking at the Western Mary- son that he was gay. It appeared that.those Allies rnem- ~fl-gfuup S.E.R.V.E. and the land College coat of arms, I could As I reflect on that event, I am bers were hiding in the closer much noble cause it represents. 21, New not help but notice the Latin phrase struck by the fact that Matthew thesameasif~eywerefnghtened On Saturday, November beneath it. Roughly translated, the Shepard could have been one of my of being pointed out, ridiculed, and [1998] several members of words mean "I call you out of the students killed by the darkness of possibly "gay based." S.E.R.V.E. came to The Shepherds Editors darkness into the light." I am ignorance and hate. I guess Allies members were Staff office and volunteered their touched by this call to enlighten- I was glad to see how the na- experiencing first hand what people services for an entire day. ment. tion responded to this boy's death of diverse sexual orientations have Due to the nature of our rnis- Megan Martin and Emily Western Maryland College has with a call for legislation to deal always experienced. Stamathis are the new a motto which, like a signpost, with hate crimes. The goal of this article is to sen- slon, the tasks involved were var- editors-in-chief of the points towards the millennium The second event that touched sitize the college community to the ied and included such jobs as rak- with the ennobling ideal of bring- me was witnessing the response of fac!..-that it is our challenge to call ing leaves, scrubbing our kitchen, Phoenix. room. our clothing and organizing ing light into the minds and hearts the Western Maryland College ourselves, as well as other members of all those who come to school community as they attended a of our community, out of darkness This time of year is especially The beginning of the here. candlelight vigil to foster a spirit of and into light by our support of di- busy and the help is greatly appre- Spring '99· semester brought Certainly, there is no room in college wide unity at a time when versity and our commitment to edu- ciated. with it changes to the staff of We would the twenty-first century for the racism reared its ugly head on the cation, acceptance, and understand- Merchant, like to thank Kristen the~. Meagan Drucker, darkness caused by prejudiced and campus. ing of human difference. Nichole Christman, and Erin Owen You will notice that the discrimination. It is the hope of As a result of these events, I If you are interested in support- for giving of themselves last week- Commentary section has a new many concerned members of the chose to become faculty advisor to ing or helping the Allies organiza- editor, Kristen Fraser,' and a college community that we can the College's Allies organization- tion in any way, please contact me, end. In addition, Jeremiah Kelly did new assistant editor, Lisa Dale- tum our campus into a "safe zone" a group of heterosexual, homo- Dr. Michael Barretti, Faculty Ad- an excellent job in coordinating this VanAuken. effort. for all, regardless of the extent of sexual, and bisexual students dedi- visor to Allies, at extension 479. In the News section, Erin OUf differences. cated to ending discrimination Perhaps you might become an Ally It is our pleasure to know such Howard and Jenifer Sirkis There is no room in our future based on sexual orientation. and even attend a meeting. a group of young people who are have been made co-editors. for discrimination toward anyone, What I found was a defunct or- willing to make a difference! We Mike Yestramski is the new wish for them and for you a very whether he or she is ethnically or ganization. The few members Iwas Dr. Michael Barretti blessed holiday season! Sports editor. racially different, or whether the able to contact were quick to tell Laura Kelley has been pro- differences are due to religion, gen- me that they were not gay or bi- Editor's Note: Thefirst meeting of Sincerely, moted from advertising man- der, disability or sexual orientation. sexual, and that they were not ad- the Allies organization was Febru- Kathryn Brown ager to managing editor. In 1998, two events occurred vertising their meetings; in fact, ary3,1999. Watchforfuturemeet- Perhaps most notable of the which moved me enough to "take a they were not meeting at all. ing announcements. The Shepherd's Staff staff changes is the absence of stand as well as to write this article There were no members partici- Editor's Note: An article about former Editor-in-Chief Kate to the college community. pating in activities aimed at ending In appreciation ... Hampson, who fulfilled her One event was the torture and discrimination on campus or in- S.E.R. V.E. appeared in the Decem- two-semester term and is now murder of a college student in volved in educating the college Dear Phoenix, that I ber 10~1998, issueofthe~. studying abroad in France. It is with much gratitude Political Musings: Perjury and the President Chief, As the new Editors-in- we would like to take an opportunity to share our I would like to take a moment Ben Decker comments on Clinton perjured himself by deny- goals for the coming year. rates. of your time to vent some steam the American reaction to ing a relationship with Monica raise and lower the interest projects First of all, we would like State and local government about the lack of concern for one the Clinton administration. Lewinsky,' he not only made a and tax reliefs from the Reagan Era to maintain and improve the of the biggest moments in Ameri- mockery of our court system, but must have all been orchestrated by quality and standard of excel- can history. I got the chance to see about the millions of babies slaugh- he discredited and denied a woman Clinton as well. He was behind the lence you have come to expect history in the making last week at tered in gruesome partial-birth her legitimate claim to justice. scenes all along running our of the award-winning~. the Senate Hearing in the Capitol abortions that he has allowed, and What message does this consen- economy. If all of this were really curacy, We aim for timeliness, Some- ac- and efficiency. Building. The House Managers is fully responsible for, by vetoing sus concerning lying about sex send true, I guess we would all owe Bill times, due to circumstances had me convinced. a bill passed by both houses, twice, to the millions of women in the Clinton a major apology. If our eco- beyond our control, we can not You hear everywhere that that would have put an end to their work-place and in college who may three always America is' fed up with the im- cries for justice. also have a boss, teacher, or co- nomic prosperity was really all due qualities. achieve these we will However, to him, then surely we could over- peachment. Nobody cares about Rather, r am referring to the worker like Clinton who would take look the lies, immorality, and in- keep these as our ultimate Clinton's "private life," and they mysterious death of Vincent Fos- advantage of them? If it's not a big justices for which his leadership don't see anything impeachable ter, who was rumored to have been deal for a woman's boss to lie about has stood. goals and as a measuring stick to see how we are doing. about simply lying about sex. The the First Lady's lover. I am also re- his sexual conduct in court, then People say they are sick of hear- message from the polls is that the ferring to the professionally done, how can anyone ever really prove All of the goals mentioned They should be American people don't care about back of the head, execution-style the abuses that happen to them. It's ing about Clinton. that perjury is not a above can be summed up with sick of hearing political scandals in the Clinton ad- murder of a young former White not like this type of thing is done big deal or that coincidences like one word: professionalism. ministration. They feel that since House intern at a Starbucks coffee out in the open where it is seen. the deaths of many former Clinton Everyone involved in the pro- all our leaders have had inappro- duction of the Phoenix, from are simply • priate relationships and abused The real tragedy here is the lack of respect associates up by right-wing being ourselves as burgeoning edi- drummed con- their power, it's fine for Clinton to spirators. Time and time again, the tors to staff writers reporting do it too. They say that anyone for the rule of law. coincidences prove (Q have merit. for the very first time, is work- would lie about sex. But one point ing toward a final product that that really convinced me was the shop in Georgetown. This murder, Will sexual harassment laws It would also be nice to see a is the very best possible. effect that this lackadaisical atti- in which the assailants took no have any real meaning if the presi- more vocal fe~inist community. Our first issue this semes- tude towards perjury could have on money and were never caught, was dent of the United States can shrug They should be the ones standing ter is hopefully a prime ex- of sexual up for the seriousness our sexual h!rassment laws. handled by the DC Metro police his shoulders at our court system harassment charges and making the ample of professionalism un- First of all, nobody seems to and never even investigated by the and simply lie to throw out a der pressure. We hoped to realize that Bill Clinton is a bad FBI. woman's claims? Presently, more consequences that our president make ourselves a presence on should face for lying under oath in man, Why is it people cannot see But the real tragedy here is the than 100 people are in jail in our campus as soon as possible, such a case known this? He holds the highest office lack of respect for the rule of law. country for perjury. Perjury is a ened, silenced women to the fright- and if we meet our expecta- out there in of political power in our country, There is a general consensus out crime in the United States, and the work-place. tions, accuracy and pertinence arguably the world. Yet few seem there that perjury is okay if it is a President Clinton is a criminal who The Senate trial is almost over. will not be lost for the sake of an early deadline. to care about the corruption, lies, lie concerning sex. Many people re- belongs injail with the rest of them. We can only hope that the rule of and abuses that he's trying to get ally believe Clinton's lying under Many insist that all this doesn't law will be upheld and that Clin- The Phoenix's long term away with. oath about his relationship with matter because Clinton has done so ton will be convicted and removed goals include the addition of an The Founding Fathers may Monica Lewinsky in the Paula much for the economy. _So it was AP news wire for national and have had affairs, but they would Jones sexual harassment case is not really President Clinton who was from office. international stories, as well as have scoffed at the apathy of US that bad and not worthy of impeach- sitting in Congress passing the bills Then, perhaps, women will feel anon-lineeditionofthe~ citizens towards a philandering, ment. and allocating the spending all certain that their cases will be taken niK. As with any medium, the immoral leader who covers up his What people don't realize is that along? It must have also been good seriously, and the integrity of a ~ will no doubt change tracks with lies and murder. sexual harassment is a crime strictly old Bill on the Federal Reserve man's oath will be restored to our and evolve as its new staff And I am not talking here dealing with issues of sex. So, when Board telling Alan Greenspan to justice system. learn and grow into their posi- tions.