Tuesday, May 1, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 5
Letters to the Editor Homosexuality, faith can mix
It is evident that the two major issues facing students right now are pride in one's sexual orientation and religious beliefs. Let me fuse the two.
in my first semester at the University of Kansas, I was looking forward to an exciting freshman year. But being away from home for the first time, I saw it as my chance to break free and admit to myself that I was gay. It was not easy because I was so scared of what others would think of me and what my parents' reactions would be. I slowly told my friends, being very cautious as to their reactions. It was much better than I had expected, but now came the obstacle of telling my parents. This worried me most because my father had a gay son from another marriage and never planned to tell me. Only through some snooping around in letters was I able to find out. My mother was always quick to point out how detestable and immoral a homosexual lifestyle was. Before telling my parents, I made sure I had a strong support group and a place to stay. Fortunately, my parents took it better than I had expected. Of course, they said they were disappointed.
Even after coming out, things weren't much better for me. I was still getting used to the idea that I was gay and learning about the gay community. Contrary to what most gay men say, coming out doesn't solve all your problems. Each night after coming out in December, I would think heavily about how my life was gonna be. What would it be like? Will the man I fall in love with want a family, as if I did? Will my employees be OK with me? These questions bothered me, and I fell into a deep depression. I hid my thoughts about suicide from my friends because I didn't want the attention
decades.
I needed someone to talk to, and my resident assistant was there. I told him my problems, and he suggested that I let God into my heart. I was skeptical because I blamed God for making me gay. But when my RA put his hand on my shoulder and said a prayer for me, something inside me lifted up. I felt this positive energy run throughout my body and I knew it was God. Once my RA left my room, I prayed for God to enter my heart and pick up the Bible and started reading it.
I'm sure many of you think this is an oxymoron. How can there be a gay Christian? It is my belief that God will not punish me for being gay. I know the Bible says homosexuals will burn in hell, but I don't believe that. Why would God punish me for something I have no control of? I know loving another man is a sin, but this is one sin that God died on the cross for.
Since God has come into my life, nothing but positive things have happened. I no longer am depressed, and I'm proud to be who I am. I attend church on Sundays, pray and read the Bible each night. When I look back on the part of my life when I was deeply depressed, I view it as God questioning my faith and making me stronger. I also refer to Psalm 40:1-3.
Fred Phelps and his followers will all burn in hell because they contradict God's words. They don't love their fellow man as they should and judge something they know little about.
I also am grateful to Queers and
Allies for putting on a terrific Pride
Week. You make us proud to be
what we are and encourage diversity,
and that's what God is about.
Being queer is not a choice
Alan Emmons Loveland, Colo., freshman
I am writing in response to Lesliee Dischinger's letter concerning the "sin" of homosexuality ("Homosexuals must combat sin"). Leslee, you seem like a very nice person who is trying to live the life of a true Christian, and I admire you for that — love the sinner, hate the sin. It is obvious from your letter that you do not know any homosexual well or you would know that homosexuality is not a choice. It is now widely believed that its cause is biological. I know several homosexuals. They did not choose to be that way. Who would choose to be shunned and hated by many in society, sometimes including their own parents?
A "sin" is something that a person chooses to do that is immoral. When the Bible was written, it was believed that homosexuals became homosexual through their choices. That is being disproved through scientific research. Is it a sin to be a woman? I had no choice in that, either.
In any case, who is the homosexual hurting by being gay? No one. How can it be a sin to love someone, whether that person is of the same sex or different? Sure you can't reproduce, but with overpopulation rampant in this world already, we don't need any more kids. When the Bible was written, children were needed for economic reasons, among others. Would God want us to populate the world to the extent that it is destroyed?
In my opinion, there needs to be some more sins added to the list. It is a sin to pollute the Earth. It is a sin to have loads of money and not help others. It is a sin to hate someone because of something they cannot help—their race, their sexuality or whatever. It is a sin to beat your wife. It is a sin to beat your kids. It is a sin to not make your kids wear their seat belts. All of these "sins" and many more hurt someone and involve a choice someone makes. Homosexuality is NOT a choice.
Leslee, you seem like a very loving, caring person. But homosexuality cannot be "cured," no matter what someone has told you. If someone told you that heterosexuality were a sin, could you change? Think about it.
Kathy Gates Lawrence resident
Feminists can oppose abortion
I am a woman — and a strong, independent and opinionated one. Oh, and I'm pro-life — totally and completely pro-life. I am a proud member of KU Students for Life — you know, the organization that is simply a bunch of "20 year-old 'pro life' college boys" who run around chanting outdated phrases in support of mothers and their unborn children. A letter in the Kansan ("Anti-abortion 'feminism' ahoax," April 24) claimed that our organization was blindly supportive of women in an attempt to be socially forward. First, let me clear up why KUSFL distributes media from the Feminists for Life organization.
One of the main objectives of our group is to be an outlet for any local or national organization that wishes to provide information to the public. KUSFL, dispensing Feminist for Life information does not mean that we are all feminists, and we do not claim to be. We simply want to provide information from every organization that wishes to use us as a medium.
While I'm on the subject of feminism, I want to pose one question. As a society, how dare we tell a woman that her only choice in an unplanned pregnancy is abortion? How dare we tell a woman that she is not strong enough to carry that child full term and raise it herself or give it to one of the thousands of families waiting to adopt? Many women, when looking for help in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, encounter an abortion industry that is more interested in money than in the welfare of her or her child. The term "child" or "baby" is never even used, replaced instead by the word "it." All that many women are told is that once they get "it" out of their body, their problems will be solved. The reality is that for most of these women, their problems worsen. While the American Psychiatric Association is present dealing with the authentication of Post-Abortion Syndrome, I have no doubt that such a disorder exists. A few months ago, I watched a video that told the stories of a number of women who had abortions. The women struggled to maintain composure as they spoke of uncaring, sometimes brutal, abortionists, feelings of emptiness as they realized they had killed a child and not a fetus and the struggles they encountered when many of them realized they were sterile after the operation.
There is no more anti-feminist statement than the one that says that this society's young women are not strong enough to choose something other than abortion. Having control over one's body is one thing, but murdering a helpless human being is not the answer when a woman's right to control her body is the question. We prolifiers do not consider these women to be "morally depraved" by any means. They are simply young women who have too often been told that there is no other way out for them.
I am thankful for the choice of life — we all should be. After all, we survived abortion, didn't we?
Collette Pomeroy
Topeka freshman
Counterpoint lacks compassion
Justin Henning's opinion in Wednesday's paper about "The death penalty and mentally retarded convicts" strikes me with its apathy and lack of compassion for human life.
First, the headline is open to but one interpretation. "Sympathy isn't a sufficient reason to exempt mentally retarded convicts from execution" implies that the same logic should be applied to other, more common scenarios. For example, it implies that we should not be sympathetic to those suffering from circumstances out of their control. This lengthy list includes the poor, injured, elderly, ill, prisoners of war, refugees, crime victims, slaves, child workers, child prostitutes and numerous others. None chose their situation, yet they suffer. Last time I checked, mentally retarded people were born that way. No one asked them if they wanted those genes, it happened. Is it right to cast aside and ignore those in our society who cannot care for themselves and are suffering?
I am sure some readers are asking, "But what about the criminal's punishment?" It goes without saying that convicted criminals should not be allowed to return to society until they are capable of being a responsible part of it. Proper punishment can help teach and change criminals. However, there are those who will not be able to accept their role in society (mentally retarded criminals) and need to be protected, from themselves and others. And, as Justin pointed out, the mentally retarded probably can't understand the crime or the punishment. So what do we do? Love them.
Love them because they are innocent.
Love them because they are victims,
too. Love them because they are human beings, just like you and me.
Still don't want to be sympathetic Justin? I'm sorry, but I love you and I forgive you.
Eric A. Buschelman
Edmond, Okla., sophomore
The problem with the death penalty (besides being pure vengeance and hatred) is twofold: We deny the criminal the chance to repent, and we deny ourselves the chance to love and forgive him or her. We as a society disgrace ourselves for only appreciating the well-to-do or the fortunate. We need to care for and love those least on us. Only then, after we love our enemies and do good to those who have still no counter-suffering.
Watkins alumnae will fight
On behalf of the 300 alumnae members of the Committee for the Preservation of Watkins and Miller Scholarship Halls at the University of Kansas, we want to express our disappointment in our alma mater and outrage at the heavy-handedness used against the women of Watkins in a University-proclaimed "self-governance" environment. We are referring to the Department of Student Housing overturning the residents' selection of hall proctor because of her involvement with the lawsuit against Bank of America.
We are appalled that officials of this institution feel they must resort to the use of intimidation tactics against students who are standing up for a trust they believe has been mishandled (and that, ironically, was endowed by the University's greatest benefactor).
These tactics have escalated as the students have continued to win key victories in court, with the judge raising some of the same questions about the trust's management, including declining income and lack of accounting. Rather than talk with students about their simple requests, Bank of America has dropped settlement talks and hired one of the top 50 law firms in America to fight the students. The University has chosen to take the bank's side, when it could support the students' position and argue that this trust should be managed correctly. These actions reinforce the nagging question: What are the University and Bank of America trying to hide?
Now, in addition to helping the students raise their legal fees, alumnae are raising money to provide a scholarship to compensate this one woman for the job she rightfully earned but was denied. We welcome contributions to the fund for student legal expenses and the proctor scholarship, which may be sent to the committee at P.O. Box 411, Lawrence, KS 66044. For more information, readers can visit www.geocities.com/watkins.miller.
Jennifer Chang
Katie Hogan
Julie Mettenburg
Eileen Van Kirk
Mary Gosney-Lancaster
Margery Wigner
KU alumnae and former Watkins and Miller residents
she is far from perfect and hypocritical. People are always going to judge others more harshly than they judge themselves. Jesus never said, "Go out and be perfect." Rather, He wants His followers to strive for perfection, but because He knows they will never get there. He sacrificed His life.
Christians aren't only hvocrites
As a Christian, I must defy my beliefs. I don't view Christianity as a "religion," but a true Christian has a relationship with Jesus Christ. When a person is born again and receives Jesus as Lord, Jesus knows that he or
Denene Brox Kansas City, Kan., junior
Christians can come under just as much scrutiny as non-Christians. We live in a world that is very judgmental and sexualized. Christians have to struggle every day to stay true to their faith in the face of temptation. Life is a journey, and Christians are only trying to travel with a guide: Christ.
I am sorry that you think that all Christians are hypocrites. But so is everyone else. There will always be people who wear the cross and quote the Bible but don't live the Christian lifestyle. But to judge all Christians would be like judging a racial group because a few don't live up to expectations. I am a Christian — not a perfect one, but I am trying. And at the end of the day, that is all that counts.
I am sick of people confusing (or confused with) these, the terms graduate teaching assistants and the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition.
GTAs refers to the graduate students who are working as teaching assistants. GTAC is a bunch of GTAs who formed a union. I don't have the official number, but my guess is GTAC comprises a minority of GTAs.
But that's not the point. The point is that I am a GTA but not part of GTAC. I don't want to be part of GTAC. What GTAC wants is not what I want. What I really want is $25,000 a year plus benefits since someone (GTAC supporters) told me that I am just as valuable as the other professors who are teaching here. Why $25,000? I figure a two-bedroom apartment and a new car plus some beer money should get to that total. But the usual rules that apply when hiring professors cannot be applied on me because I know I won't get hired if I am subject to the same requirements. Really, what I am saying is that I might not be as good as the regular professors. Can't say the same about GTAC members, though. If they think that they are underpaid and that the University of Iowa is such a good university for grad students, I have one message for them: Go there. Better yet, go to Harvard or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology because the grad students there get paid and don't have to teach. As far as higher pay for GTAs goes, how about a $200 per semester increase in student fees to fund higher GTA pay? Or cut 100 regular faculty members. That should give GTAs about $2,500 more a year. Want more? Take more money out the undergrads' pocket or cut more regular faculty positions. That way, you can have the people who "really" like teaching to teach undergrads and the undergrads will really like their education because they pay so much more for it. But then there will be fewer faculty members for grad students, so forget the second option if you really want to be a high-quality research institute.
Many GTAs from developing countries live on the money they get from the University and still have money left to send home to support their family members. They really are in need of higher pay. Most of these students are in science fields, and they would have higher pay if not for GTAC's contract terms. A union is a zero-sum game.
Someone's gain must be someone else's loss. I think GTAs deserve higher pay. And if the University and the student body support the idea, then we can go forward. Student support means paying more tuition and fees. If the members of GTAC really think that they are being treated badly, they should rethink the reason they chose to come here. I am sure they have better alternatives, and they should go for those alternatives. There will be other graduate students willing to take their low-paying job at the University. This is a free country. No one forced you to come here, and you should not force the University to pay you more.
Leo Chan
Leo Chan Hong Kong graduate teaching assistant
God condemns abortion, gays
In light of the numerous articles and letters concerning religious views on abortion and homosexuality in this paper recently, and the variety of perspectives shared, I felt compelled to bring an old perspective into the mix: God's, as clearly outlined in the Bible.
First, let me assure you that I am no better than anyone else—I have sinned just as much as you, and as far as I'm concerned, more. The Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Because of this sin, we deserve death and eternity in hell. If you've never heard that, I suggest you actually read that dusty Bible of yours—all of it. We do not read the holy buffet, so there are plenty of references to Scripture here.
First, let's look at abortion. It is murder. Murder is "the unlawful killing of one human being by another, especially when premeditated," according to the dictionary I have. Are God's commands not laws? And what is commanded: "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13); the Hebrew verb refers to a premeditated and deliberate act. Having an abortion is planned. It is also an emotionally traumatic experience; try asking a woman who has had one to see how it affected her. It leaves a lifelong scar of guilt, shame and hurt. Do you think this could be God's plan for our lives? Absolutely not!
As for homosexuality, the Bible makes God's view clear. Is it sin? Absolutely. Why do you think the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 19)? Abraham persuaded God to give them a chance (Genesis 18), but since they did not repent, they served as an example for future generations of what not to do. The Bible makes it very clear:
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drankards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6,9,10).
God expects homosexuals to repent just as much as those involved in any other sin listed above.
I believe that God is appalled by the lack of conviction people have who claim to be following His commands. Many religious people do not know or believe what is so plainly stated in the Book on which their lives ought to be based. There comes a point when we must stop being religious in favor of being righteous. "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says" (James 1:22). Don't get mad at me for showing you something you should already know; just "be earnest and repent."
Josh Talley
Topeka senior
The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts Department of Music and Dance presents
UNIVERSITY DANCE COMPANY at the Lied Center with guest choreographer Tom Rolabate
May 3 & 4
8:00 P.M.
Tickets on sale at the Lied Center, Murphy Hall and SUA box offices; $7 public; $5 students and senior citizens. Call 864-ARTS for tickets. Funded in part by KU Student Senate activity fee.
kansan.com
Sunfire Ceramics
Paint-it-Yourself
Studio and Store
1002 New Hampshire • 749-2828
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