To the Editor:

Yes, this disgusts me.

I am sitting, looking at a poster I took down off a wall of my dorm. I hope you don't know which poster I'm talking about. But you probably do. It is a subtle affirmation of everything the conservative right has ever said about homosexual males.

Yes, this disgusts me. and indeed, while I once would have called myself homophobic, since I've come out of the closet, doing so has become more of a challenge. I am looking at two men performing a sexual act. They are not in love, and that hurts me.

I am thinking of the man preaching in Tappan Square, and his sign that read, "The WAges of SIn is Death.-RomanS 6:23." It was lined up so that if you read down the middle, the underlined letters lined up to read, "AIDS." At the upper left hand corner was a no-smoking-like symbol, but instead of "smoking" the text read "fags."

I am wondering about how far off he was.

The "outrage" that should be felt as a result of the poster I'm holding will be the wrong kind of outrage. The outrage will be from every gay male who's ever felt that society denies the possibility of a loving gay relationship. Indeed, the words that are echoing in my head are those of my parents shortly after I came out to them. "We just don't think gays can have meaningful, deep relationships."

So, congratulations, Outrage, on promoting the stereotypes you should be seeking to shoot down. I have just thrown out your poster.

-Gregory Ristow, College sophomore

OUTRAGE makes no apology for its posters

To the Editor:

We are writing to explain our position on the recent posters advertising OUTRAGE/oberlin meetings. Several people have expressed concern over the explicit content of these posters, which were intended to cause people to acknowledge their own heterosexism. Even in a "queer mecca" such as Oberlin, heterosexism is prevalent in every aspect of student life. The simple fact that people took offense to the posters illustrates the homophobia in the Oberlin community, whether it is recognized or not.

Sex, although not the only aspect of homosexuality, does play a major role in queer identity. When this element of queer life is brought to the attention of the mainstream, the internalized homophobia surfaces, as individuals would rather make illogical rationalizations than admit to their own prejudices.

Each day, people are bombarded by images of heterosexual intimacy through media and society, by anything from deodorant commercials to such programs as "N.Y.P.D. Blue," which, through their acceptance, reinforce the dominant influence of heterosexist thought over society. Many of those offended by the Outrage posters have said that, were it a man and a woman on the poster, they would still have been offended. The irony of this is that another set of posters advertising a recent party used illustration of a man and a woman masturbating each other but did not elicit any negative response at all. In contrast, the flyers advertising the Outrage meeting were torn down shortly after they were posted.

Many have also expressed concern for children who may have been on campus and seen the posters. Although in a small rural town, Oberlin is still a college campus, and it should not be necessary to censor all of the activities to a level suitable for children. Moreover, since Oberlin is a college campus, there are not an inordinate number of children wandering about.

The members of OUTRAGE/oberlin do concede that our posters were drastic-perhaps even "in your face"-but, unfortunately, they were a necessary step to take. On a campus that prides itself as being so "queer friendly," we sometimes forget that homophobic and heterosexist mentalities are often no better here than in other parts of the country. Because once in a while Oberlin students need to be confronted with their own internalized homophobia, Outrage makes no apologies for our posters.

-OUTRAGE/oberlin

Senators welcome input

To the Editor:

Hi! First of all, we want you to know Student Senate is here, either via office hours, phone line, or email, to take your comments or complaints about ANY issues concerning student life here at Oberlin.

We also thought you should know some of what Student Senate has been up to in the past two weeks:

We have created five advisory councils. You'll be hearing a lot more about them in coming weeks, don't worry. Briefly they are going to pull together the students who sit on various faculty committees so we can work on specific issues in coalition. The councils are: Retention and Support, Housing and Dining, Academic Issues, Health Plan, and Initiatives. The Health Plan advisory council is already well underway-and directly involved with the future of student health.

We've established two Task Forces; one helping Oberlin Aid to Strays and the animal shelter find sources of funding, and another setting up monthly Open Forums with various administrators. We will be inviting Dean Koppes, Nancy Dye, Vice President of Finance Andy Evans, as well as others. The first Forum will happen shortly after Fall Break and we're working on getting Dean Koppes to address curricular, advisory, and academic questions students have. We're also working to insure students are an integral part of the search for a new Associate Dean of Student Life and Services.

If you have any questions, ideas,complaints, projects you want us to work on, - anything at all- PLEASE contact us, after all it's our job. We're in there every weekday. Please stop by, leave us a message, send us email, or talk to us around campus.

-Student Senate

Give President support

To the Editor:

I don't think there is much disagreement about the importance of Shabbat at Oberlin College. While this event is primarily for Jewish students, Muslim students participate actively in it, and many students of other faith backgrounds are part of the fabric of the Shabbat dinner. Shabbat therefore takes on the characteristic of being a place where people of different faiths can come together and be themselves in their faith practice. It's for this reason that I believe there is little dispute about Shabbat's importance.

The President has emphasized and on many occasions affirmed her commitment to create an endowment for Shabbat. Furthermore, President Dye is aware of the community's deeply felt concern for Shabbat. In the heated discussions, let us remember President Dye's commitment, and give her the time and support necessary to fulfill it.

Shalom.

-Shimon Brand, Advisor to Jewish Students and Faculty