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The Pendulum ■_ OPINION Thursday.April S.2007 i Page 11 ittiers to^ editor oreaM^jivelcome. Submissions must include your name, contact information and class standing. Letters fhm faculty and staff and mpmhmLi)f%p rntmrnmitv alfe also amept- eoMhe KndviwjjtfgSflVes the right to edit obscene or potentially libelous material. Lengthy letters or columns may have to be trimmed to fit The Pendulum may amdlllfmclQ^ midgrammar. All\^p»gsi(mbecortK the property of The Penduium and will not be returned. Send submissions to peruMum@elon.edu. f Racism, go home There has been much ado in The Pendulum lately concerning the Confederate flag. It’s clear that there are strong emotions on both sides of the issue. I, as many Northerners do, see the flag as a symbol of treason, slavery, ignorance and hate. While I cannot and should not ban the right to display this flag [such an egre gious error would have terrible Constitutional consequences], there are ways to sway public opinion which can be embraced. The Confederate flag at Elon isn’t much of an issue; it’s limited to what can be brushed aside easily, such as a random bumper sticker and a certain apartment in The Oaks which has it obviously on dis play. There is, however, a pertinent and current issue which affects Elon directly: athletics. Sanctions by the NCAA and endorsed by the Black Coaches Association have been placed upon Southern states [mainly Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina] and institutions displaying a Confederate flag. The most recent event came in January, when the NCAA rejected a pro posal to extend a ban on certain athletic activities to “include championships awarded on merit” [playoffs] from the aforementioned states. The NCAA based its decision on the lack of political influ- I am writing about the “Sex is compli cated, always come prepared” article. I understand that space limitations likely pre vented you from exploring some of the dif ferences between birth control methods [birth control methods include condoms, diaphragms and oral contraceptive pills], but I feel as though you neglected a key difference: STD prevention. In fact, the sentence “Whether you use a condom, diaphragm, vaginal ring or birth control, using protection is essential in preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmit ted diseases” is particularly misleading. Only condoms have been shown effective at preventing [some] STDs. While a diaphragm, vaginal ring and oral contracep tive pill are effective at preventing preg nancy, they do nothing for preventing transmission of Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, HIV/AIDs, etc. For high school and college ence the schools; they are not to be pun ished for what is beyond their control. We agree with this decision. Yet there are still actions to help foster a collegiate atmos phere without the foul stench of hate hang ing about. To take the moral high ground, Elon athletics should undertake two policies which will be the subject of an upcoming petition. First, to refuse to partake in any sport ing event held in Mississippi. This policy can be viewed as largely symbolic and undisruptive given that no school in Mississippi is part of SoCon and in the 2006-2007 academic year, no Elon sport ing events occurred in the state. Second, the university should vow to immediately terminate participation in any sporting event at which a Confederate flag is prominently displayed, regardless of the state. Will this cause some forfeits for Elon? It is possible. But the righteous path is often the more difficult one. If the issue continues to be a thorn in the side of these states and individuals, change can happen. One university, one student body can affect another. And another. And then change will happen. students, “serial monogamy” is a fertile breeding ground for STD transmission. With this, bear in mind not all STDs are prevented by condoms either — such as HPV and some cases of Herpes. While the tone of your article trends toward the “economics” and “ease” of birth control methods [not STD preven tion], the careless wording and incomplete science may lead some readers to mistake birth control for STD prevention. While I agree that unwanted pregnan cies are a bad thing, so is the transmission of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV, etc. Please stress this point to your readers: if you are going to have sex, use a condom to prevent STDs. Additional forms of birth control may also be used but they will have no role in preventing disease. -Dan Homyak, ‘03 Free speech By now, some of you might be aware of a “protest” that occurred during Wednesday’s presentation by Domino’s CEO Tom Monaghan. For those of you who don’t know, the so-called “sit-out” was in protest of Monaghan’s involvement with Ave Maria University, a conservative Catholic institu tion, and his stances on gay rights and reproductive rights. As co-presidents of Spectrum, Elon’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight alliance, we’d like to clarify Spectrum’s stance on the issue. The organi zation is not an official sponsor. We neither support nor condemn the actions of those who attended the protest, though we continue as always to support events that advance gay rights and support freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. As individuals, though, our opinions differ. To us, the gay rights movement boils down to one very simple concept: the First Amendment of the Constitution. It means being allowed to say, to think and to feel whatever you like. That is why we personally disagree with the protest. We fully support Monaghan’s rights to say and to believe whatever he chooses about gay rights or abortion. We may not always agree with him, but Don’t mislead I would first like to make clear the point that this letter has nothing to do with the views of Mr. Monaghan. This letter is solely concerned with the tactics used to promote the protest of his visit to Elon as part of the Legends of Business Series. I have no problem with the protest itself; students have just as much right to protest his opinions as he does to voice them. However, the smear against Dominos was completely irrelevant to his opinions. The worst example I saw was a box from Dominos which had the phrase Dominos = fascism and hates queers written in large red lettering. I am aware that Monaghan founded Dominos, but he has since sold the franchise. Dominos is not a company that has fas cist or anti-homosexual tendencies. I understand the argument that for everyone that's okay, too. That's what we’re trying to change, and it’ll be a long road, but we’ll get there. We have found no instances of Monaghan attempting to incite violence against GlBTs. If there were, this would be different. But he has only offered not-so-uncommon opinions. Also, we feel that this is an inappropri ate venue for such an event. Monaghan is coming to speak about business. Not his religion, not where he donates his money, not his stance on abor tion. Another important part of the gay right's movement to us is the utmost respect for personal privacy. We feel that this is an intrusion upon Monaghan. We urge all Elon students to always support free speech, and not just when they agree with what is being said. We encourage the Elon administration to bring speakers with all sorts of view points to campus, and for there to be lively discussion. However, perhaps there are better ways of having this discussion than to protest a man for his religious beliefs when he is only trying to talk about his business. -Allison Carter and Brandon Tyrmn ‘09 your audience Monaghans policies are discriminatory and controversial, however they are his policies, not Dominos. I know there was more civilized infor mation on the inside of the boxes, but how many students stopped to look inside? The information on the outside of the box should have reflected what was on the inside. The organizers of this campaign should not have relied on shock value to promote their protest, and should not have misled students and other people who may have seen the boxes into thinking that Dominos is a hateful oi^anization. - Brad Hartland’08 -Ben Deloose, '08 Sex is ever more complicated
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 5, 2007, edition 1
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