Page 10
Greensboro. N.C.
Making connections: Desegregation and gay marriage
Charlie McAlpin
Staff Writer
Maybe it's because
this is black history
month. Maybe it's because I
reported on Alma Adams'
speech for MLK Day.
Regardless, I wondered,
"What could I have done to
fight segregation in the '6os?"
Sounds nic;; white guy
wishing he could go back and
change things. But I slowly
realized my fallacy.
It would be nice to change
the past, but what am I doing
to change our problems right
now?
Racism is still a problem,
but today this country faces a
social and political decision
as imperative as racial segre
gation in the '6os. We stand
on the minefield of gay rights.
"For the good of families,
children and society, I support
a constitutional amendment to
protect the institution of mar
riage," said President Bush in
his State of the Union address
on Feb. 2. This amendment
would define marriage as
between a man and a
woman.
By now, 45 years later, it's
relatively accepted that racial
In response to 'Letter to the Editor,'from Feb 11
ear Ms. Molner
I would like to thank you for responding
to my column with helpful criticism. I
understand that as a health teacher and
Guilford parent, your perspectives are
invaluable to my column. I would like to
address some statements you brought up.
As a somewhat straight female I write
from personal experience, which has been
mostly heterosexual by definition. I don't
see sexuality as cut and dry as "gay" and
"straight," at least. I think it would have
been impossible for me to have written
about the fluidity of sexuality and queer
theory in an introductory article.
About condoms: as a sexually active
college student today, I have experienced
pressure from partners to avoid condom
use. The way in which I worded my
emphasis on condoms is for people who
may feel fear about enforcing condom
usage. I wanted to emphasize a fearless
ness and sensibility about protected sex.
My column is not intended to send its
readers out on sprees of casual sex. It is
desegregation was the right
thing to do.
However, many people
believe that gays do not
deserve equal rights. On the
2004 presidential ballot, vot
ers agreed to define marriage
as exclusively heterosexual in
all 11 states that proposed it,
including my home state of
Georgia at 76 percent.
By paralleling what we have
deemed right in our past,
racial desegregation, with
what our culture is battling
over right now, sexual segre
gation, perhaps I can change
a few of those minds.
"Are our views motivated by
personal resentments, preju
dices, and grudges, or by
open-mindedness towards
promoting human rights and
value?" This was written in
The Guilfordian on Oct. 12,
1961.
The writer was posing
questions for a panel discus
sion on desegregation, but
we can easily apply it to our
current situation. What are
our motivations for denying
gays the right to marry?
"The union of a man and a
woman is the most enduring
human institution," Bush said
on Feb. 24, 2004.
written for people on campus that ARE
having sex in hopes that it may be better
enjoyed and safer for all.
My hopes with 'Sex and the Semester*
are to do away with sexual stereotyping for
the sexually active public. The column is
meant to create discourse about sex, like
the one beginning here between you and
myself.
I do not see myself as an over-sexed
guru, rather, as a person who wants to talk
openly and break through myths and
stereotypes that make sex so taboo and
'wrong.' I just don't want people my age to
fee! ashamed anymore about the sex they
are having, as long as it is safe and con
sensual.
Samantha Kittle
Sex Columnist
I' wrtlAm"- 1 - ami^lß3i
WWW.BBC.CO. UK
FORUM
I know of another human
institution that extends
beyond the historical record:
slavery.
So why don't we still have
slavery? It is, after all, an
enduring human institution.
Because part of social
mobility involves changing the
past. "Integration is a process
rather than an ideal," The
Guilfordian said on Oct. 27,
1961. "But it is a process in
the right direction."
A process. Black rights have
continuously evolved since
slavery was abolished in
1865, and marriage is no dif
ferent.
Women were once no bet
ter than property in marriage,
a bargaining chip; interracial
marriage was still illegal in
some states until 1967.
Now, marriage and slavery
do not warrant an exact paral
lel. Slavery was harmful-mar
riage is generally not. But
both situations manifest a pro
gression towards equality, a
progression that must not
stop now in either case.
And Quakerly, inner-light
loving Guilford did not cham
pion desegregation overnight.
In 1961 the college institut
ed integration, but two years
later Ragsdale, which was
rented to campus visitors, still
would not accept black cus
tomers.
"Should an organization
which continues to disregard
the standards and goals set
up by Guilford College be per
mitted to continue its exis
tence on campus?" The
Guilfordian asked on Jan. 18,
1963. "An answer hardly
seems necessary."
Freedom and equality are
the standards of this country,
and personal values that con
tradict these goals have no
place in law making.
We must constantly
reassess our values and how
they affect other people. The
"enduring human institution"
of marriage has morphed as
time has forced us to face our
own prejudices.
Whether we like gay mar
riage or not is completely
irrelevant. Thousands of peo
ple approved of racial segre
gation in the '6os, but this
country dismantled it anyway
because enough people
accepted that it was unjust.
What matters is if we are
granting true equality to each
citizen of this country. That is
something in the present that
In response to Two trees,' from Feb 11
ear Guilfb Editors:
The CCE program is blatantly a
separate entity of the college, and
Guilford administrators need to
start holding the same standards
for all of its students.
When asked why CCE students
shouldn't be seen "as an option
for making the extra money"
Guilford's Chief Financial Officer
Jerry Boothby responded by
explaining the "tremendous pres
sure from Winston-Salem
College."
This logic seems to fit more
along the lines of a capitalist busi
ness and not of a non-profit
Quaker-founded educational facil
ity.
As traditional students, we are
sick of taking night classes with
CCE that are not nearly as chal
lenging as the day classes we
take.
We're fed up of with having to
Feb. 18, 2005
www.guilfordian.com
we can work on.
You don't have to protest to
change things. I won't. It's not
me.
Many people will, and do,
and that is absolutely vital. But
the rest of us have an equally
critical task.
We must embody an open
mind at every moment, to
assist those in need and as
an example to everyone else.
Looking back at The
Guilfordian from 45 years ago,
we can be proud of what this
campus stood for. How will we
look 45 years from now? 88
register after those CCE students
that pay a fraction of what we pay.
Ifs unfair that there are classes
that we want to take, and need to
fill requirements, but enrollment is
limited to CCE.
It is perfectly acceptable for
CCE students to be part of the
community but they should recog
nize how great an opportunity it is
for them to be here, and they
should be willing to pay a little bit
more to go here than they would
at some no name school down
the road.
I know that I will be in debt for
years trying to pay off loans so
that I can be here now; but I think
the education from Guilford is
worth it. I know that Guilford is a
nationally respected college,
which is something that Winston-
Salem College can only dream of.
Kyle Brebner
Junior