January 31,1996
Campus Opinion
Editorial'. What gives them the right?
Arino Dixon
I was walking down Fayetteville
Street Mall in downtown Raleigh a
few days ago, minding my own busi
ness. when a harsh voice broke
through my reverie. A man sitting
near the fountain in front of Wendy’s
apparently decided that it was time to
show his approval for the way I looked.
1 won’t repeat what he said, but suf
fice it to say that his comment started
with the ever-popular, “Hey, baby!"
Having learned over the years that
stopping to throw a retort at the of
fender only gives his pea-sized brain
extra time to come up with more
juicy phrases, I just kept going. How
ever. his comment was loud enough
to be i\eard by others sitting nearby.
Even though 1 tried to ignore it, my
face flamed with embarrassment, and
I ended my embarrassment by practi
cally running away.
Now that the moment has passed
and I can step back and look at the
whole picture, 1 have to ask one ques
tion: why was I embarrassed? He was
the one who made a flaming fool of
himself, yet 1 was the one who was
humiliated. Wliy? The reason is that by
commenting on my appearance, that
man had disgraced me. And what's more,
I had allowed myself to be disgraced.
I want to know what gives males the
right to talk down to women that way,
I must have been absent the day GckJ
said, “If you are equipped with test
osterone, then you can give a women
your opinion on any part of her body.
Go to it," 1 don’t buy it. Somehow men
have gotten into their heads that a
woman needs to be “reaffirmed” about
her appearance through helpful com
ments' that include words like
“Sweetcheeks"and iookio' good." And
these comments don’t just come from
nasty, toothless men on the street. Frat
boys, middle-aged men, high schoolers,
law)'ers, doctors and general jerks join
in the fun.
Behavior like this is not new; it has
apparently been going on since men
figured out that the "weaker sex" has
WhtH-, Dim
FUiffifv .
rritiu"*! hiiaur
Uitfinrw
.. .
RntM'i enit>
i^Kirr. AiliSk Tk hanilrr, Oit
A:KiM.r . ,
|ji TAvbti
'nirMpnfrfrAMertcM MpitMi>hei1b^tIi(.(VtlkHrihriiiSH)ti'MRThrat««koui*
)re.w rb« pcp^r u lUncied hi> ilir And Thr)iiM}i :idveni«|
I'jpinHJtut (.x|*rrwiRli» e«iiton.ii o.>luinii^ J*) ‘mt !k*( irtlcit
tlK\a«kgr AdinJniMniicin, h uks or 4uJrm l> kIv
lisofTs i» (hr bdUor
EverjrrinrmtbrMcfrOJthfuinmitmtyuiiinufdtowrtuilriirttJthl
&Upubluhc(llriimniUMbcT>)ievnt(ni«nth(Citirka luiuc.
r aitthvTc
breasts. Since then, every female
may subject herself to embarrass
ment by simply walking out of her
frontdoor. IsthisfairPNo, Isitafact
oflife? It doesn’t have to be. It is up
to us women to do something about
it. It is up to us not to give jerks the
satisfaction of getting the reaction.
It is up to us not to get embar
rassed, but to let those who embar
rass themselves get on with it.
All you females out there, the
next time some gu)' makes an un
wanted comment, don’t avert your
eyes and run away. Hold your head
high and calmly walk on. Pretend
you didn’t even hear, or even bet
ter, you didn’t even care. It's time
we showed him that talking that
way won’t get him anywhere.
Letter to the
editor:
apology
Dear Editor,
1 apologize to anyone offended by
the article intended to poke ftin at
graduate school admissions policies
which was made available at the end of
my graduate seminar for psychology
students. I admit that I iiad not read the
article in a long time before selecting it.
I did not recall any of the specifics that
some people found offensive. Had 1
read the article again before seleaing it,
I would not have used it. Again, if your
were offended by this article, 1 apolo
gize,
Lyn Aubrecht
Calendar of Events
by Arinn Dixon
•February' 5 - Alpha Lambda Delta will hold a meeting at 7:30pm in
Dogwood (below BDH). Please attend!
•February 6 - An Italian Club meeting will be held at 4:00pm in Joyner
Lounge. Everyone is invited! You don't have to speak Italian or be
enrolled in an Italian class to join! If you have questions, call Dina at
781-0942.
•February 9&10 - The North Carolina Symphony will present three
stars of Broadway, Keith Buterbaugh, Jan Horvath and Michael
Maguire, in Bravo Broadway! at 8:00pm. The show is a compilation
of Broadway fevorites, and will include selections from Phantom of
the Opera, West Side Story, znAMy Fair Lady, just to name a few.
Tickets for students are $18 and are available through Ticketmaster.
•February 12 • Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, will
present a leaure on domestic violence at 7;00pm in NCSU’s Stewart
Theater. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Call 490-8617
for more information.
•February 16 • Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni will present 'Racism
101" at 8:00pm at NCSU’s Stewart Theater. Giovanni will speak on her
bold, controversial essays on race in America, recite some of her woiics
and answer questions from the audience. Admission is free. Call 515-
5918 for more information.
•Februarj’ 19 - Candace Gingrich, lesbian activist and sister of Newi
Gingrich, will discuss her life, her relationship with her brother, and
her new position as spokesperson for the nation's largest lesbian and
gay organization. The program will take place at 2:35pm at NCSU’s
Witherspoon Student Center and is free to the public. Call 515-2353
for more information.