We have some [SATIRE!] deplorable students on our campus, and as I mentioned before, they’ve been putting up ugly anti-trans posters all over. This seems to be their obsession this year, to mock and sneer at any students who don’t fit into their very narrow tolerance of how boys and girls (and only boys, and only girls) should look and act. Yesterday, I sighted one of our College Republicans working his way through the tunnel between the science building and the student union trying to paper every available spot with these signs:
In the trash!
Never afraid of being right…more like, never afraid of always being wrong, because none of that is correct.
Well, that’s not good news. This is.
I walked through that tunnel this morning, and everyone of those signs was gone. Torn down and not replaced. Instead, there were a lot of signs affirming gender identity. The only one I could find is the one above, which has a red date stamp, as is required for any flyers posted in the student union. Other places on campus are more of a free-for-all, but apparently whoever was taking out the trash was careful to obey the informal regulations on signage.
Good. Throw ’em all out.
Next bit of good news is that our chancellor has noticed, and sent out a message to students and faculty.
Students and colleagues,
I have heard your concerns regarding language and images being used on our campus that inflame and divide. The University of Minnesota Morris does not condone messaging that is meant to be divisive. That messaging does not support the welcoming community we seek to be.
When we say we support our students and that we value every member of this community, we mean it. While we embrace free expression, we also recognize that exercising this right comes with responsibility. Use of intentionally provocative speech impacts our campus and those targeted in the messaging, leading to individuals and student communities feeling invalidated, isolated, and unsafe. It isn’t acceptable to treat one another that way.
Let me assure you campus leaders take building an inclusive and respectful campus seriously and are taking action in this area. A group is already working on a campus climate evaluation and plan. There will be opportunities to share your thoughts on these issues throughout the year. I encourage each of you to participate.
With details about additional programming to come, we are offering opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to engage in this topic, either by reaching out to me or by contacting any of the following individuals:
For students: Adrienne Conley and Elizabeth (liz) Thomson, Equity, Diversity, and Intercultural Programs
That message came out before the Great Hate Sign Extinction, so maybe some of our students were emboldened…or better yet, some of our staff were authorized to do a clean-up. It just goes to show that leadership matters — you can either enable the worst in our community, or you can inspire the best.
We already know that Republicans are big on climate change denial.
Jebus… Is that the best hate literature that campus conservatives can produce these days? The chapter of the CRs I was in back in the early 90s could do soooooo much better, and this was back when we used Coral Draw.
@2 Akira MacKenzie
Hey now, don’t crap on CorelDRAW. It stacks up favorably against other similar software and – new big plus – doesn’t run on Adobe’s “Whoops Venezuela doesn’t exist” subscription service.
OK. Maybe I’m just really naive. But exactly WTF about people being able to define themselves is so scary to these folks? Is it really that difficult to get used to calling “Bob” “Roberta”? (“Hyacinth” or “Esmeralda” might take a bit of effort, but deal with it, asshole.) Are you traumatized that you’ll never again chat sports with her at the urinals? There’s water coolers and coffee machines for that you moron. (The chatting. NOT the urinating.) FFS, your brain is you. You is your brain. Not your ding-a-ling or your hoo-hah. Now some of you bigots may talk out of your asses and have shit for brains, but that still doesn’t mean that the bits between the legs defines you or anyone else.
I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
They are truly deeply afraid that you might develop an independent opinion that doesn’t agree with theirs, that you might decide that their world view is narrow, hate-filled, blinkered and pig ignorant. Worse yet,You might conclude that the Bible is not The Only Pathway to Truth. And worst of all, yet, that you won’t vote for Trump. Heaven fore-fend that anyone at a real college have something other than the most extreme of right wing views. You might actually listen to the professors and learn something you weren’t taught in Sunday School.
They are sort of wimpy hate mongers.
On my campus, during the Vietnam war, someone(s) periodically sprayed swastikas here and there.
Plus, the usual racist slogans directed mostly against Blacks.
Young Americans for Freedom always wanted to drop nuclear bombs on North Vietnam.
How long will it take before College Republicans at Morris are labeled a hate group and tossed off campus.
That is what they are, after all.
They declare the circle-arrow and circle-cross to be the only true gender signs… in Prince’s home state!
I think it’s funny that the CRs think that the clothes define the stick figure. Isn’t it saying “Wear a dress == female” and “don’t wear a dress == male”?
https://www.facebook.com/AustralianReptilePark/videos/1115350212188874/?tn=kCH-R&eid=ARCXUHnibje7AAgnkBUBaNqmULYIvQm4W4DYCTpLMoRPgGnH4_6FOBJp3NDpeynuBdjbou-_SRiZs1dx&hc_ref=ARQOW29l0OeWet84rUVEtsCHMsXn0x5P6zjahx1Q9yaPiSnHBk8yx1QgtBo9-pubxiw&fref=nf&xts[0]=68.ARAof-PkNqLr3X6ZzSz2IqJ8egU9RhAEuWUzkUk4r3IXufu-537HGNkyVXu7fTwfjCm4kOIZ5ypLjlCAFvTGQAyCMc16BehKdSv7LFXpZD4qPWCWSsT6bWTe8gZjf8K4GSjfnHkxZ8QZejTP_in55Zrmo5FmZFdCMSzyc3E9fa2RKqivgKJAD3cHQmB5O8HYpbltcZqMxu589_uHbSkjs_HTPi8xm1zVf8dNJu-3MNECeOCErjNSLmDpYw8T2InwfPQoGo4T2I0cdZmXCTlordGAgxm4sOjIzZxhbZsiIJjE9h2_POtKVWT5hndFzuzk12pzPrJKvnTIBHMmou-3mlhZxsqEQv1ZOWpCCXRRT7aW5IodDNmys99H4Roa-IxhUqy8zUXZLaMg5Zjome81wdWt97AiFaJaGy-Bi2UHVD-jFFGgoi-asLUwNX5Ghg8WxF1ttmLskibBxq2jxnpQMOHtGDCeYL45d-b50T96ZWbmyyRwMtXEvpwfLmrmX6L2n4h3ZZ2xDP3EQocNVyaoZA8dpdV5JuaKsw Longest addy I’ve seen, but worth it PZ.
I would be more impressed if that message explicitly mentioned non-binary and trans people
jdx945, the link itself is this:
https://www.facebook.com/AustralianReptilePark/videos/1115350212188874/
The video itself is this:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1115350212188874
The rest is just ancillary shit.
Gee, look which of the two genders is number one.
What their afraid of is “when I hit on a chick I don’t want it to turn out to be a guy”. That seems to be the core of it after talking with several friends who are obsessed with the 2 genders thing.