2008 Woodie Awards
Ambushing Glynne
Julia Gabriel Michel
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Opinion
I'd like to express my utmost disgust with the person or persons involved in the defamation of Speaker Mike Glynne on the wall of E-building in the L/L complex.
Hundreds of bias-related incidents occur every school year at UVM, so some students might ask why I'm focusing on this one particular incident.
The answer is twofold: the lack of criticism the act has sustained by the UVM gay community and the lack of support shown for Speaker Glynne.
I still realize that most bias-related incidents at UVM go unnoticed and undefended; something I consider to be a serious fault in the culture of UVM.
The person or persons who vandalized the L/L wall may or may not have been members of the LGBTQA community, but in light of the recent American Red Cross resolution debated two weeks ago in the Senate, the act certainly supported their views against Glynne after he cast the tie-breaking vote to shoot down the resolution.
Obviously, the person or persons responsible for the vandalism do not represent the entire gay community. Nor does the gay community sanction such actions taken by individuals.
However, the LGBTQA has not yet condemned the act as inappropriate and disrespect¬ful - so why has the LGBTQA community been so silent?
In order to maintain its support for the debate, the LGBTQA community of UVM should express its disapproval of this threatening, below-the-belt tactic against Speaker Glynne.
It's also interesting to note that this act does not classify as a hate crime because it does not represent an act attacking an identity like race, gender, age or sexual orientation.
Instead, it attacks an ideology.
However, hate crimes are designed to attack individuals, and not necessarily specific actions.
In fact, it's my opinion that Speaker Glynne has been unfairly pegged for more than just his recent tie-breaking Senate vote; he's charged with being a "heterosexist." This crime attacked Speaker Glynne's "heterosexism," and not his action - not classifying this crime as a hate-crime doesn't mean it's any less hurtful or detrimental to the entire debate.
Hundreds of bias-related incidents occur every school year at UVM, so some students might ask why I'm focusing on this one particular incident.
The answer is twofold: the lack of criticism the act has sustained by the UVM gay community and the lack of support shown for Speaker Glynne.
I still realize that most bias-related incidents at UVM go unnoticed and undefended; something I consider to be a serious fault in the culture of UVM.
The person or persons who vandalized the L/L wall may or may not have been members of the LGBTQA community, but in light of the recent American Red Cross resolution debated two weeks ago in the Senate, the act certainly supported their views against Glynne after he cast the tie-breaking vote to shoot down the resolution.
Obviously, the person or persons responsible for the vandalism do not represent the entire gay community. Nor does the gay community sanction such actions taken by individuals.
However, the LGBTQA has not yet condemned the act as inappropriate and disrespect¬ful - so why has the LGBTQA community been so silent?
In order to maintain its support for the debate, the LGBTQA community of UVM should express its disapproval of this threatening, below-the-belt tactic against Speaker Glynne.
It's also interesting to note that this act does not classify as a hate crime because it does not represent an act attacking an identity like race, gender, age or sexual orientation.
Instead, it attacks an ideology.
However, hate crimes are designed to attack individuals, and not necessarily specific actions.
In fact, it's my opinion that Speaker Glynne has been unfairly pegged for more than just his recent tie-breaking Senate vote; he's charged with being a "heterosexist." This crime attacked Speaker Glynne's "heterosexism," and not his action - not classifying this crime as a hate-crime doesn't mean it's any less hurtful or detrimental to the entire debate.
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