4 Opinions

The Pioneer Log, APRIL 15, 2011

My Eyes Are Up Here

BY MAGGIE HENNESSEY
Staff writer

A weekly feminist column for everybody

Exploring sexuality, one same-sex hookup at a time

harsh judgment from peers or society. However, I wonder why everyone seems so surprised that fewer of us than expected are horny bisexual co-eds. their tendency to be objectified, but it cant possibly be that simple. Perhaps there is the assumption that women are competing over the small group of men entering their universities? There must be some sort of answer to be had here. My jaded view of men oppressing women is a bit grim. Perhaps our sexually explorative image came from ourselves. Celebrated sex columnist Dan Savage weighed in with his two cents, saying, A lot of [female college students] are out to prove something and want their effort to smash the patriarchy to be very visible. Fighting patriarchy by having bisexual flings? I always thought that patriarchy was something to be fought with strikes, union meetings and feminism, not secret smooches. Maybe I just missed the memo. But at the end of the day, I can safely say that most feminists would not have a problem with women exploring their entire sexuality. Known as sex-positive feminism in feminist lingo, its ideals represent the name: women have a fundamental right to express their sexuality, no matter how outside of normal they may fall. The nation-wide survey may indicate that exploratory phases happen less often than we presume, but that just goes to show that female experimental sexuality is something that should never be repressed or pressured.

Letters to the Editor

While I agree that religion shouldnt be forced down anyones throat, this is neither the intent nor the effect of the invocation, as Dylan DiSalvio wrote last week (Separate Chruch and Commencement April 8, 2011). When Mark Duntley reads the invocation, he does so as the Dean of the Chapel as an institution, not as the Reverend of the Chapel as a church, and there is a distinction. While the latter is decidedly a Christian office, the former is not. The Chapel offers activities and resources for a variety of spiritual traditions, from Catholicism to Buddhism to Unitarian Universalism. As its Dean, Duntley represents the broad spirituality of the Chapel as a whole rather than any one specific religion that operates within it. He himself may be Christian, but the fact that these two roles are combined does not mean that LC endorses or insists upon Christianity. It just saves money and makes sense to dovetail the two roles of Dean and Reverend into one person with one salary. When Duntley reads the invocation, he speaks of Gracious God exactly because it is the least common denominator in prayer.

Students defend invocation at commencement

As every individual can walk into the chapel and have a unique spiritual experience of the same place, so too can every individual interpret Gracious God however they want, whether they think of Jesus, Allah, The Lord and Lady or anythingnot necessarily anyoneelse. Everyone believes in something, whether its Christs love, the sacredness of nature, or the wonders of human potential. As an agnostic, I find it easier and more productive to think of my own idea of sacred in place of the word God almost everywhere it comes up. Doing so allows me to appreciate the invocation in the same way that any theist would. The invocation isnt Duntleys personal attempt to hijack the ceremony and get the heathen youth saved before they go off into the world. Whether you want to thank a god or your own brain and parents money, the invocation simply brings a special moment of transcendent gratitude to what is otherwise a list of names being read. Claire Askew CAS Student Class of 2013

Raise your hand if you are a heterosexual female and have hooked up with another woman. A lot of us have had our taste of the risqu with the same gender and thought it was just a part of college life, but according to the latest polls, those of us that just raised our hands are far fewer in number than once expected. Recently, the National Survey for Family Growth has found that women with bachelors degrees were less likely overall to have had a same-sex relationship than women with only a high school degree. Personally, I think that everyone has the right to an exploratory phase without

I always thought that patriarchy was something to be fought with strikes, union meetings and feminism, not secret smooches.
Where did we get this saliva swapping wet tee-shirt contest stigma? My first impulse is to say that society presumes women are sexually experimental because of

Ellsberg serves as model for activists

BY ADRIAN GUERRERO
Staff Writer

Daniel Ellsberg, the keynote of last weeks International Affairs Symposium, and the people following his tradition are American heroes. Ellsbergs historic whistleblowing on the Vietnam War left an important mark on our social history, which needs to be emulated and replicated into the future. The enemies of free speech complain that the actions of Ellsberg and other whistleblowers are immoral because they violate the law. This ignores the fundamental philosophies underlying the Constitution of the United States, which provides for open resistance to the government in lawless ways when there is tyrannical overstretch. James Madison and John

Mill, two philosophers who are central to the formation of American political thought and firmly believed in the rule of law, also recognized that citizens will naturally break the law when it is perceived to be unjust. Lawlessness is a healthy and active part of the legal system, because it is the first and most important step towards changing a law. When a law is unjust or protects an injustice, a responsible citizen has the right and obligation to break that law, clearing the way for it to be removed. This is the core of all civil disobedience. One does not demonstrate the flaws of a law by following it. If laws were just, they would not be broken. This is a critical American ideology, especially in times of war, because those

in power cannot be trusted to police themselves. Again, as Madison said, Those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, whether a war ought to be commenced, continued, or concluded. Rulers need to be removed from power, especially when they are incompetentand there is no way to judge their incompetence without transparency. Responsible citizens are compelled to break the law for the sake of transparency and the functionality of democracy. Dr. Ellsberg has said that, were he to release the Pentagon Papers today, he would be called a terrorist and and accused of aiding terrorist enemies; and here we see history rhyme. In his own time, Ellsberg

was called a communist for his actions and dedication to free speech. Thanks in part to his work, a cruel, evil, and unjust war was ended. Given these cycles of vilification and vindication, I would assert that, these days, if you are: a) working to protect life and free speech, and b) are called a terrorist by the U.S. government, then c) what you are doing is most likely a noble thing, and d) you should continue doing it. Protecting free speech is not terrorism. While the word terrorism is being gravely misused, being mislabeled a terrorist is at the very least a sure sign that what you are doing threatens some very powerful interests. Todays activists-calledterrorists have a huge debt to Dr. Ellsberg. I thank and applaud him.

ADVERTISEMENT

We represent a few Christians at Lewis & Clark, and we wanted to respond to the article about the separation of church and commencement from April 8. First, we acknowledge that many people at LC have had negative experiences with Christianity, and this may lead them to think of Christians or the church as backwards, bigheaded, and arrogant. There are often good reasons for people to feel like this, and we apologize as representatives of the Christian faith for any part we may have had in hurting people this way. While we acknowledge that people have many valid reasons not to subscribe to a certain religion or to any religion at all we wanted to explain why prayer is important to us as a part of commencement at LC. LC prides itself on tolerating and promoting diversity. For a lot of students like us, however, the spirituality that is so central to our identities often goes unacknowledged. We know that people frequently associate Christianity with proselytizing, but we find the logic that we should avoid the ideas of a minority in the ceremonies of our school somewhat dangerous. The chance to express this part of our iden-

tities is very meaningful to us, and we would hope that others would at least be tolerant while we do that. The intention of the invocation is not to marginalize community members who are non-religious or non-Christian. Mark Duntley always opens the invocation by saying, I invite you to join me in the spirit of prayer. This invitation is intended to recognize the many ways that people connect to the larger world around them as they move forward from college. Mark is indeed a Presbyterian minister, so his prayer is framed by his background. We would hope, though, that our peers would be willing to listen to a persons message regardless of his or her religious framework. The invocation is not intended to be exclusive or mandatory, and we truly apologize if it comes across that way. It does mean a lot to us. Jennifer Schildmeyer Matt Karsh Fred Demien Carolyn Worthge Andrew Schnell Kayla Aaronson Eleanor Taylor CAS Students

The Pioneer Log accepts and encourages letters to the editor from all students, staff, faculty and community members. Submissions should be kept under 350 words and sent to piolog@ lclark.edu by Monday at 6 p.m. for the following issue.