Bad 'Boy and 100Man'
I'm not particularly interested in news. I usually have a glance at what's going on at the College, getting a general gist for things, and then I move on to the entertainment, features, or humor section. And this week, I found myself particularly disgusted at what I found.
First off, 'Boy and 100 Man' is the worst comic in The Signal. I'm sorry, it is. It's crudely drawn, it's difficult to read, and the part that makes me the most disgusted is that it isn't even funny. However, these things aside, this week it was particularly unfunny.
I would like you to understand that I know that the First Amendment was created to protect unpopular speech, but does that mean you have to print smut like 'Boy and 100 Man?' People have different opinions about gays and their lifestyles, but 'Boy and 100 Man' doesn't even give any kind of reason for its gay bashing.
Last year, an article was written against gay marriage. It's true that it provoke controversy, but at least it was a concise and professional opinion as opposed to being a horrible comic that doesn't even make any kind of joke or valid point whatsoever.
I don't care that one of the stick figures defended homosexuals in the comic. It ends on a negative note, and doesn't even justify the gay bashing (if that could even be justified). It's unnecessary, and I don't feel that I need to see that in my paper.
Danielle Tararuj
Genesis of Lions' EMS
As usual, whenever I visit the campus, I always grab a copy of The Signal to catch up on the campus. After quickly perusing the articles, I noticed your story on Lions' EMS.
Although it was an excellent story, two factual mistakes just had to make me laugh and call one of my college buddies, Paul White.
Paul White, Class of 1998, and his friend Don Trauger, Class of 1998, started Lions' EMS in the spring of 1998. While they worked very hard on trying to get the organization off the ground, they were having great difficulty in securing an appropriation for the equipment. Then fate stepped in in the form of Ann Gormley.
Gormley was the acting vice president of Academic Affairs who had a heart attack in Pete Mills' office. Mills was the vice president of Finance for the College, and the person who was asked for the appropriation to start Lions' EMS.
After Gormley had the heart attack in Mills' office, he appropriated the money and helped the organization to establish standard operating procedures.
Gormley did survive the heart attack and, to the best of my knowledge, is still alive today. The organization finally went active on campus in the Fall semester of 1998. Again, I thought the story was excellent, but I had to chuckle.
Anthony Perno
Class of 1998
Duking it out over Duquesne
I understand that the young people of America suffer under the delusion that the First Amendment protection of free speech is inviolate, but that is not the case when it comes to private institutions such as Duquesne University.
Civil law governs the public sphere, and yes, if the College, a public school, hindered a student's right to free speech there is always the option of legal recourse. But when a student sends in his or her tuition payment to a private school, they are agreeing to play by a different set of rules. That is why students at Catholic high schools can still be hit with a ruler when they run down the hall or - gasp! - say something deemed inappropriate. Duquesne University, Mr. Esposito, is not being audacious in the least.
Also, Roman Catholic institutions have a vested interest in preventing negative backlash. Many people, using their precious right to free speech, attack the Roman Catholic Church and its beliefs.
Take, for example, the young man in one of my classes who called the Church hypocritical because it allows the worship of idols in church (to anyone who shares in this misconception, just because someone is praying in front of a statue, it does not mean they are praying to the statue).
It is because of misinformed, emotional responses that many people do not know that the Church, although it considers homosexual acts (not homosexuality itself) sinful, it also holds that everyone, even a sinner, should be treated with respect.
Preventing further misunderstanding of Roman Catholic beliefs should be a primary interest of Duquesne University. I applaud such efforts.
All this being said, I do not necessarily agree with the 10-page paper assigned to Ryan Miner; no assignment will make him change his mind about homosexuality. But I am not employed by Duquesne University, and my opinion about the form of punishment does not matter.
Much to their chagrin, I am sure that neither Matt Esposito's nor the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's opinions matter much either.
Jonathan Barracato
