03/16/2006
Scientists create microscopic map of the Americas using DNA to demonstrate their ability to manipulate genetic material. (via bldgblog)
Democrats critical of new security clearance rules. Rep. Henry Waxman: "The Bush administration is waging a covert war on loyal federal employees who happen to be gay."
FDA inches toward lifting gay blood donation ban.
Dutch group pits Gays vs. Muslims in football matchup. Also, Stonewall FC faced off against the UK Parliamentary Football Club and beat them soundly (7-0) in a match to raise awareness of homophobia.
Oops.
400 students and professors walked out of classes today at Pennsylvania's Lehigh University to protest that school's lack of diversity, accusing school officials of creating a "hostile" atmosphere for gays and lesbians, women, and people of color. They gathered around a flagpole and rallied at the center of campus: "Dozens of speakers talked about times they were made to feel uncomfortable at Lehigh because of ignorant comments about race, being sexually harassed at fraternity parties, or being ashamed to tell their friends about their homosexuality."
Posted 3:36 PM EST by Andy Towle in Elsewhere | Permalink
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Wow! I live in this town, Bethlehem. This is a very old and conservative University and a lot very wealthy families send their children there. It is also a very good school. In the same league with Fordham, Hofstra, Lafayette, American & Bucknell
In the 80's we Dems would dred presidential election years because the Lehigh kids would come down the hill to vote and wipe out all the democratic votes in a precint that is 80% democratic. Bill Clinton changed that and the kids have been more progressive ever since.
It's a great town, very historic. If anyone wants to come for a visit let me know, I'll buy most of you a drink.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 16, 2006 3:55:13 PM
C'Mon, that's Hogwarts!
Posted by: JT | Mar 16, 2006 4:42:39 PM
I'm a Lehigh alumni ('83), and I've always had ill-feeling towards Lehigh over how homophobic they have always been. While it's a great acedmic school; the social envirnoment was suffucating, and you could NEVER let your guard-down. It was never overt, but it hung over South Mountain like a dark miasma.
Posted by: Ted B. (Charging Rhino) | Mar 16, 2006 4:44:13 PM
Donald: You'd be my Boodles Baby if you'd buy me a drink.
Posted by: JT | Mar 16, 2006 4:44:38 PM
OOP's Is the rule for web casting yourself that you have to be shirtless? I'm just askin.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 16, 2006 5:05:25 PM
donald - only if you're hot and young0
:-)
Posted by: rich | Mar 16, 2006 5:38:04 PM
I suppose but he looked a bit like jail bait chicken to me. And clearly not very bright.
On the other hand there is something to be said for young(legal), dumb, full of cum, tight blue jeans and no future that makes ya wanna go Hmmmmm.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 16, 2006 5:49:58 PM
Ted
Lehigh has changed the mascot from the Engineers to the Mountain Hawks so as not to be sexist. The new arts center has also made the college much more apart of the community than before.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 16, 2006 5:53:14 PM
"Engineers" is only sexist if you think women can't be engineers...seems to say more about the people crying sexism than the mascot itself.
Posted by: Scott | Mar 16, 2006 6:07:50 PM
Donald,
"A part of the community" wasn't the problem, it's the rampant 4-1 guy/girl ratio, the drinking, and the UST that manifests itself in vicious homophobia. The school motto shoud have been "Overcompensation!"; and that atmosphere was co-opted at the highest levels to get what otherwise should have been awash in gay/bi-fratboys on the straight-n-narrow.
The rumor about campus was that a "High Official" was a notorious chicken-hawk, and to cover his activities off-campus amongst the high school boys he expelled everyone in slightest-way tainted by any "gay scandal" to keep the image of the University above question. And he was the one you were supposed to go-to if you had personal problems, or were being hassled. The word was out that any "gay activity" would be ruthlessly pursued...on campus, in any frat, even off-campus.
And the word in the frats was that any rumor of gay-fratboys, and he would find or invent the excuse to shut that frat down....forever. The year before I was a freshman, the administartion "forced" a frat to expell two brothers who were "rumored" to be boyfriends. Each brother had to publically vote to expell them from the frat, if not unanimous the frat would be closed and the house confiscated. The members didn't want to, but they were forced to agree; and all the other frat-presidents were threatened with the same; and over half the entire student body lived in the frats.
It was scary to go into Allentown's gay bar and see a fellow Lehighman there. The atmosphere of fear if you were gay was such that it was difficult to truly have any friends on-campus. I was there five years and didn't "officially" know another gay student or teacher....and I was associated with the frakking Art Department!! I never go back for alumni events...and I tear-up the mail they send asking for money.
Academically a great school, but as the song says, "it's tough out here being a queer". And apparently nothings changed....
Posted by: Ted B. (Charging Rhino) | Mar 16, 2006 7:14:23 PM
happy to see the word "frakking" is catching on.
Posted by: rich | Mar 16, 2006 7:55:06 PM
I would love it if the blood donation ban were lifted. Its so fucking arbitrary. I can't believe the ban is still in place really, its just as ignorant as people thinking that AIDS is a gay disease.
Posted by: Adam | Mar 16, 2006 9:47:52 PM
Adam,
How many straight people do you know who are living with AIDS?
Posted by: tom | Mar 17, 2006 2:44:47 AM
Tom, I volunteer for the Aliveness Project. How many straight people do I know that are living with AIDS? Unfortunately, my answer would have to be several. What point do you think you're making?
Posted by: Mike in the Tundra | Mar 17, 2006 5:03:14 AM
Mike,
Tom is the everpresent self-loather.
Shorter Tom: "Gay men are evil! But I can't seem to get them to stop sticking their cocks in my mouth and ass."
Posted by: Tread | Mar 17, 2006 5:20:09 AM
Ted
I can not take issue with any of your points. I suspect it has changed a little but not much. I stop at the grocery store where the students all shop (it is on the way home & no other reason) and all the cute ones hang together, all the less than cute ones hang together, all the non white americans hang together, and all the gay ones are with girls.
There is a lot more non frat housing now than when you were there but the frats still dominate much of life and the news. A frat president was just caught trying to rob a bank to pay off his gambling deb, he is the son of a conservative preacher.
I suspect you are accurate in your assesment that little has changed.
I was going to the Stonewall in Allentown at the same time you were, perhaps you were one of the cute Lehigh boys we townies used to wonder why they had so many hang ups. Now I understand better why you all appeared so standoffish.
I was attending Penn State at the time and trust me at the campus I was at I only felt comfortable being gay with a few profs and when I came home on weekends.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 17, 2006 5:50:05 AM
Ted
I can not take issue with any of your points. I suspect it has changed a little but not much. I stop at the grocery store where the students all shop (it is on the way home & no other reason) and all the cute ones hang together, all the less than cute ones hang together, all the non white americans hang together, and all the gay ones are with girls.
There is a lot more non frat housing now than when you were there but the frats still dominate much of life and the news. A frat president was just caught trying to rob a bank to pay off his gambling deb, he is the son of a conservative preacher.
I suspect you are accurate in your assesment that little has changed.
I was going to the Stonewall in Allentown at the same time you were, perhaps you were one of the cute Lehigh boys we townies used to wonder why they had so many hang ups. Now I understand better why you all appeared so standoffish.
I was attending Penn State at the time and trust me at the campus I was at I only felt comfortable being gay with a few profs and when I came home on weekends.
Posted by: Donald | Mar 17, 2006 5:50:49 AM
Wow -- I'm trying to picture if something like this ever could have happened when I was there. I graduated from Lehigh in 82 in engineering and remember how badly the few brave out gays and lesbians were treated by other students. I think it was partly the 4/1 ratio, partly the huge sense of fratboy entitlement, and the blind eye of the administration to anything that wasn't part of their WASPy image of themselves. Certainly, nobody protested anything, and the most you got was a few angry letters to the school paper -- certainly none about sexual orientation diversity. I'm sorry to say it made me way too scared to even try going to Stonewall in Allentown or doing anything that would give any signal I was gay. What's really sad is that I didn't even question this at the time.
I do remember a dean I felt sure was gay, and one prof. It would have been nice to have a gay engineering prof, since I was in engineering, but I didn't know of any. The only one I knew for sure seemed a bit creepy and way to scary for someone as closeted as I was.
Posted by: Tom | Mar 17, 2006 10:44:08 AM
It should be noted that Tom who attended Lehigh and appears totally rational is not the other Tom. Donald, you needn't feel dirty for living in the same area as the other Tom, you're safe.
Posted by: JT | Mar 17, 2006 11:10:15 AM
Hey Donald,
I think I may have to be up soon because my partner wants to see the campus and I can't keep putting him off about it. I'll look you up!
Posted by: Tom (in DC, not the other one) | Mar 17, 2006 2:54:28 PM
Donald: Don't be afraid of this Tom. He's not the Antichrist.
Posted by: JT | Mar 17, 2006 3:08:06 PM