[Vision2020] DangerZone Posters Stir Trouble in Neely Hall

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (February 13, 2007) UI Argonaut -

"Freshman Garrett Allen holds 'Strait - Strait Alliance' flyers that he
promptly took down after they were posted in Neely Hall on Jan. 31. The
group is not a registered ASUI student organization."

http://www.uiargonaut.com/images/stories/021307/Anti-Gay5,2-8-07.jpg

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DangerZone posters stir trouble in Neely Hall	
Written by Jeremy Castillo -Argonaut   
Tuesday, 13 February 2007

When Garrett Allen opened his door in Neely Hall to leave for class, he
expected to see an empty wall. Instead, he got a glimpse of an anti-gay
poster.

The flyer announced the first meeting of the DangerZone, a club for straight
people only. His first reaction was to simply ignore it.

Even at the sight of a second poster, one listing "anti-gay" views,
duct-taped to his door, Allen chose to take the passive approach.
He stuck to his guns until rumors began spreading around the all-male hall
in Theophilus Tower. That's when he decided to let others know about the
posters.

"I thought the student body should be aware such things actually do occur,"
Allen said. "I think they took it too far. If it was word of mouth, it would
have been fine. But the posters went a little too far."

The meeting never took place - rumors around the Tower are the flyers were a
practical joke pulled by Neely residents - but the act didn't leave many
people laughing.  
Allen credited his Core class, Sex & Culture: Women and Men in the 21st
Century, for making his own views on this controversial topic more clear.  

"Before college I was undecided what my position (about gay relations) was,"
Allen said. "After taking that class, I decided I support them. ... There's
nothing wrong with it. To see the posters made me think 'Wow, people
actually are opposed to it.' I've heard of groups that are against certain
controversial issues, but I didn't think I would be near anything like that
or think I'd see it."
Allen isn't the only one harboring those feelings.

Larissa Edwards, resident assistant of Neely Hall's all-female floor, said
she was disappointed after seeing the posters, calling them "immature and
hateful at the same time."

Others say they aren't bothered by the flyers, such as Sam Horack, Neely
Hall resident and open homosexual. Despite his sexual orientation, Horack is
keeping a moderate standpoint on the issue.

"I think the posters are ironic," he said. "I'm gay. I have a boyfriend. But
I think both parties are in the wrong."

Horack said he disagrees with using the hall's name because some of its
residents wouldn't agree. However, he thinks punishing those involved would
be wrong because "we have something called freedom of speech. Or at least I
hope we do."

Horack keeps a DangerZone poster taped to his door. He also wrote on it the
following quote by Voltaire, "I may not agree with what you have to say but
will defend to the death your right to say it."

While Horack's attempt to turn hate on its head may be his way of coping,
others think it's counteractive to the plight of acceptance.

"I understand that 'right back at you' attitude and using humor in that
way," said Rebecca R. Rod, program adviser for the Women's Center. "But if
the University Residences' policy is going to be taken seriously, then it
works a little bit against that process. Even if it's a gay person saying
it's funny."

Rod found out about the posters the day after a SafeZone presentation in
Neely Hall on Jan. 31. A male student, whose name she wouldn't disclose,
brought the flyers into her office the next day.

"I was shocked," she said. "I felt we had gone there and felt the material
was fairly well received. Or maybe it was just the pizza. ... My
understanding was it was a group of male student instigators along with a
couple kids who went along for the ride.

"Some of us could think it goes with that 'boys will be boys,'" said Rod, an
open lesbian. "On the other hand, if you think of the student in their room,
dealing with classes, trying to get grades, dealing with if they're gay or
not gay, it's a pressure that builds up. And something like this could make
them feel unsafe."

However, Rod said, some positive comes from situations such as these.
"The good thing about it is that it brings these issues to the forefront,"
she said. "In a way, it works for us because problems become more visible
and people become more aware. Not that I'm encouraging it, but it is a
silver lining."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown