Don’t these people know I vote Republican?

Apparently not, because I got the email anyway. I just love blast emails to the student body. They’re inevitably obnoxious or ridiculous, and today’s is no exception. Forwarded by Laura Lindroth, whose official title escapes me but is mostly known as “condom lady,” this email is a heartfelt plea for greater LGBT tolerance through public displays of same-sex affection:

Dear Students,

As a leader in the College of Charleston community who aims for the respect of students, faculty and staff, I am asking for your support in the first annual Same-Sex Affection Day to be held this year on November 12^th in collaboration with USC’s Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Alliance (BGLSA).

As you know, individuals in our culture are taught to be very careful about simple public displays of affection for members of the same sex, such as holding hands, hugging and kissing. Personal, symbolic and even institutional homophobia and the fear of repercussions limit lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual individuals from being publicly open and expressive about their caring for an individual of the same sex, whether that person is a significant other, just a friend, or even a sibling. The purpose of Same-Sex Affection Day is to show visible support and acceptance of same-sex displays of affection and to acknowledge such displays as valid and normal by creating a safe space for GLBT and straight individuals to show affection with members of the same-sex.

I hope you will consider participating in supporting an inclusive environment on campus by joining us. For the greatest amount of visibility for Same-Sex Affection Day, we hope for as much participation as possible from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm this Monday at The College of Charleston.

Thank you,

William Porter

SGA Freshman Senator

Like any good all-girls school graduate, I grab my fellow ladies’ butts with the best of them. And I enjoy a little bit of girls-only cuddle time. But same-sex affection day as a political movement? Typical college student activism: no real commitment of resources necessary, fluffy message, impossible to measure outcome. Engineered to make participants feel good without achieving any real goal. Now that I think about it, this sounds like modern liberal activism too, except that liberals aren’t afraid of committing resources (yours, to be exact).

I have a theory about students who spend their time dreaming these things up - they need jobs. They clearly have too much time on their hands, and probably too much of their parents’ money in their hands.

My gentleman caller said it well:

It’s so much easier to posture than to actually do something as a college student, so everything you get is basically self-flattery that changes nothing. Actual change takes courage, self-denial, menial work, and other things which aren’t sexy, and which you can’t look cool while doing.

I respect the people who go out and build homes with Habitat for Humanity (except Jimmy Carter), or who volunteer at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, or who put aside part of their paycheck for charity. I don’t respect the guy whose idea of activism is hugging his guy friends between 10 am and 2 pm on November 12, or the students at my school who spend one night on the Cistern with their L.L. Bean tents so that they know what it’s like to be poor.

 

Redford and Friedman: Experts on Youth?

My latest column for the George Street Observer tackles the assumption by many that my generation isn’t angry and involved enough, and notes that this message comes mostly from aging liberals, desperate to reclaim their glory days and bask in past achievements:

Redford and Friedman have a good reason for wanting to lump all young people together in a quiet, apathetic package - it allows them to pat themselves on the back for their own perceived goodness, while ignoring their approaching irrelevancy. By castigating my generation for its over-reliance on Facebook and blogs as tools of change, they can think of themselves as paragons of political virtue for getting angry in their youth and staying angry now.

Clearly, both men have political agendas: an end to the war in Iraq and greater focus on the dangers of apocalyptic global warming. I sincerely doubt that Redford and Friedman would stand up and cheer because a young conservative like me has a political voice. And they certainly wouldn’t be happy if the majority of my peers took my side on the issues. Neither Friedman nor Redford seems particularly concerned with our actual voices; they just want my generation to echo them.

Go read the whole thing.