Editor:
I’m writing in response to Aaron Guercio’s Oct. 18 letter to the editor, “Diversity Has Gone Too Far” about the university “misappropriating” student funds to address issues involving diversity and homosexuality. Guercio, a junior in biology, said he would not expect the university to put on a Heterosexual Pride Week and did not expect them to hold a Gay Pride Week. He also said U Pride meant he was supporting lifestyles that run contrary to his moral convictions, but I say he is wrong.
Guercio is not someone who needs one class to fulfill his diversity requirement, but an entire academic major. A hypothetical heterosexual week is not even comparable because here in Utah we celebrate heterosexuality everyday, along with being white and male. This is why we need celebrations such as black history month, women’s history month and gay pride week. Having “U Pride” does not mean that you have to support lifestyles that run contrary to your moral convictions, but it does mean that you have to recognize that we are all equal students at the U? students that are different and that have different opinions and different moral beliefs. The U is not supporting Gay Pride, but setting up an environment that allows students to feel comfortable about being different.
Having “U Pride” is knowing that we all share something in common here at the U. It means knowing that we are all welcome to support a losing football team and are able to unite together whether we’re white, black, brown, female, male, straight or gay. If we can’t learn to unite our differences here as students, then what good is our degree after we graduate and go into the real world?
Sam Geiger
Senior, Political Science and Gender Studies