EDITORIALS

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Carolyn Grindrod, Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s Box
By Carolyn Grindrod
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief


It’s just a big misunderstanding

The other day I was in Atlanta, and I stopped for dinner at the Mellow Mushroom. In the doorway were several local magazines advertising events in the area. But it wasn’t these magazines that caught my eye-it was a larger book stacked in the corner—the “Gay Yellow Pages.”

I picked it up thinking how bizarre it was the homosexual community of Atlanta needed a separate phone book. I took it home with me, and it was there that I realized what its true purpose was.

I was looking through the pages and realized the majority of places featured support groups, for example a medicine clinic geared to homosexuals. I realized that this minority is just like most minorities, complete with its own lifestyle and culture.

For example, here at GHC we have several clubs geared to different political or different lifestyles. We have the GLBTS, which is geared, similar to the other organizations in the Gay Yellow pages, to the homosexual communities in the area. BAS is geared to African-American culture, which I think is of great importance for this predominately white school.

GHC even has clubs dedicated to different religious, political and other different lifestyles.

At first I thought it was ironic that in today’s society, where the main stress on the community is we accept everyone for their differences, that people would segregate themselves from society. However, I began to realize that it’s important that minorities have support groups with other people who share their interests so they can turn to people that understand their needs.

There has been a major misunderstanding about why these clubs were formed and that saddens me. The major argument that I hear from people is that the clubs outcast themselves, forming cliques to separate themselves from society.

People automatically assume that just because an organization’s main focus is race or personal preferences that the organization is hostile towards others, and this is just outrageous.

I think its high time that people learn to respect each other.

Everyone has different and unique things that makes them who they are. Whether you’re homosexual, straight, black, white, hispanic, male or female, you should get the respect you deserve, and no one should judge you because you seem different.

Hopefully, one day we can eliminate the need for separate yellow pages, and, as John Lennon sang, “ ... the world will live as one.”