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Show Opinions Monday • July 6, 2009 Stonewall, then and now MATTTHEW A. J0NASSA1NT Asst. Opinions editor Most elementary school students spend a day - or in some cases a week, perhaps - studying the African American civil rights movement. But it's unlikely that they can tell you what Stonewall was. June 28th was the fortieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969. The riots marked the beginning of the gay rights movement and gays and lesbians all over the United States had a public voice for the first time. Gays and lesbians had few political organizations prior to Stonewall, though a couple of notable ones had formed, such as the Mattachine Society, which was formed in 1951, or the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955. Post-WWII America was paranoid and fearful of social deviants, and homosexuality was considered dangerous enough not only to be lumped in a category with the Communists, anarchists and other far left groups, but was also listed as a disease in the American Psychiatric Association manual for mental disorders, which is fortunately no longer the case. "The riots marked the beginning of the gay rights movement and gays and lesbians all over the United States had a more public voice for the first time." The Stonewall Inn was one of the few gay bars in New York City where gays and lesbians could go to and feel safe from discrimination, but routine police raids made local bar owners as well as gays and lesbians feel uneasy. Feelings esca- We killed Michael Jackson Opinions writer Michael Jackson was not this sort of celebrity. A musical prodigy, Jackson-was famous since he was a young child for his vocal command and musicianship, which exceeded that of those several times his own age, shooting him to magazine covers and megastardom. As the years went by, his genius in the studio and on the stage began to be overshadowed by his eccentricities; rumors of Peter Pan obsessions, odd purchases (like the bones of the Elephant Man) and a bizarrely compelling marriage to the daughter of Elvis all fueled the fire. This furor reached its pinnacle when Michael was accused of pedophilia, and overnight, the media that once proclaimed him the King of Pop turned him into a carnival attraction: half dunk-tank and half laughingstock. Although the first lawsuit against Jackson was settled out of court, a result .often mistaken for an admission of guilt, his reputation was forever cemented, despite no conviction and all criminal charges dropped due to lack of evidence. A subsequent lawsuit in 2005 again accused him of sexual abuse of a child, and Jackson was found — again — not guilty on all charges. Michael Jackson was a genius. His influence on popular media is unmatched by anyone since The Beatles or his late ex-father-in-law, but this is all cast aside based on accusations that never proved to be of any merit. Stonewall Park, in New York commemorates the Stonewall riots. social inclusion and those who fight to tear down normalizing social institutions. They may do well to remember that when the gay rights movement was born, it was a moment when gays and lesbians were united not by a desire for equality per se, but by a desire for liberation. Issues of social recognition were less important than simply being free to express individuality. It is only when queers all across the States begin to form a Courtesey of Nick Lansley true community with one another in the same spirit that unified them during the Stonewall riots that the gay rights movement will progress toward change like never before. Civility, respect and exclusion An interview with President Matt Holland ANDYSHERWIN The existence of symbiotic, even parasitic relationships between tabloid journalism and arbitrarily appointed "celebrities" can perhaps best be indicated by professional strumpet Paris Hilton and her ilk. The fame with which her contemporaries are met is a direct result of the economic reward given by the "journalism" that created them. These walking self-fulfilling prophecies exist only to be famous, and their notoriety comes from their notoriety, making a strange Mobius strip of press releases and "leaked" sex tapes. lated until one night during a raid, when Stonewall patrons decided that enough was enough and began to block the paddy wagon where police were loading prisoners. The night exploded into rebellion and although no one had an agenda, a slogan or even a real plan, everyone was united in one goal: putting a stop to the persecution and rioting for the freedom to live in peace. The Stonewall riots ignited a string of gay rights activism that inspired dozens of others across the States to come out of the closet and take to the streets and courts in protest, working for change. The gay rights movement has come a long way since that June night in 1969 and there are now few police raids on gay bars. The focus of the movement has changed slightly since that night, and the LGBTQ community is divided between those who fight for DAVID SELF NEWL1N Opinions editor Courtesey of Ben Heine Why do we as a society tear these people down? Is it because we are terrified by the notion that someone can be so different, can see things in such a different way as to change the way that everything is done? Why are we so offended that giants walk amongst us? What it comes down to is that we are responsible for Michael Jackson's early death and tortured life. Anyone that bought a magazine that mocked him on the cover, anyone that made him into a child abuse punch line, anyone that chuckled at a mean-spirited Saturday Night Live skit is responsible. We wouldn't allow a man that was obviously mentally ill and underdeveloped to be so superior to us in some ways when he was so dramatically underdeveloped and inferior in others, so we destroyed him with every joke about the pigment of his skin, the shape of his nose, or his naive innocence. You can keep your sad Facebook statuses, your depressed Twitter posts, your ineffectual blog tributes and your tired YoiiTube links because it's predictable and hypocritical. Weep and wail all you like. Brag about how you tried to do the Moonwalk in tube socks on your parents' waxed hardwood floor when you were five years old. Buy the tribute magazines that exploit the innocent genius that you.so ruthlessly mocked during his darkest hours. We'll never have another like Michael Jackson. He offered everything he had and placed it at society's feet. He put a song in our step and a smile on our face and we killed him for it. On June 20, President Matthew Holland was gracious enough to sit down for an interview with the UVU Review. The President, when asked about his plans for engaged learning, said he was "absolutely committed" and to be on the lookout in the next couple weeks for "an announcement...which will underscore that I'm putting my money where my mouth is in terms of the profile and attention I want to give to engaged learning." I asked President Holland about his membership in the National Organization for Marriage (an issue, that I brought up in a June 22 article "Not everyone is cheering") and how he thought it would affect his ability to deal with the gay community here. He responded with a concept called "civic charity," which he delineates in his book "Bonds of Affection." "We need to conduct ourselves with a high degree of civility and respect, and ultimately with care...I come into this absolutely committed to being a fair and honest broker." When people see how he intends to lead, "they'll be reassured about my commitments to that." He also emphasized that the V has to be a place which welcomes people with all views, including his own. No matter who the president is, there will always be an "overwhelming number of LDS kids here or conservative kids here" and we should try not to be "exclusionary." "I c o m e into this absolutely committed to b e i n g a fair and honest b r o k e r . " Pres. Matthew Holland Aren't some views by their nature exclusionary, however? It's hard to see how membership in NOM implies inclusion, since the point is to exclude a whole class of people from a common institution like marriage. But of course, people with views advocated by NOM are and will be for the foreseeable future the ones in the driver's seat in this state concerning LGBT rights issues. In addition, things like benefits for partners of gay faculty, not to mention those partner's children, seem to fit squarely within the realm of u care," though I don't think anyone suspects that we'll soon see that happen at UVU. Regarding concerns about how he came to be in office, whether it was because of his name, Pres. Letters to the editor requirements uvu.review.opinions@gmail.com • Letters must be turned in on Wednesday by noon in order to be printed in the next edition. • We make no guarantee that letters will be printed. • Letters 300 words or less have a greater chance of being published - anything longer will be edited for content. • Please provide an electronic copy regardless of whether or not you wish to submit a hard copy. • All letters become the property of UVU Review as soon as they are submitted. • Anonymous letters are only publishable when the safety or professional status of the letter writer is in jeopardy. y Trent Bates/UVU Review Holland said that he didn't get the job because of his last name - but he acknowledges that certainly it provided him an "entry ticket." Pres. Holland was also quick to point out, and rightfully so, that he has had "just as many object to me because of my last name" as those who accepted him because of it. I asked the president precisely why then he was chosen. He responded that the Board of Regents as an official body never expressed to him exactly why they decided to go with him (and neither are they required to explain that to anyone; meetings which discuss the personal character and competence of appointed individuals are not public record according to Utah Jaw). "The interviews happened here...on that March sixth. There were a set of student interviews; there was a faculty group I met with. I met with the cabinet, and then the last meeting was with the Regents... and then I was invited back an hour later and they said 'We'd like to appoint you to be President of Utah Valley University'...There wasn't a lot of 'let us tell you what we liked or didn't like', it was, you know, 'Here's the camera. Get started.'" Asked about what was said in more informal settings, Pres Holland said, "...I seemed to understand the institution and what it was and where it needed to go.. .That I seemed to have a real passion for it. It seemed to be something I would throw my whole heart and soul into...They liked that I had a good and solid academic background, and that I seemed to understand research and scholarship." The President admitted his youth as compared to the norm for university presidents, but emphasized his academic qualifications, which are nothing to be scoffed at, and achievements at places like "Princeton and Duke and.'the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, places that have never heard or cared about-who Jeff Holland is." Indeed; his academic achievements are stellar, and all his own. But of course, the Presidency of this University is not an academic post, but a pojitical one, and his scholarship need not convince us of. his abilities, and neither was that scholarship the reason for his appointment. • < |