I'll start by saying I have nothing against straight people. I'm not someone easily offended, I laugh it off when friends poke fun of me for being gay, but I am offended when someone displays childlike ignorance and makes derogatory remarks.
I'm awestruck how people can warp religious views to make others feel less than human. It's true the church teaches that it's ok to be gay, but that it's a sin to act on those feelings. However, being able to tell your peers that you are gay and being intimate with someone of the same sex are two completely different things. Being gay isn't "practicing" some kind of hobby, it's a lifestyle that the majority of us didn't ask for. Most of us are no different from any other straight person, besides who we go home to (although we may be a little better dressed and have whiter teeth). I was born and raised Catholic, and I thought the core Catholic social teaching is "Treat others the way you want to be treated," not abortion is wrong and punish the gays.
Adding homosexuality to the non-discrimination clause won't change anything; we aren't some cult dressed in pink robes going from building to building re-arranging furniture. No, the only thing it would change is the disrespectful attitude students on this campus seem to have towards gays. No one passes judgment when straight people have premarital sex (which is a sin), but when someone admits to being gay they are shunned.
We are at a top 20 University, and if Notre Dame wants to break into the top 10 they need to be able to recruit all types of students. It's sad that many students spend their four years here hiding their sexuality because they fear their peers will cast them out if they "come out." So the next time you want to rant about how gays are evil, immoral, (insert adjective) perhaps you should stop and look at the group you're addressing; there's a good chance someone in that group is gay but too afraid to admit it.
Joseph Deters
junior
Duncan Hall
Oct . 7
I'm awestruck how people can warp religious views to make others feel less than human. It's true the church teaches that it's ok to be gay, but that it's a sin to act on those feelings. However, being able to tell your peers that you are gay and being intimate with someone of the same sex are two completely different things. Being gay isn't "practicing" some kind of hobby, it's a lifestyle that the majority of us didn't ask for. Most of us are no different from any other straight person, besides who we go home to (although we may be a little better dressed and have whiter teeth). I was born and raised Catholic, and I thought the core Catholic social teaching is "Treat others the way you want to be treated," not abortion is wrong and punish the gays.
Adding homosexuality to the non-discrimination clause won't change anything; we aren't some cult dressed in pink robes going from building to building re-arranging furniture. No, the only thing it would change is the disrespectful attitude students on this campus seem to have towards gays. No one passes judgment when straight people have premarital sex (which is a sin), but when someone admits to being gay they are shunned.
We are at a top 20 University, and if Notre Dame wants to break into the top 10 they need to be able to recruit all types of students. It's sad that many students spend their four years here hiding their sexuality because they fear their peers will cast them out if they "come out." So the next time you want to rant about how gays are evil, immoral, (insert adjective) perhaps you should stop and look at the group you're addressing; there's a good chance someone in that group is gay but too afraid to admit it.
Joseph Deters
junior
Duncan Hall
Oct . 7
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
