University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 24 text:

N 'FIIE F CE 0F PIIEJI DICE Flacial, social and ethnic prejudices festered on the seemingly open-minded KU campus. COUPLE WALKED Massachusetts Street, hand in hand, window shopping and enjoying the fresh evening air. Passing cars slowed to get a closer look. One car stopped. Passengers stared. It wasn't because the couple was cute or because they appeared to be in love. The sideways glances and stares affected Eric Moore and his com- panion. But Moore just laughed, knowing his response wouldn't change any o p i n i o n s that day . Lesbian, and Gay f of Kansas fLesBiGayS OKI 20 The gay couple con- t i n u e d walking. M o o r e , president of Lesbian, B i s e x u al and Gay Services of K a n s a s , b e l i e v e d prejudice was dimin- ishing. P e o p I e ' s assumption that everyone is straight is heterosexism, he said. When people realize there are vary- ing sexual preferences, they are unprepared. He says the result is homophobia, which is the fear and hatred of lesbians, gays or bisexual people based on stereotypes. Prejudice wasn't limited to the homosexual community. V. Torrez Dawson, vice chairman for the Big Eight conference on Black Student Government, said that the Black Bisexual student community faced institutional preju- dice. I don't feel as welcome as I probably would at a predominately Black campus, he said. Groups with less obvious or no outward BY Kesev Harman WHEN WE BEGIN 'l'0 FOIlGE'l' 'l'HE FACT 'l'HA'l' WE HAVE IlIFFEREN'l' SKIN COLOIl AND LANGUAGES, 'l'HEN WE WILL BE AB LE T0 SAV WE IIE WI'l'HOU'l' l'IlEJUllICE. -DAVID AMB LEII, VICE CHANCELIADR FOIl S'l'UlDEN'I' AFFAIRS differences faced prejudice less often. Neslie Isgoren, Izmir, Turkey, junior, says people try to be politically correct. They have strange perceptions about international students, the KU International Council president said. Prejudice may not make itself readily known, but it infiltrates life often. For some, prejudice is always an issue. Others are surprised by its presence. Following are the stories of leaders of three campus organizations who face prejudice day in and day out, sometimes in the strangest of ways, other times the subtlest. ERIC MOORE Perceptions about the gay community fueled prejudice, Moore said. Sometimes I get really tired of the prejudice. I have to remind myself that chances are I won't get beat up today because I didn't get beat up yesterday... I look back over the day and say, 'Who did I help today?' If I've helped someone - even if it's myself - then it's been a suc- cessful day. There hasn't been a day yet that I haven't helped, he said. Dealing with discrimina- tion was difficult, but Moore kept a positive outlook. He said it l lx T I v i Peojlealv.e And I me modem at thaiheiiezrif

Page 23 text:

Wu yl , f ' 4 ,+a...,.....w 'imn.:..z Luau.. V NOTHER ADDITION to the Lawrence community, Target joined the discount neighborhood when construction began on a site across from K- Mart, 3106 Iowa.

Page 25 text:

that prejudice existed on a societal and local level. Families build their own belief systems, he said. Children iden- tify with these ideas and this reinforces prejudice. Society has set up a system of heterosexuality with legal definitions about farnilies and marriage. Prejudice against non-heterosexuals is apparent in those discriminatory laws, Moore says. Gays and lesbians can't file as a domestic couple. Therefore, they can't obtain a marriage license, can't receive insurance benefits and sometimes are unable to maintain child custody. Society perceives straight AIDS suffer- ers as innocent victims while they blame the homosexual victims for the problem, Moore said. Amy Richmond, Lenexa sophomore, a white, heterosexual female, believes everyone is entitled to their own way of life. Richmond admits she grew up in an environment that was not prejudice-free. I think Lawrence and KU are very liberal compared to the rest of the world, she said. Richmond also attended the University of Missouri, and said she found KU more accepting. She said racial prejudice - . I' had taken a back seat to sexual prejudice. x -. 5 R 1-K r 4 -'!'. .-'L - . I 151' '24 I think that people still see homo- sexuality as gross. Gay couples are certainly treated differently than hetero- sexuals. I 7 - . Neha mia? Blacks also were treated People always stare at me and give me questioning looks when they see the scarf that covers my head. Why? And I answer: Because Islam is my religion, and I am a Muslim. In Islam the scarf, or hijnb, is a symbol of modesty and a form of protection for women, said Arshia Papa, Overland Park freshman. Papa also said that her female friends and immediate family were allowed to see her hair, but other men were not allowed. Religious institutions also support a system that is discrirninatory, he says. They believe that since the Bible says this or the Koran says that, they too should discriminate. Discrimination works in society as it does in political and religious groups, Moore said. AIDS sufferers, if they are homosexuals, are accused by society. The connection between AIDS and gays is not an accident, said Karl differently. When I, a Black man, walk by a woman at night, she clenches her purse. I'm usually just coming home from a meeting, Dawson said. It seemed two factors affected the prejudice at the University. Dawson said that first, prejudice was parentally and rurally inflicted. Farnilies and communities handed down their lack of knowledge and ignorance about mi- norities. jenn Iolmson, Brookings, South Dakota, I if I' f f x f . f , 2 ' 5 Hockenbarger at a demonstration on Dec. 1, World AIDS day, in front of the Kansas Union. I-Iockenbarger is a protestor with junior, a white female, agreed. Students are in these closed, white suburbs and small towns. Those students Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church and had not been exposed to the prejudice Library group. some groups endure, she said. V Tomasz DAWSON