IOWA STATE DAILY
OPINION
Monday, Sept. 28, 2015
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
5 EDITORIAL
Simplify assault reporting
Katy Klopfenstein/Iowa State Daily
Some of the students who visited the free speech zone outside of Parks Library last week were targets of remarks by a street preacher who was visiting Iowa State. Amelia Rinker, junior in dietetics, said she was called a whore by the man, and that he is not welcome on campus.
Shame on you, street preacher Self-proclaimed messenger of God isn’t welcome here By Amelia Rinker Junior in dietetics An open letter to the self-proclaimed messenger of God on campus last week who openly called me a whore in front of the crowd because my shorts came above my knees: As the girl you just verbally harassed, I have this to say to you- I’m really sorry for you. I’m also sorry for everyone that has had to listen to your obnoxious, blatantly false representation of what it is to be Christian this week. But at the root of it, I’m really sorry that somebody taught you that God was unforgiving, wrathful and full of spite.
I’m sorry for whomever taught you that Hell is the only destination for all those that sin by listening to rock and roll music, wearing strappy sandals or showing their kneecaps. I’m sorry your relationship with God is so broken, so flawed in perspective that you feel it necessary to come to the campus of a school you don’t attend, and yell at students who are busy trying to learn and discover solutions to change our futures and help the world. That’s what I have to say to you as the woman you just verbally harassed. This is what I have to say to you as a Christian: I pray that you stop representing my faith like this but until then, shame on you. Shame on you for coming here every day this week preaching about a hateful and wrath-some God. Shame on you for never once, in all of the rants I’ve heard from you this week, speaking of the forgive-
ness of God or His kindness. Shame on you for your condescending, narrow-minded, disrespectful and cruel behavior day after day after day. Shame on you for responding cruelly to non-Christians asking genuine questions about the Bible and how it’s stories relate to their life’s experiences. Shame on you for telling a girl on Tuesday afternoon who sought to understand how she could find a relationship with God after losing her faith after years of abuse, neglect, and violence from her parents that it was her fault. Shame on you for telling the girl, who asked if she would be forgiven by God because she was raped, that she should have lived a less sinful life so that wouldn’t have happened to her. Shame on you for preying on other people’s insecurities and way of life just to say you are a “preacher”. You and your judgemental, condescending, harassing behavior are not welcome here.
Label acceptance benefits society By Angelica.Lawson @iowastatedaily.com The recent labels for different groups are a way of taking back a voice that has been forced into silence. Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, allies or asexual are reclaiming labeling and turning it into something positive for society. A lot of naysayers oppose these emerging labels within the community and don’t want to understand the need to put a label on the different types of sexuality. Accepting a need for differentiation within this American subculture does not affect your daily life. It does not take away from your sexual orientation or religious beliefs to simply say, OK, so your A+, that’s cool. These labels provide people
who identify as LGBTQQPAA+ a sense of belonging, which has been sorrowfully lacking in our society until recently. An undeniable desire to feel like we belong within ourselves exists, and it’s a great feeling when you find somewhere you fit in. It satisfies a psychological need, and making connections with people who understand what you’re experiencing in life is essential. The need to belong is prevalent in everyone, and each person expresses it in different ways. It is prevalent in kids before they reach kindergarten, and you can see kids start to stray from the friends who their parents established in an attempt to find people who share their interests. Having all of these labels may seem obsessive and unnecessary. People used to always be identified as gay or straight.
With the emergence of people who now identify as transgender, asexual or pansexual, it’s more than just gay or straight. The differences are real and deserve to be acknowledged. Creating and accepting these labels and identities is important for people who have always lived without knowing who they truly are. This is an opportunity to show acceptance and understanding of a group that has been hidden in the background and prevented from waving its flag of difference. This is the generation of the LGBTQQPAA+, the generation of definition. Now is the time for acceptance and education. The people who fall into this group are more than worthy of sharing their voices, and having them heard in the community. They want to be addressed, and want people to know who
they are and what it means to be a part of this community. It’s necessary for members of this group to be accepted by their community and to provide answers to people with questions. A crowd just as diverse as the one today has existed for the last 20 years, and there have been people in the past who have identified themselves as something other than gay or straight. It’s time for everyone’s voice to be heard and appreciated. People who have never had to defend or explain themselves to a crowded room of judgmental and confused eyes and ears may believe the labels are unnecessary. Understanding and accepting people’s differences and new labels will allow us to develop a stronger generation of people who will proudly be able to identify as who they are.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Protect Iowa taxpayers instead of Big Oil LaVerne Johnson Pilot Mound, Iowa More than a year ago, my attorney notified “Energy Transfer Partners, LP, DBA Bakken Pipeline, LLC, DBA Dakota Access LLC” by letter that I was not interested in having a pipeline on my property. Many times since then, Dakota Access LLC persisted wanting to survey my property, and I always replied no. In April, Dakota Access LLC took the issue to the
Iowa District Court for Boone County and filed Case Number EQ40450, petitioning the court to order the survey of my property and ordering the Boone County Sheriff to protect the surveyors while they survey my property in case I would interfere. Judge John J. Haney ruled, based on Iowa Law 479B.15, that the pipeline company has the right to survey my property with the protection of the Boone County Sheriff. The company did survey my property without my per-
mission, and the Boone County Sheriff Department was present. I know this because a few days later I received an engineer’s plat of the proposed route of the pipeline through my properties. The pipeline company listed my property on Exhibit H (Eminent Domain) with the Iowa Utilities Board even though my neighbors to the west, north and east had given easements to the pipeline company. The pipeline company paid
my neighbors for those easements, so it already has a route around my property. Our governor, senators, representatives, judges and sheriffs are supposedly paid by Iowa taxpayers, to protect Iowa taxpayers — not Big Oil. Maybe it’s time to change some laws and protect private property in Iowa and Iowa taxpayers. The next election is coming up. Pilot Mound is known for being the “friendliest town around.” So far, I have tried to be nice.
Would you know what to do? If you or your friend was sexually assaulted, would you know where to go to report the crime or where to find other resources for help? Statistics say you do not. A report on Iowa State’s sexual assault climate that was released last week by the American Association of Universities said just 28.1 percent of the more than 5,000 ISU students who answered the survey know where to make a report of sexual misconduct of any sort. Just 34 percent of students know where to find help. Another concerning number, and perhaps the one that tells the most about reporting these crimes on college campuses, is that not quite 17 percent of the ISU students who responded know what happens once sexual misconduct is reported. While this may show a lack of education on the subject for ISU students — which the ISD Editorial Board discussed in an editorial last week — this could also indicate the reporting process is, quite frankly, too complicated and difficult to understand. If the reporting process is simplified and similar powers are consolidated in one body rather than having redundant options for reporting sexual misconduct, perhaps more students would better understand how to report these instances. Put simply, students have three options when reporting sexual misconduct. They can go through the criminal justice system, the university judicial system or both. While it may almost seem like a benefit having two channels to go through with a sexual misconduct case, the two bodies have very different goals and very different processes that students may not be aware of. While one body has a goal of investigating the case and bringing a criminal to justice, the other wants to promote education and end discrimination. The study also showed that students have full confidence in Iowa State to act and keep them safe if they do report sexual misconduct to the university. Title IX requires universities to inform a person if he or she is the subject of a sexual assault investigation, which could easily lead to retaliation against the survivor. In addition to this, university faculty are often not trained as investigators and do not have the power of arrests or subpoenas. Finally, universities may feel pressure to cover up some of these cases or at least not include them in Clery Act Reports. This room for error became very real for students here at Iowa State last year. It was announced that the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights decided to investigate the university for possibly mishandling a case of sexual assault. The federal government’s investigation was launched after a father of an ISU student who was a sexual assault survivor wrote a letter to the Department of Education expressing concerns that the university was not doing enough in his daughter’s case. He said the person who committed the assault was placed on the same dorm floor as his daughter. If universities have so much room for errors and don’t have the same power and resources to deal with sexual misconduct cases as law enforcement, why not consolidate these powers, allow universities to focus on what they do best and, in turn, simplify the reporting process for students. If the reporting process was simplified, perhaps more students would better understand it and report sexual misconduct more frequently, preventing it from falling through the cracks.
Editorial Board
Danielle Ferguson, editor-in-chief Madison Ward, opinion editor Maddy Arnold, managing editor of engagement Opinions expressed in columns and letters are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Daily or organizations with which the author(s) are associated.
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