>In Box
“B
eyond Binary” (Spring 2018, p. 21) was an outstanding article. It’s both heartening and urgent that the Willamette community expands its ability to serve students who identify as queer, transgender or nonbinary. I appreciated how this article honored the stories and experiences of students who identify in these ways, while showing pathways that Willamette staff and faculty are taking to provide support. — Brandon Adams ’08
I
am so thankful for the recent feature article, “Beyond Binary,” highlighting trans and gender nonconforming students at Willamette.
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When I matriculated at Willamette, I found an environment where queer and questioning students could openly embrace who they were, and I finally felt safe to admit to myself for the first time that I am gay. The support I received from fellow students, faculty and staff helped me to become the out and proud man that I am today. I am glad to hear that the university continues to be a place of acceptance and support for those who have not found it elsewhere. A liberal arts college should be a place where someone can safely explore who they are and learn from life experiences that are different from their own. This type of environment not only allows LGBTQ students to grow into their identity but also broadens the horizons of the entire community.
standards. This discipline of verification is what separates journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda, fiction or entertainment.” This article missed that mark. I had a great conversation with my child, Bridget Blaney, after reading the article. She is indeed an intelligent, confident, and articulate person. Her experience of her parents’ actions and reactions are filtered through her valid perspective. However, the author of the article failed to take into consideration that the humans about which Bridget spoke may have a different, but equally valid, perspective. A quick phone call or a short email would have made a much better article. — Karen Blaney
Where’s Tufton? Congratulations to Jenny Cook ’01, who was the first reader to spot Tufton Beamish in the spring issue. After finding a familiar name on product boxes in the photo on p. 29, she wrote, “So, does Tufton Fresh have a local CSA we can all join too? Glad to see he’s keeping WU kitchens sustainable!”
— The Rev. Paul Eldred ’10
“I
n a small town in northeastern Wyoming,” at my dinner table I read your article “Beyond Binary” — at first with eagerness, then with dismay. I am disappointed that the writer did not consider an important principle of journalism, verification, when writing the article. According to the APA, “Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as possible about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal such [journalistic]
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FALL 2018
Where’s Tufton hiding in this issue? Send your sightings to magazine@willamette.edu.