Despite the administration and students uniting against instances of prejudice during the fall, most notably the creation of the Not on our Campus movement, a homophobic slur was yelled at an Elon University student Wednesday night.
What remains to be seen is how Elon handles the Catch-22 presented to them. Elon can either choose to not do much about it, or it can follow its current path of no more and no less. The issue with the former is it sends the message that homophobic slurs are less of an issue than racial slurs. The problem with the latter is it sets the precedent of the ‘same-old same-old’ wag of the finger.
Elon can be politically correct about it, but can be reasonable about its expectations too.
[quote]What the Elon community needs to come to grips with is that this place is not perfect and neither are the people that live and attend here. Elon can make every attempt to be a terrarium, but the problems of the outside world will always seep in.[/quote]
Harassing other students and spreading hate is certainly not welcome here. Elon is fortunately a quite open and accepting place. Bigotry, however, has existed for millennia. More dialogue is not the answer. If it is not the answer, it is part of the problem. Continuous sensationalism of this issue does nothing more than balloon the impact of these cultural dinosaurs. Attention is exactly what these people thrive on. Destruction is their form of creation. They have nothing constructive to add to the world, so they add outrage.
What the Elon community needs to come to grips with is that this place is not perfect and neither are the people that live and attend here. Elon can make every attempt to be a terrarium, but the problems of the outside world will always seep in. Also, this is a college. Anyone extremely shocked by these events should probably avoid drunk people in large groups.
We, as a community, need to focus on what brings us together, rather than what tears us apart. If we do nothing but point out each other’s differences, we do nothing to move forward as a team. Elon is more than the sum of its parts. It is that belief that entices students and parents to join the community regardless of their backgrounds. It would be a shame for Elon to harm its strong academic and social reputation by blowing the sentiments of a handful of pigs out of proportion.
To anyone receiving these slurs, remember the rule of sticks and stones. Show exactly how you’re stronger than the bigots. Turn the other cheek. Don’t waste your time on what’s beneath you. Focus instead on your goals and what you want for yourself instead of the judgment of the misguided.
And if the recent slur incident starts the conversation all over, let’s go ahead with it and let’s be prepared to begin it over and over.