National Campus News

Acadia Residence Declares Itself "Fag Free"

The Athenaeum - Acadia University

WOLFVILLE, N.S. (CUP) -- A crude drawing of two men holding hands crossed out in red, and the words "No fags!" scrawled on it hung over the entrance to an Acadia university male residences.

The banner went up March 16 and was taken down the same afternoon. Bill Scott, the residence coordinator, removed it upon hearing of its existence.

The demonstration was in reaction to Acadia’s student newspaper’s, The Athenaeum Gay and Lesbian Splash, an eight page supplement in its March 15 edition. Many men in the residence were "offended" by the eight page supplement.

"It stemmed from our general anger at reading the Ath last night,” said the residence assistant of the floor which displayed the banner.

All residents who were interviewed spoke on the condition they remained anonymous. A member of Acadia’s gay community, also anonymous, felt eight pages was enough "considering we had enough (submissions) for 12, (and) considering we haven’t had a supplement since 1979."

The news editor for the paper, Wally McLean, said the reaction was immature. "It showed how necessary something like the gay and lesbian supplement was for this campus."

McLean said it was the Heterosexual Questionnaire that provoked the most outrage. "We wrote an editorial this week explaining the purpose behind the questionnaire."

The quiz had questions which are often asked of gays and lesbians, but turned them around. For

example, instead of asking gay people if they needed only a straight relationship to turn their life around, the questionnaire asked "Isn’t it that

all you need is a good gay lover."

Harassment Policy May Cover Student Relations

The Charlatan - Carleton University

OTTAWA (CUP) -- Carleton University has drawn up a sexual harassment policy that would -- for the first time -- govern student-to-student relations.

If approved, it would go beyond the university’s 1983 "statement of expectations" by providing penalties for people who violate the policy.

"This policy puts us more in line with other universities and the Ontario Human Rights Commission," said status of women office co-ordinator Fran Klodawsky.

"I’m expecting something, but I cannot predict what a board of 72 persons will do with a piece of legislation,” said Donald McEown, the secretary of Carleton’s Board of Governors.

The policy would set up a three person panel, chosen by the people involved, to research the case, find facts and present them to a mediation group.

Carleton’s current policy makes the complainant go through a series of interviews with officials such as the ombudsperson, deans, and directors.

Klodawsky said often these people do not understand the specific concerns of the students. "The official contacts felt uncomfortable and the complainants felt uncomfortable,” she said.

Panther Magazine

10

September 6, 1990