Dear Editor,
In response to the story run Tuesday titled ‘Students Destroy Bid for the Bachelor Banner’, several corrections are necessary.
First of all, the three students involved did not “barge in” as stated in the article, but politely requested to see the person in charge of banners for Hillel after being shocked and offended by the photos on the banner. They then peeled the pictures off the banner and brought them directly to Hillel. The students were careful not to destroy the pictures because they wanted to show Hillel personnel exactly what they were upset about. The “eye candy” as Melissa Dalinsky of Hillel called it was two pictures, one of a woman with her legs spread in what looked like a bikini, and the second picture included a man and woman drenched in water, the woman wearing only wet gauze.
After speaking privately to the person in charge, one Hillel representative threatened the students with an accusation of anti-Semitism. Let’s make it clear, the students were there due to the inappropriateness of the photos. After Hillel representatives told the students that it was against UM regulations to alter the banner they volunteered to put the pictures back.
Dr. Pat Whitely agreed that the banner never should have been approved. It was removed by 11:00 that morning. At a meeting with Dean Singleton, the students were told that the pictures had been added to the banner after it was approved.
Furthermore, the students are not being investigated as the article states. These students took a stand against something they believed was wrong and accomplished what they set out to do – get the banner removed. They should be commended for what they’ve done. What does it say that a leading organization on campus views women’s bodies as “eye candy”? The students who voiced their opinions were not faceless cowards, and refuse to be categorized as “eye candy.”
It is unfortunate that a female student from Hillel asked why the students cared when the pictures weren’t of them. The question is not why should they care, it is why don’t you?? WE CARE! How else are we going to change perceptions of women if we don’t find our voice and use it? Think about it.
Students of Womens Studies