ARGONAUT U N I V E R S I T Y O F I DA H O
THE Friday, April 29, 2011
Sports
This summer a small group of students will take to the San Juan Islands for some kayaking, page 5
Opinion
Would Donald Trump make a good president? Read a column by Steve Carter, page 9
6ÄLYPUN [OL OHUK VM HJJLW[HUJL Tanya Eddins Argonaut
Alex Barnes said many of his peers in high school called him a fag. âI was a little bit more, I guess you could say, sensitive, so I got along much better with
girls and everything like that ⌠Even though I did sports and things like that, people were like, âYouâre a fag, dude,â and I was like âWhat?ââ Barnes said. Barnes, a sociology major, said he realized many people in his small home town of Kooskia, Idaho, didnât understand him. âIt was just the whole mentality of people who were there. People were just more traditional, they come from the backwoods, you
know, they donât really get out much,â Barnes said. âBeing gay is pretty serious.â Barnes said there were âjerksâ in his school that would accuse him of being gay, but they ridiculed others with the same slur, so he was able to externalize it. âUntil I was getting into high school and I was figuring out that I was more attracted to boys than girls, and then it was like, âOK.â I wasnât dating anybody and that obviously got noticed for the longest time,â he said.
When it comes to situations of harassment, Barnes is not alone. Thousands of gay or lesbian students in the nation have suffered the same derogatory insults as Barnes. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network conducted a national survey in 2009 of 7,261 middle and high school students. The study reported that 86.4 percent of LGBT students had encountered verbal harassment in regard to their sexual orientation. Joe Black has defended himself against derogatory slurs. âThere are a lot of people who have (been victims) and I think it could happen any day because I am very outspoken,â said Black, a public relations major. He said one experience he has had was in Boise when he stood on a downtown street and a passerby called him a âfaggot.â He said he is able to keep his composure in most situations but in this case, he responded. Black told the man how rude it was to make a comment like that to someone he didnât know. At that moment, a cab pulled up and Black offered to split the cab with the man who had insulted him moments before. They split the cab fare. âItâs just one of those things, I think, that you should always be what you say you are and I say I
see ACCEPTANCE, page 4
Amrah Canul | Argonaut
Members of the LGBTQA gather for Lavender Lunch Thursday in the Multicultural Affairs office in the Living and Learning Community. Heather Gasser, director of the Women's Center, said the lunch is a weekly reminder to its participants that there is always a safe place to turn.
Amrah Canul | Argonaut
Cars get the boot Parking and Transportation Services announces new policies Anja Sundali
Madison McCord and Elizabeth Rudd
Argonaut
Students with unpaid parking permits may not be able to go home for the summer as quickly as theyâd like. Parking and Transportation Services at the University of Idaho recently announced the creation of new policies in its 2011-12 parking system, some of which have already gone into effect. One such change is that any UI parking permit holder with three or more unpaid parking citations will be issued a 48-hour wheel-lock/impound notice. If the debt remains unpaid, the vehicle will be locked or towed if identified on campus. Permit holders must pay their outstanding fines in addition to a $75 wheel-lock fee to have their vehicle restored. Rebecca Couch, information specialist for Parking and Transportation services, said the new rules were created in an effort to collect an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in unpaid parking tickets. âWeâve been facing a similar money problem for the past few years,â Couch
Spear responds to Johnson case Argonaut
Amrah Canul | Argonaut
One change coming for the 2011-12 school year is if a parking permit holder has three or more unpaid citations, they will be issued a 48hour wheel/lock impound notice. said. âBut this is the first time weâve ever put policies in place to do something about it.â Another major change to the parking system involves the purchasing of
permits for the 2011-12 academic year. Permit holders must have no outstanding fees or debt on their parking account
see PARKING, page 4
Former University of Idaho basketball player Steffan Johnson was awarded a full-ride scholarship to UI two months after being expelled from University of the Pacific under allegations of sexual assault. He was recruited by coach Don Verlin, and Athletic Director Rob Spear agreed with the decision, but had no direct contact with UOP, and said they were aware of all the facts surrounding Johnsonâs expulsion. âYou have to understand the facts behind the case, and I am not at liberty to discuss those facts, but if you knew the facts as we know them you would be making the decision that we did to bring him to this campus to participate as a student athlete and be a productive citizen here,â Spear said. Spear said it was alleged that Johnson had been associated with
the sexual assault of former UOP student-athlete Beckett Brennan in May 2008, which was featured on an episode of â60 Minutesâ that aired April 17. Johnson was one of three men named in the incident, but the only to be expelled after an investigation by UOPâs Judiciary Committee. Brennan never brought legal charges against the three men. The Judiciary Committee was made of three students, one faculty member and one administrator who spent 25 hours deliberating, Brennan said. Johnson claimed he was not present during the alleged sexual assault. Johnson was never charged with any crime in the court system. At the time of his recruitment, Johnson had not been officially named as one of the students accused in the case, but had been removed from the 2008-09 team
see SPEAR, page 4
Pants protest: Denim Day raises awareness of sexual assault Argonaut
A young Italian woman put on a pair of formfitting jeans before heading to what would be her first and last driving lesson with her 45-year-old male instructor. After allegedly having âRosaâ drive out to an isolated spot, the instructor was accused of yanking her out of the car and then out of one leg of her jeans, proceeding to rape the young woman by the roadside. Despite an initial conviction for his 1992 crime, the perpetrator would win his appeal in 1999 by using the âdenim defenseâ to walk free. The Italian Supreme Court ruled in the manâs
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favor, stating, âwithout the collaboration of the person wearing themâ it is impossible to rape someone wearing jeans. In response to the controversial ruling, the women of the Italian Parliament donned their own denims in protest. Inspired by Italian legislatorsâ protest against the misconceptions of sexual assault, Los Angeles-based organization Peace Over Violence has brought âDenim Dayâ to the United States every year since the ruling in 1999. The UI Dean of Students Office Violence Prevention Program and Brotherhood Empowerment Against Rape sponsored this yearâs April 27 version of the pants protest in Moscow. B.E.A.R. has been organizing âDenim Dayâ
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almost every year since the groupâs inception in 2001, and current president Josh Reed, a sophomore in marketing and finance, sees a parallel between Italian and Idahoan attitudes toward sexual assault. âDenim Day, when you read the story, really tries to bring out the injustice in the legal system,â Reed said. âIn our legal system in Idaho itâs tough to get a conviction.â The difficulty, Reed said, is getting people to acknowledge that sexual assault is a problem, despite studies showing nearly one in five college age women will have been sexually assaulted by the time they leave school. Denim Day is a way to spread awareness and inform the public, which Reed said is appreci-
ated by many within the community. âPeople coming up and saying âthank youâ for doing this,â said Reed, as B.E.A.R. distributed fliers, buttons and sexual assault education materials at their table in the Idaho Commons Wednesday. Yet myths about sexual assault, continue to persist. Valerie Russo, director of UIâs Violence Prevention Program, said this speaks to misconceptions about consent, dress and the perpetrators surrounding sexual assault. Denim Day is âa great awareness dayâ to start busting those myths, Russo said. âI think it helps fuel the conversation about
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