It never ends. Dr. Witt has promptly addressed that racial slurs were chalked onto a column at Moody Music Building at some point on Tuesday, October 11. I've included the above photo to document what all students received and here is the quote a little more legibly:

“I learned late Tuesday afternoon that an unknown person or persons had chalked offensive words on a column of Moody Music Building. While the entire community would certainly be offended by this language, it could be particularly upsetting to African Americans.

“The words were removed as soon as they were discovered. However, I want to emphasize in the strongest possible terms that The University of Alabama finds this behavior totally unacceptable and strongly condemns any use of these words on our campus. Every effort will be made to identify and appropriately punish the individual(s) responsible.

“This University respects and values each member of our community. I hope that every decision will reflect that commitment.“  - Dr. Robert E. Witt, UA President

Have we not learned anything this year? It's time after time after goddamn time that we as a campus allow these things to anger us, but be swept away by most until we realize that the cockroach in the corner is indeed not dead and crawling over our face at night . . . with a piece of chalk. I grow more ashamed every day of individuals who tarnish the reputation of the school that will hand me a degree and more so by the community as a whole that lets this happen day in and day out. Governor Wallace might as well be running up and down the steps of every college at UA. I'm sick of the parents that have raised these sick children of theirs to perpetuate the hate they demonstrate because they're so goddamn elitist and too stupid to realize they have no right to set themselves so high.

I'm sick of a campus that praises giant, incessant messages chalked for Unashamed and defaces those for Alabama Atheists. I'm sick of a campus that gives birth to and perpetuates corrupt government policy makers and covers for their ass when they've been caught doing exactly what we suspected them doing all along. I'm sick of a school that smiles and shakes their heads so solemnly to acts of racism and preach a doctrine of diversity that is only reflected in the profits. I'm sick and tired of this school and what my degree is going to reflect to the rest of the world. I went to a school that went against everything I believe in knowing full well what was happening on our sidewalks, in our classrooms, and behind closed doors.

I let myself remain a second-class student.

And an passive aggressive e-mail to the student body is not going to fix that.


Not Over But Still Out,
CampusQueer

Quidditch on the Quad II from UA Creative Campus on Vimeo.

So first of all, kuddos to Creative Campus for being basically just an awesome initiative at UA in the first place. Second kuddos for a well produced video ad. And lastly, I want to play Quidditch. I laughed at the idea last year. Now I'm having second thoughts. I refuse the reality that with the closing of the last movie this summer my childhood must swirl down the toilet to the sounds of Moaning Myrtle's . . . errr . . . moaning. I'm not adverse to the idea of a CampusQueer team. I've got shirts! They're black so I'm thinking something like "Queer Eaters." That obviously needs some development. Anygay, registration is this month until Oct. 21 so if you are ready to race broomsticks across the Quad you better dip your quill and get to signing some papers. The actual event is set to take place Nov. 13. 

My my. This new job and this semester of hellacious class is getting the best of my blogging self. I'm even letting LGBT History Month slip away without one measly post. But today my main concern is race. Over the past month, we've seen a lot of race debate in the CW, especially regarding race in our greek system. I've been in classrooms where greek members are outraged that they are being cast into a lump group of people who are racist on our campus. It's all very topsy-turvy and confusing when you start looking at all sides of it. I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

On one hand it can not be denied that we have a prominently white greek system that conducts block voting to get their white candidates in offices to push their white greek agenda. In all the reporting I've seen, campus officials don't deny this uncomplicated truth, but instead wash their hands of these "private" institutions that are being handed land to organize on public property. On the other hand, the greek system can't be faulted for good organization skills (skills that produce driven students and impressive fundraising/volunteer efforts in our community.) People join these groups to feel validated. Oprah said on her final episode everyone wants to be validated. Kids show up to college and feel some kind of pressure to join these groups. It could be family, a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar social setting, promising career incentives, political gain, or just their own MTV-fed, brainwashed idea of what college is.

Based on that validation, these kids don't immediately realize that they are part of an elitist cult. Okay I said it, but they don't. I don't imagine they walk in and get handed a pamphlet of the racist agenda and how to proliferate it. It's just something that is bred and whispered through the ages because we are at the heart of a scar on American history that is centuries old. They don't look at their houses and see the resemblance of plantation houses. They don't look at their pledge brothers and see just white faces. They see faces they identify with. Just like I look at my friends and see LGBT and LGBT-friendly faces. We associate with people we have commonality with because we fear change.

The main thing to remember is that these things come from a select few. Leaders make decisions that affect the masses and hardly ever truly reflect the heart and soul of the people they are making decisions for. The nation is throwing a loathsome eye at Alabama with the upholding our newest immigration bill that make the streets unsafe for anyone of Latino descent, even if you are as legal as apple pie on a windowsill after church on Sundays. Comments on articles from people around the nation lump Alabama as a whole. We are all racist hicks even though we had nothing to do with this bill. Countries around the world have negative views on Americans because of the actions of our leaders that we as people have no hand in. The same is true for greek individuals vs. their leaders.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the greek system is somewhat racist, but its not individuals' faults, but it is because if you're not a part of the solution you're a part of the problem, but really it's not about racism, but it is, but we're all a little elitist in our own ways already, but that's the nature of people, but there is a problem prevalent, but we don't have our finger quite on that problem just yet, but it's completely obvious to everyone what that problem is, but when do you stop playing the race card when maybe the problem is much bigger than just that.

Hate is an energy. It cannot be created nor destroyed. It can only change form. From black hate to gay hate to Latino hate to white hate to femininity hate and back and around 'til everyone gets some good ole hate. You can only hope that as the cycle comes your way, you don't let that hate become you. Pointing fingers directs attention away from ourselves. Maybe we all need to start focusing ourselves before we tell others what they need to fix?

Did I actually make a point? I think I might have. . .

Over and Out,
CampusQueer

This video is more than just a coming out video. It is the climatic point of a five month journey in which a US military serviceman shows his face in the light of the repeal of DADT just made. Under the account of AreYouSurprised on YouTube, this young man has made videos documenting his experience (headlessly and anonymously) as a gay man in the military -- telling his close friends, going through the mandatory DADT Repeal Training, turning 21, and everything in between. And get this . . . he's from Alabama as well. (Oh and he's very cute.) I'm all smiles watching this today and I think you will be too.

Over and Out,
CampusQueer

Gurl I've still got my sunglasses on and a Starbucks in my hand as I've just returned from a hellaciously gay ole time in N'aawwwlins, Lessianna for Southern Decadence 2011. Hunty I saw things there that would put Michele Bachmann into a conservative coma for 22 years and she'd wake up to find a gay US supreme court justice making it rain glitter all over the Constitution. Yes, SD11 was one for the books and that book needs to be burned. Beyond the alcohol abuse, boys on the bar, and general disregard for public indecency laws, I was able to find the education in my surroundings. Yes, it's there. You have to stay at just the right buzz level to see it.

What is really amazing about events like SD is the feeling of being in a crowd on a street and not feeling in any way like the minority. Someone special once described the feeling they got this year at Pensacola Pride like this and it really is spectacular if you take just five seconds to realize it. We weren't tucked into a bar for a couple nights a week and then expected to assimilate the next morning. No, it was glitter 24/7 as far as the eye could see. And not just because of the glitter literally in my eye. My sister whom I've yet to meet but hear is quite the lady, Miss Daisy GlammourHammour Kardashian was said to have caused a stir in the streets. Where else can a drag duchess ('cause she definitely ain't no queen from what I hear) walk the streets in daylight, have brunch, and administer flu shots to the elderly without the slightest of upset? Oh, anywhere beyond Bible Belt? My bad. Anygay, it's those moments that remind you that there is a gay culture beyond ourselves. We aren't alone. There is life on other planets called California and New York City. And sometimes they visit. With anal probes.


What is also interesting is the subcultures. You know they exist too, but we are rarely immersed in them in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Most of our gay culture only revolves around drag queen performances and wearing fratty clothes even at the gay bar. We don't really like stepping outside the conservative norms around here. We tiptoe at best. But even tiptoe-ing moves you forward and that's the most we can ever ask for. Besides, we are in a college town and have just begun building our own gay identities for the most part and have our whole lives to figure out who we are. So next time you are at a LGBT pride event, be sure to sip your vodka Redbull a little slower and really take it all in. Watch the circles of subcultures all playing together. We really are beautiful.


Over and Out,
CampusQueer

Gaga does drag. Beyonce is preggers. And Britney is outdone by a bunch of pre-teens in her own tribute. I keed! I keed! Don't get your panties all tied up til the world ends. The MTV 2011 VMA's didn't deliver too much punch this year, but we saw some deserving nominees walk home with a few D-List Moonmen trophies. We also saw a few people who got recognized for being douchebags, all of them coincidentally having penises. Let's face it . . . men have no place in the music industry right now unless collaborating with a female artist or having a voice that naturally sings in the female register. A character known as "Tyler the Creator" who is famed for eating and throwing up a cockroach in a video and then "hanging himself" was voted Artist of the Year. He is also known for homophobic slurs in his lyrics so that's absolutely fantastic. . .

Gaga took home awards for Best Female Video and Best Video With A Message for "Born This Way." Brintey won Best Pop Video with "Til The World Ends" and Nicki Minaj got Best Hip-Hop Video. Katy Perry's "Firework" took Video of the Year which makes me happy since that song has such a terrific message as well. The rest do not matter.

You can catch some of the top performances below including Gaga/"Colderone"'s opening, Adele, Chris Brown's fabulous lip-synch dance (the performance really is quite nice,) Britney's tribute, Beyonce serving it, and Bruno Mars's tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

And just to clarify one more time, if you are someone who identifies as "queer" and you can't respect Lady Gaga's attempt to bend gender norms in front of millions of people, you don't understand much about yourself. If you can't understand what that means, you need to start asking some questions about your culture. You don't have to like it, but you will respect it or just go ahead and lump yourself with the billions of people who desire and expect a heteronormative world that doesn't have to experience queer identity in society.



Over and Out,
CampusQueer