This weekend is a campus favorite--Mary B. James. For many, it will be a chance to blow off steam and have fun before mid-sems. But given the events of the past weeks, this party should also be a time to begin the changes that we've spent the last weeks discussing.
Mary B. James--for the two students who don't know--is an all-campus party celebrating cross-dressing and drag. Traditionally, it's a time to dress as the "opposite sex" and giggle at the "masculine" men, dressed awkwardly in mini-skirts.
But this year, instead of giggling, we can all try to approach each person's chosen outfit with an element of respect. The party could be a time to play with gender, to see what's appealing about an identity we don't normally have, and to see what elements of that experience we can take into our daily, non-Mary B. James lives.
In this scenario, each person can explore and question their own assumptions of gender and sexuality--because for the night, we suspend our expectations of "masculine" and "feminine" behavior.
Since the hate crimes of the past two weeks, campus has been filled with discussions of how to institutionalize change, and how to "keep things going." We will not continue to have all-campus rallies and forums. When we arrive back from Spring Break, campus life may well return to "life as usual." It's up to us, as students, to keep that from happening, and to integrate these events into our daily lives.
What better place to start than a drunken, crazy party?
There's no need spend the evening in critique and sanctimony. If we can live up to the words, then our goal is not to have "politically-correct" spaces in academic buildings as opposed to fun spaces, like Harris. Rather, our parties should be in sync with our ethical priorities.
The hate acts targeting members of our community over the past two weeks have been unsettling to say the least. They have come to symbolize probelms larger than themselves.
Campus response to the homophobic vandalism and the 34 "bias-motivated" letters has shown an inspiring degree of support from students, faculty and staff alike.
We have been forced to recognize that our college is prone to the same misunderstandings and prejudices that plague the rest of the world.
We need to take the next step, and extend our efforts against hatred beyond the college to the wider community.
The forums, rallies, and postering efforts can evolve into a broader outreach program through which the town of Grinnell participate in this dialogue. This can be seen as an opportunity to bring our anti-hate message to different fronts.
So far, this has not happened. The mayor was first informed of the hate crimes last Wednesday afternoon when an S&B staff member called him.
The Grinnell Herald Register--which learned of the hate crimes through the Grinnell Police Department--will be running a story on the hate crimes. Because of the difficulty of accessing Grinnell College, the article will be small. But the gesture of adopting a issue affecting the college is a heartening sign of outreach.
Similarly, the new Ad Hoc focusing on Hate Crimes committee membership should be opened to non-college students. This could help bring a broader range of views into our outreach efforts. And, hopefully, establish a larger connection between the student
Many townspeople have already shown support, and more might if they knew. Faculty, staff and students should do all they can to spread awareness outside school grounds.
Professors and staff occupy a particularly unique position in being members of both the town and college communities, and we hope more will encourage dialogue outside JRC 101.
Students can reach out in their own capacities--hanging posters in small businesses, distributing pins, etc. Small acts in town help strengthen the relationship between students and townspeople.
SGA's self-governance handbook stresses the fact that the town of Grinnell is and should be viewed as a part our community. We have a chance now to reach out to that broader community, and work with them to create a hate-free atmosphere.
In the spirit of reaching outside of ourselves, spreading a positive message and opening new channels of communication, town-college relations are the next step in ensuring that the college continues its efforts to be open and accepting place.
