Posted on 02/13/2006 1:46:46 PM PST by thehumanlynx
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Fans of No. 5 Gonzaga have been asked to stop yelling "Brokeback Mountain" at opposing players.
The reference to the recent movie about homosexual cowboys was chanted by some fans during Monday's game against Saint Mary's, and is apparently intended to suggest an opposing player is gay.
The chants were the subject of several classroom discussions over the past week, and the faculty advisers for the Kennel Club booster group urged students this week to avoid "inappropriate chants" during the Bulldogs' Saturday game against Stanford, which was nationally televised on ESPN.
"We implore the students of the Kennel Club to show the nation this weekend what makes Gonzaga different," Kennel Club advisers David Lindsay and Aaron Hill wrote in a letter in the student newspaper, the Bulletin. "We challenge the students of the Kennel Club to exhibit the class, the creativeness and the competitive drive that has become a foundation of this great university."
Mark Alfino, a professor of philosophy at Gonzaga, said the matter had been widely discussed by faculty and students.
"Many faculty members have brought up the discussion in their classes," he said. "They find none of the students have been comfortable with the chant, and that's a good sign."
Ryan Olson, the president of Helping Educate Regarding Orientation, a gay-straight alliance on campus, said the chants are just the latest incident that shows GU is struggling to make gays and lesbians welcome on campus.
In a letter to the Bulletin, the HERO membership wrote, "This is not even remotely the first time that Kennel Club chanters have chanted homophobic phrases at basketball games."
"A lot of people in the Kennel Club say it wasn't them" that chanted "Brokeback Mountain," Olson said. "But there's something to be said about apathy as well. Students didn't stop people from saying it."
In Friday's Bulletin, senior Callie Monroe wrote a column calling the chants a case of "outright discrimination."
"Imagine yourself as a homosexual individual in the midst of your peers, classmates and friends during this 'Brokeback Mountain' cheer," Monroe wrote. "I simply do not understand how a student body claiming to live by Jesuit principles of acceptance and respect for all can allow an incident like this to happen and remain silent."
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Where's the diversity, tolerance and inclusiveness of the Kennel Clubs views?
"They find none of the students have been comfortable with the chant, and that's a good sign."
A perfect illustration of the accomplishments of political correctness. In the classroom under the scrutiny of a professor, the students tow the 'pc' line, but in a crowd with anonymity, their true feelings are revealed. It's the consequence of the liberal perception that you can mold perspectives by mandating behavior while totally ignoring character. Liberal colleges are grinding out hollow, mindless automotons without consciences.
Chortle!!! LMSSAO!
Yeah right!
BTW, A friend will come down and post your bail at 3AM, no questions asked.
But...
A real friend will be sitting next to you saying
"Damn! That was Fun!"
thats funny stuff, Reggie could shoot the ball, but that man is butt ugly
To whomever, JJ Redick gets much worse things directed at him. Personal insults about his family, F&%$ YOu JJ!, and all sorts of other things every place he goes.
Good for the kids. I'm glad to see they have enough spirit to condemn reprehensible homo behavior. Hopefully they will go after their homo profs also.
What do you expect? It's a university run by Jesuit priests, for gosh sakes...
Morrison may have his quirks but playing "drop the soap" isn't one of them...
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