Recently, the group campaigning for a women’s-only gym hour at Carleton reported that some of their posters had been torn down. At the same time, there have been many negative comments bashing the campaign on Facebook, and an online petition against the campaign.
This is disappointing for a number of reasons.
If you disagree with a campaign, there are ways to express that disagreement that don’t involve vandalizing or tearing down posters, or posting rude comments online.
It is clear that people have very strong feelings about this subject. However, instead of attacking each other, we should find a way to discuss the idea of a women’s-only gym hour respectfully.
The whole point of the campaign is to judge whether or not there is significant interest within the Carleton community to warrant the creation of a women’s only gym hour. This hour would also be open to those who identify as transgender or gender-queer, making it more inclusive and safe for those who need it.
The campaign is currently running a survey, which will be presented to the Carleton Athletics board. Instead of posting comments on Facebook posts, students should actively engage in the campaign by responding to the survey, or reaching out to the group running the campaign with any constructive comments or questions they may have.
As university students, we should be able to have an intelligent, respectful conversation about this issue without tearing each other down.
