Discrimination exists when it comes to LGBT cadets on UNC-Charlotte’s campus. |
Have you ever been discriminated against because of who you are? Believe it or not, everyone has been discriminated against in some way. Being on a college campus, you would expect discrimination to be a thing of the past but, sadly, there is discrimination and bias on our campuses, including the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
The discrimination on campus isn’t always by fellow students but rather by certain departments, like the Army ROTC.
The program is discriminatory against those who are of a different sexual
orientation and gender-identity. The program consists of a diverse array of people — males and females of different backgrounds and races — yet it is not as diverse as one would think. The program forbids LGBT people from joining. It forbids LGBT people from being free, able to love who they want, able to express themselves and, at the same time, hope for a future in helping to defend our nation.
The situation begs the question: who are they to govern us and tell us who and how to love? Many Americans have to settle for “serving in silence,” adhering to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policies. Along with this policy, there is another, “The Homosexual Conduct Policy,” which upholds the same “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” standards for those enrolled in ROTC.
Speaking as a woman of color and lesbian identity, I feel that this form of discrimination should be dealt with, and quickly. As humans, we are here to learn and expand our minds — the very reason why we strive to go to college and expand our horizons.
Who are others to deny the rights afforded to us by those who paved the way? Shirley Chisholm, Sally Ride, Angela Davis, Dr. Martin Luther King, the women of the suffrage movement — these are just a few of the people who struggled for the equality that allows me to be who I am today.
Yes, I am a lesbian. Yes, I am an African-American woman. But I deserve to be treated like everyone else. I am not what you make me to be; I am what I make myself to be with my own mind. I do not need to be torn down and rebuilt; I am built and equipped with knowledge to know that discriminating against someone based purely on a law is just plain bigoted.
To say that homosexuals have to be silent is ignorance. What if the policy read, “Heterosexual Conduct Policy,” and said that heterosexuals could not engage in acts or talk about their partners openly? Do you find it absurd?
I do.
— Terasha Kimbrough is a student at UNC-Charlotte who is involved in raising awareness about the issue of institutional bias within ROTC on college campuses. Learn more about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and anti-LGBT discrimination in the U.S. military at www.sldn.org. |
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