Letters to the Editor

To the Editor: The similarity that Matthew Glowasky finds ("Denying a right," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 3/22/01) between David Horowitz's racist advertisement and the B-GLAD supplement seems to exist only in Glowasky's mind. As a contributor to the B-GLAD supplement, I'd like to know exactly what are the similarities between Horowitz's divisionist and bigoted claims and the B-GLAD supplement's message of respect, justice and equality for everyone. Glowasky claims that both Horowitz's advertisement and the B-GLAD supplement are "controversial." Let's get the facts straight. Everyone I know at Penn believes that Horowitz-style racism is wrong. And everyone I know at Penn believes that gay and lesbian people should not be the victims of discrimination. So where's the controversy? Racism is wrong. Diversity is right. I'm sure most of the Penn community can agree on these basic ideals, and I applaud the DP's sensible choice for reflecting these principles.

Federico Sanchez College '04

To the Editor: It is a sad fact that the schools and universities which should be the leaders of free and independent speech are the first to pander to political correctness. Students should be outraged that they are fed filtered and censored content. The very same reasoning to "not" publish David Horowitz's advertisement could just as easily been made to say that minority or homosexual "views" don't represent the views of the populace, and thus, should not be heard of in the popular press. Similar lacks of judgement by the PC crowd happened during my time at Penn, including the "Water Buffalo" name-calling incident and the time a black student group confiscated an entire day's press run of the DP. It is one thing to disagree, dislike and even combat the opinions of those who we find offensive. The beauty of the freedoms we take for granted is that they provide for this. It is another to try and squelch the very basis of the First Amendment on a "case-by-case" basis when it suits us. I fully support the right of the DP and other papers to print what they want, as is their right; biased and one-sided as it may be. I'm glad I don't have to like it.

Joel C. Gutteridge Wharton '95

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