During Student Government Association Election 2007, U.N.I.T.E.D. Initiative and Vote Bare issued a statement addressing online comments on DN|Online. The statement denounced countless personal attacks from readers, mostly focused on sexual orientation, not campaign issues.
But those eight candidates, in addition to support groups of campaign managers and workers, took a stand for what they believed in. For two weeks they put their time and effort on the line, and though they became public figures, they agreed to have their platforms, not their personal lives, questioned.
Despite the election's close and the slate's public statement, online comments continue focusing on an issue that is no one else's business but the candidates themselves.
The Daily News offers a completely open and unmoderated online forum in support of free speech, but does not endorse any feedback posted. When comments turn from discussion to a flame war of attacks, posters undermine the function of the forum and show a purposeless disrespect for their common man.
The mindless remarks signify a lack of respect for fellow students and society in general - not just those living in the boundless world of cyberspace. If a student stood on a soapbox at the Scramble Light and shouted such spiteful comments to the pavement of McKinley and Riverside avenues, passersby would likely consider it hate speech.
The Internet, however, provides a false sense of security. Because online posters can hide behind a veil of anonymity, they're empowered to say things they wouldn't normally say in public. These online comments - and those made face-to-face - only fuel the ignorance and oppression that continues to challenge the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
Personal attacks of this nature, whether targeted at student leaders or an average student, are unfounded, inappropriate and downright ignorant. Sexual orientation does not affect an individual's ability to be a leader, a classmate or a student.
College-age students should understand that tolerance, in whatever form it takes, is a critical function of daily life not only on campus, but in society as a whole. There is no place for discrimination merely because of a person's sexual orientation. These prejudiced comments have no business in our world, let alone an online forum.
In the meanwhile, people in the crossfire continue to be questioned for a characteristic that has no business in the limelight.
Wednesday, an SGA slate winner was announced. But in our eyes, eight people of varying backgrounds declared victory in a race not for office, but for equality.
Indeed, the only losers Wednesday were the close-minded students choosing to make an issue out of something that wasn't.
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