Don't ask, don't tell, don't care?

Is there truly a difference between the terms gay, lesbian, and homosexual? According to a recent poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS, Americans think so.

According to the poll, when asked if homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the military, 59 percent of respondents said they were now in favor of such a move. However, when the question was rephrased to ask if gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve, the approval jumped to 70 percent.

 

When asked similarly phrased questions if homosexuals or gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly, the numbers follow the same trend.

 

"Maybe people feel less threatened by the words 'lesbian' and 'gay'," said Tom Napieralski, an art and video major. "If (gays and lesbians) want to serve openly, we should let them."

 

Napieralski admitted some confusion with the phrasing in the NYT/CBS polling, and he was not alone.

 

"I'm kind of surprised by that. Call a horse by any name, it's still a horse, right?" said graphic design major Sean Martin. As far as the issue of sexual orientation within the military was concerned, he said that it "shouldn't be an issue."

 

With the recent moves by the government to look into ending to the controversial Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, the gay and lesbian rights debate only continues to heat up. California became the centerpiece in the battle over gay marriage in 2008. Over the past year, the issue has touched the ARC campus, including the notable ousting of Prop. 8 supporters from office by incensed voters on April 24, 2009.

 

Vincent Bradshaw of the Grace and Truth Bible Study Group indicated at the Feb. 18 Club Day that while the terms in the poll refer more or less to the same thing, they subtly change the nature of the question from discussing people to discussing a "thing."

"Language can be very powerful. You can slant opinion easily just by changing a word or two," said Bradshaw. "Think about it. Sixty years ago 'gay' meant a happy girl. The changes in the perception a word go right alongside of social engineering."

Melony Ford, the current president of the Queer Straight Alliance on campus, agreed that the implications of each word could sway debate. "...It's something we were warned about when I volunteered for Equality California. The word 'homosexual' is never to be used (because it's) a clinical, impersonal term."

 

Of the poll, Ford said she was "unsurprised" by the results.

 

The QSA president noted that the social upheavals on campus have made some students uncomfortable to attend classes.

"Really, our only set objective right now is to create a community that is open and accepting for all students, whether they identify with an alternate gender or sexuality or not," Ford said.

 

She added that within the military, "coming out" has had severe repercussions.

 

Being "outed" as a homosexual in the military has cost the careers of over 13,000 servicemen since the policy was enacted, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

 

"Imagine being overseas, having a wife and kids at home, missing them terribly, and being completely unable to talk about it with anybody without losing your job. That's the sort of pressure it puts on these men and women," said Ford.

 

Students on campus do not face expulsion for simply being gay or lesbian, which is exactly what one faces under DADT. Gay rights activists have cited that prejudice toward gays and lesbians has cost people their jobs, and in some extreme cases led to horrific hate crimes.

 

While there has yet to be such extreme cases on the ARC campus, it is because of those concerns that groups like the QSA were formed.

 

Not everyone on campus sees eye to eye on the issue. One student, who wished to remain unidentified, cited the very real dangers that homosexual servicemen and women face should they come out.

 

"It's one of those things that should be left up to the military. Civilians have no grasp on how forcing a policy switch right now could affect (servicemen)," he said.

 

This is a sentiment echoed within the military in favor of maintaining or modifying the current policy. A survey conducted by Air Force News last November showed that roughly 51 percent of active duty service members were opposed to gay and lesbian openly serving the nation. The AFT acknowledged that the support for DADT has been falling over the years.

 

There has not been a follow-up survey conducted within the military since U.S. Navy Admiral Mike Mullen's Feb. 2 statements to the Senate Armed Services Committee saying that a repeal of DADT would be the "right thing to do."

 

With many big name players in Washington backing a repeal, the debate only promises to intensify.The potential repeal of DADT is being seen by many as a watershed moment in the history of a nation, and how it will affect gay/lesbian and straight relations will likely be mirrored on campus. For now, the differing implications of four small words continues to fuel the discussion.