Monday, Nov. 6 Residence Life Manager of the GLOW House, Emily Saltzman, was affronted by posters from the Viking Conservatives.
“There were posters taped everywhere,” said the senior. “Some of them just said ‘vote yes,’ which is fine, but others were really offensive.”
The signs, posted by members of the Viking Conservatives, depicted homosexuality equated with pedophilia, homosexuality leading to polygamy, bestiality and sex with trees, and the phrase “stop the insanity” which, according to Saltzman, “Suggests that you have to be clinically insane to be a homosexual.”
Representatives from the Viking Conservatives refused to comment.
“This could be construed as harassment,” said junior Andy Olson. “They have the right to express their own opinions, but this was petty, and they were wrong to promote offensive material targeting a specific group of people.”
The same day, a meeting was set up by Nancy Truesdell between residents of the GLOW house, two students from the Lawrence community who had expressed concerns, and three representatives from the Viking Conservatives.
“We directly spoke to them about why the posters were offensive and what should be done,” said Saltzman, “and they agreed that their actions were in poor taste and that they would be respectful of the GLOW House in the future.”
“I think the attack itself was very immature,” remarked Kate Hatlak. “I always thought Lawrence prided itself on respect and the Honor Code and whatnot, and the fact that one group can personally attack another, which has done nothing wrong, is just sad,” said the junior.
Sidewalk chalking was also a source of complaint from many in the Lawrence community.
“[Some members of] the Viking Conservatives changed the chalking that members of Fair Wisconsin had done, which is completely inappropriate and disrespectful to the amount of time and effort Fair Wisconsin put into the Lawrence Community,” said Saltzman.
“This isn’t an attack against conservatives,” she continued. “This is about coexisting on campus with respect and tolerance.
GLOW House targeted
