In regards to the September 7 issue of The Polytechnic, we feel that your “Top Ten Ways to Avoid Being Rushed” was written in ignorance, and makes light of the discrimination that many students on our campus face on a daily basis. While gay pornography on a student’s wall would deter many recruiters, the comment was insensitive and illustrated the often closed-minded nature of not just RPI’s greek system, but society as a whole. If a student can have straight pornography on his or her wall without eliciting negative attention, then it only follows that it is solely the homosexual nature of the graphic content that would prevent the student from joining a fraternity or sorority. On a campus where greek life makes up so much of the social scene, attitudes such as this lead to many gay men and women feeling excluded. Moreover, comments such as those featured in your top ten list do a disservice to a number of greek chapters on campus that are more accepting of diversity.

Another bullet in the list suggested a sex change as a method of repelling recruiters. While comical on the surface, it is quite disturbing when taken in context. The spirit of the comment seemed such as to stigmatize yet another segment of our student body that has enough hurdles to overcome in everyday life without having to worry about what The Poly has to say. Sex reassignment is a life decision that would not be made on a whim, as the comment suggests.

Words have a great power when they are read by a large body of people and with that power comes a certain responsibility to readers. What at first glance may be an innocuous and humorous list may in fact be an ignorant commentary on a sad state of affairs. There are many students, faculty, and staff that are afraid to express who they are for fear of persecution, be it through off-handed jokes from their peers or consequences as severe as losing their jobs. In the future, we urge you to consider your words more carefully; they may mean much more to someone else.