YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University administrators didn’t take too kindly to a group of students not wanting to hear about everyone’s sexuality.
The unidentified students distributed “Straight Pride Week” posters around campus that called for May 1st-8th to be a time to celebrate being straight.
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“Join us in celebrating straight pride week at YSU by not annoying the sh*t out of everyone about your sexual orientation!” the poster reads.
“It’s easy to join too! Just come to YSU, then go about your day without telling everyone about how ‘different’ you are.”
The poster says it is “Brought to you by the students that are sick of hearing about your LGBT pride. Nobody cares about what you think you are, or what you want to have sex with.
“We have nothing against your sexual orientation. We just don’t give a f*ck.”
Student government leaders were quick to condemn the posters on “free speech” grounds.
“We have to be careful with the whole free speech issue. But then if you actually read through it, it seemed like it went way further than a free speech issue. There were swear words and took it a little further than the average free speech should go,” Student Government President Michael Slavens tells WKBN.
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“When you are talking about minority activism, it is very easy that if you are in the majority to say ‘well, this sort of activism is not necessary. This sort of zeal in your activism is over the top.’ For minorities who experience discrimination, that is not the case,” Student Government Vice President Jacob Schriner-Biggs adds.
The Student Government Association Executive Committee also weighed in with its own statement:
It has been brought to the attention of several SGA Executive Board members that “Straight Pride” posters have been hung across campus, seemingly in response to LGBTQIA efforts to promote diversity and foster a culture of acceptance on campus. Though SGA respects the free speech of all YSU students, these postings were not authorized, contained vulgar language, and, unfortunately, miss the point of minority activism.
The posters were reportedly indented as a way to not show differences among students, but YSU’s public information officer Ron Cole says the posters run counter to the college’s mission to “create a diverse campus,” according to WFMJ.
Cole says the university is investigating to determine whether any student code violations occurred.
“If any are found, disciplinary action could follow,” the news station reports.
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