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I recently registered to vote in my first election. With important issues such as same-sex marriage, TABOR II and medical marijuana, this is a great time to be a voting Mainer.
The University of Maine is a liberal-leaning New England public university. Therefore, I expected the effort of the No on 1 campaign here would be strong. Yes on 1 has gone AWOL here, leaving the campus battleground to the defenders of gay marriage, and they have capitalized on the opportunity.
I support all of this — gay marriage, campaigning on campus and free expression. I have written columns in this paper supporting these values. However, that doesn’t mean I like this campaign process. It has become a dogfight between two sides that have left many real issues behind for sensational ones.
The Yes on 1 campaign has been perversely trying to accentuate the fact that children will be taught about gay sex in schools. Watch the latest television spot of theirs. A teacher sits in front of a blackboard which purports to show what will be on Maine’s chalkboards if this law is affirmed. It says at the top, “What is gay sex?” Underneath, it has the words “kissing” and “hugging” with checkmarks beside them. Next to that, it shows two Venus symbols, used to denote the female gender. They say that questions about gay sex in Massachusetts schools have been answered “thoroughly and explicitly.” This is sensationalism at its worst.
What of the “no” campaign? I don’t have as many complaints, probably because they are the respondents in this debacle. I don’t like some of their ads, namely the one with the Catholic mother sitting on a park bench doing all of the talking while her gay son, his partner and their son sit there smiling. Why don’t they tell us what a “no” vote will do for them? They let the mother talk because she is Catholic. Her church doesn’t support gay marriage, but she does. This is a plausible tactic. But the gay couple and their son serve no purpose in the ad whatsoever but to prove they exist, doing nothing to support dialogue between gay and straight people or progressive and traditional values.
Although I admire No on 1’s tactics more than the “yes” folks, I do especially take issue with one of its practices on campus.
Conducting “class raps,” in which volunteers go into classes and speak about an issue at hand, is one No on 1 campaign tactic that seems unethical. An organizer on campus said class raps were great because students are a “captive audience.”
I don’t go to class to hear class raps. This is a state university and much of the space on our campus is public domain. Professors can volunteer their class time to whatever group they want. But I wouldn’t do that to my students. A fair-minded professor wouldn’t. Expensive credit hours are for teaching and learning. That boundary shouldn’t be crossed. Should all opinions be represented on campus? Absolutely. But classes aren’t the right place to do it.
I hate to use the word propaganda, especially in reference to a campaign fighting for a cause that I believe in. The word makes me seem paranoid. But it is only fair to say that what “class rap” professors agree to is consent to propagandize their students with beliefs they approve of. I doubt the majority of these teachers would allow the “yes” group to take a few minutes of class to sound off. That isn’t fair.
There are eight days until this referendum. Let’s take a break from these campaigns and examine all of the issues ourselves. It will make for a more clearheaded decision on Nov. 3.
Related Posts:- There are no right and wrong ways to view Valentine’s Day (February 11, 2008)
- UMaine Campaign is All Talk (October 3, 2005)
- Columnist: All voices should be welcome on campuses (October 19, 2009)
- The right and wrong things to think about this Election Day (November 3, 2008)
- 7 ways to do “25 Things” (February 16, 2009)
Maine Yes on question 1 was airing a new softer commercial which said gays rather than their months of saying homosexual. The happy faces of grandparents and families are ALL MODELS, none are people from Maine….how pathetic. These models are exposed on the site Good As You.
The commercial said Domestic Partnership provides almost equality for gays. Maybe they think no one would notice the same groups fighting marriage on the East coast are fighting Domestic Partnerships in WA state.
Whatever form of near equality LGBTs are gaining in any state, these groups come out with Focus on the Family funding and mystery donors(Mormons)to stop it.
This is the Civil Rights battle of your generation, and you’ll regret not stepping up, when you could make a substantial change.
Please vote.
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