In Wednesday’s article “T-shirts prompt greek action” (SN 4/10), Murat Bashelvaci is paraphrased as saying fraternity members didn’t want to harm anyone.

Let me get this straight. Fraternity members went into Mason and Abbot hall cafeterias wearing offensive T-shirts.

They went into cafeterias in halls with a high percentage of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender students, wearing shirts with slogans like “Fag Hairstylist,” and they didn’t expect to harm anyone.

This strikes me as being similar to wearing leather at an animal rights march with a matching pair of spotted-owl shoes and a backpack made of dolphin skin.

Although Bashelvaci claims “we are going to have a sincere educational meeting,” I fail to see how this will help.

First, is this going to be a mandatory meeting? If not, then this is a token effort- worse than a token effort, a joke. If those who need to learn are not required to attend, they will not be educated.

Second, if Bashelvaci was so sincerely committed to these issues in the first place, why did the incident even happen?

If a person in a position of power has a commitment to diversity issues, they should at least realize something just might be offensive. Next time, please take a moment to think of those you hurt during your “innocent” hazing pranks.

When acts like this are allowed, and possibly endorsed, by a fraternity, it’s no wonder fraternities get the reputation they do. Bashelvaci and the others in Pi Kappa Phi should be ashamed of the way they acted and the damage they did to not just the LBGT community, but to the MSU community at large. After all, these are everyone’s issues.

David S. Warden
journalism senior