Owen Weber ("LBGT bulletin boards offensive to some" SN 3/18) clearly has no understanding of what it means not to "have a problem with gay people," a claim he makes for himself. How can you not have a problem with a certain group of people and at the same time take offense to pictorial representations of them? That just doesn't make sense.

It frightens me to think about what Weber's version is to "have a problem with gay people." If he thinks the definition of a homophobe/biphobe/transphobe is only applied to those who resort to violence toward LBGT people, then he is disturbingly mistaken. And as for those who aren't as scared as Weber to admit to their prejudices, that still does not give you the right to tear down pictures on a board.

Those boards belong to all the residents in that building and specifically have been designated to PRISM to decide what to display on them. This is about more than a couple of pictures. It's about getting in the way of PRISM's right to educate others about the issues of the LBGT community and promote the group's events and meetings.

And it's about sending a clear message to all nonheterosexual people and relationships that their existence alone is apparently offensive to others.

Well, we do exist, and if that offends you, then I suggest either getting over it or trying to educate yourself more about why you have these prejudices. Ignorance is one thing; passing along hurtful and non-constructive judgment based on that ignorance is unacceptable.

T.J. Jourian
student affairs administration graduate student