This letter was written from the perspective that the soldier, Matthew Snyder, was homosexual. It has since been revealed that Snyder was heterosexual. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.
This is in response to Josh Trebach’s column, “When is a harmless college prank not at all harmless?” (CT, Oct. 5). This is an important issue for Virginia Tech and other institutions to discuss. This is not a political, moral or religious issue. It is a human rights issue. I am not talking about gay marriage or governmental rights but the status of a person in the world.
Recently the Westboro Baptist Church protested the funeral of a gay soldier, 20-year-old Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. His status as a hero that died for our freedom and in service to his country is overshadowed by his sexuality.
It is essential as students and young people that we do not categorize or judge a person based on one aspect of their lives. In society it should not be the LGBTA and the rest of the world. Sexuality should play no role in the social hierarchy.
At Rutgers, Tyler Clementi was humiliated as a part of a prank that lacked human dignity.
We live in a world where people cannot be honest with themselves, let alone other people, out of fear that their life will be full of hatred and judgment. There is absolutely no excuse for this. Despite personal beliefs, you never have a reason to disrespect other individuals.
It is essential that as Tech students we are accepting of people and show compassion, because if we don’t more events like this will occur.
Cassy Sims
Biological sciences major
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 7 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Matthew Snyder wasn't gay. The CT should remove this article immediately.
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I apologize this is what CNN reported.
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CNN meant that the westboro baptist church was protesting the funeral of Matthew Snyder, like they have been doing to other fallen soldiers, because he was fighting for a country that allows homosexuality. They were saying that our young soldiers were dying as punishment
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http://www.matthewsnyder.org/FAQ.html
This is the official website about the WBC incident at his funneral, which states that he was not gay. This should be corrected.
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...not that there's anything wrong with that :)
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You are correct. I sent the correction into the paper. Thank you for realizing that.
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