Norwich "Pride Week"

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Devil5891

Norwich Cadet
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Much of this has made news all over the country, try google news if you haven't seen it, and has blown completely out of proportion so I'm going to try clearing things up before someone flips or something. First the following is a message sent to us from GEN. Sullivan, our Director of the Board of Trustees.


A Message from GEN Gordon R. Sullivan
Dear Members of the Norwich Family,

Norwich University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allies Club (“LGBTQA”) is hosting Pride Week, during which there will be programs and activities designed to educate the community and participants about challenges and issues faced by Members of the LGBT community. As Chairman of the Board it is my hope that the Norwich community will appreciate and understand the need to explore these issues and to educate our students in accordance with the University’s mission, vision, and guiding values.

Norwich has a long and proud history of preparing young citizens for duties as commissioned officers and public servants. Furthermore, the leadership of our university has consistently stood in the vanguard of those committed to social change. Our proudest moments have been recorded as milestones in both our Norwich history as well as the history of our nation.

Subsequent to the end of the Civil War, the leadership of the Norwich Board of Trustees included MG O.O. Howard, a distinguished Army leader and staunch abolitionist. He was the founder of Howard University and his life long quest was to have racial equality.

Another example of this kind of leadership was the admittance of Cadet Harold ‘Doc’ Martin; an African American who graduated with the class of 1920. He was a star on the football field as well as an accomplished musician. He later served as a Tuskegee Airman and perished in an aircraft accident.

As is well known throughout Norwich and the nation, the leadership of Norwich decided in 1974 to admit women as cadets. This too was a groundbreaking decision which has proven time and again to have been the right and just decision.

Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

Our founder, Captain Alden Partridge, set the framework for our actions throughout our history. As one of America’s oldest and most respected institutions, it is both just and proper that Norwich fully prepare our young people to serve our nation in these challenging times as competent, courageous and caring leaders who are prepared to lead all who wish to serve in accordance with the laws of our republic. Our history gives us guideposts, wisdom, and strength.

Open discussion with the respect for individual rights has always been important at Norwich University, and with that in mind, it is my hope as Chairman that Pride Week will be looked upon as a learning opportunity for our community and our students on subjects they will face throughout their lives. We live in a diverse society and must be able to live and work with everyone. There is no better way of doing that than to educate our students about these issues.

I ask for your support and understanding as we continue to prepare our students for their days in the sun as Norwich graduates and valued citizens.

Norwich Forever,

Gordon Sullivan ‘59
Chairman, Board of Trustees


I am not a part of the club mentioned in Gen. Sullivan's letter however as part of the Norwich community, the general consensus I can gather on campus is that no one here has much of a problem with the whole pride week being put on, but there has been a feeling that the news coverage put on the school from this has been extremely misleading and incorrectly viewed. A quote not used in any paper was one from the 2nd in command at the club, this is not solely a Gay Pride event, but has been geared more towards diversity in itself and accepting facts that people are different and as General Sullivan said above "Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation." Many events planned for the week are also combined with other campus departments that donated to have the week be possible, like the Civic Engagement Center and (please excuse me but I don't remember the official name for it) the Dept. that deals with sexual education and prevention of abuse so they had a say in what events were planned for the week in case some news reports mention some of the events (I have yet to see one that mentions all of them). Everyone has their own opinions on the matter and in my personal opinion I really couldn't care less about what someone else was doing with someone else be it Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Alien, you get the point. As that is all I wish to say for the time being, Questions, comments, concerns, gripes, *****es, complaints can be messaged to me here, I do not have contact with anyone actually from the club but I can try my best to answer. Norwich wants to believe that its moving forward with progress with current changing times and I can agree with it for this matter, just take the news stories online with a grain of salt as with the exception of the AP doing a phone call interview no other media source has currently contacted any student at Norwich. have a good evening everyone.
 
...just take the news stories online with a grain of salt as with the exception of the AP doing a phone call interview no other media source has currently contacted any student at Norwich. have a good evening everyone.

Ugh. Typical.

Thanks for taking the time to give us a little insight into reality!

-jmb-
 
I am not a part of the club mentioned in Gen. Sullivan's letter however as part of the Norwich community said:
My son told me this last night and feels the same way you do. Really nice job in writing this out for us.
 
A condom Olympics? Seriously?

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/military-academy-hosts-queer-prom-condom-olympics.html

The Condom Olympics include:

-Rubber Relay Race
Participants will divide up into two teams. One team will have an internal/female condom and the other will have an external condom. Each team will use their condoms to run water from one bucket to another at the opposite end of the room.

-Safer Flavors
Participants will be paired up. One teammate will be blindfolded while the other puts a flavored dental dam in front of their face so that they can determine the flavor.

-Pop The Prophylactic
Participants will be paired up. One teammate will blow up an external condom and tie it off. The other teammate will then put on of the various types of lubricants on the condom and rub it until it pops.

-Texture Testing
Individuals will place their hands inside boxes to assess the texture of the condoms inside.

-Lubricated Thumb Wrestle
Participants will be paired up. Each participant will put on a glove and have lubricant spread over their hand. Participants will then thumb wrestle with each other.

-Condom Creations
Participants will be placed into teams wherein each team is in charge of using various types of condoms to create something unique.


What the hell is going on at Norwich?
 
Quoting myself here

Many events planned for the week are also combined with other campus departments that donated to have the week be possible, like the Civic Engagement Center and (please excuse me but I don't remember the official name for it) the Dept. that deals with sexual education and prevention of abuse so they had a say in what events were planned for the week.


I agree that some of these events could have been named better or something but the club had to have somebody sponsor them and this was the name the people in the Dept. that deals with sexual education and prevention of abuse came up with. Also from what I heard that event had an extremely low turnout (approx 50 people I think, 35 being those club members)
 
Also:

Someone actually took the time to list every event (who knew someone wouldn't actually single out the most controversial) http://www.prweb.com/2012/3/prweb9308790.htm

I would also like to restate that as for current student knowledge the only news source to have contacted a student was AP, I can and will not speak for the faculty or admins here.

As for what the hell is going on here at Norwich, we started this week thinking that it wouldn't be so bad, most of us on campus can accept the club having a pride week. What we don't like is the misrepresentation that this school is getting by large media outlets. We would of liked it if our school got more representation for the 4000 hours of recovery assistance offered after hurricane irene, or the MCW and NU EMS squads risking their lives in the floodwaters rescuing people out of their homes, or the I think ~7000 dollars donated to the special Olympics for the penguin plunge and helping run it for free to reduce their costs. This school has done some amazing work this year with helping our community and being citizen soldiers, this is what makes headlines because it is controversial.
 
This school has done some amazing work this year with helping our community and being citizen soldiers, this is what makes headlines because it is controversial.
The only reason it is controversial is because they insist on rubbing it in everybodies face. What about a straight pride week? I think most people(not all) are quite tolerant and accepting but are somewhat disgusted by the spectacle that these groups make. I believe this is also the case for many other groups outside of the lgbt groups. I believe they do themselves a disservice.
The only reason I ever care(or often know) if someone is in any kind of "minority" group is because they make it an issue and want some "special" consideration.
JMPO
 
Also:

Someone actually took the time to list every event (who knew someone wouldn't actually single out the most controversial) http://www.prweb.com/2012/3/prweb9308790.htm

I would also like to restate that as for current student knowledge the only news source to have contacted a student was AP, I can and will not speak for the faculty or admins here.

As for what the hell is going on here at Norwich, we started this week thinking that it wouldn't be so bad, most of us on campus can accept the club having a pride week. What we don't like is the misrepresentation that this school is getting by large media outlets. We would of liked it if our school got more representation for the 4000 hours of recovery assistance offered after hurricane irene, or the MCW and NU EMS squads risking their lives in the floodwaters rescuing people out of their homes, or the I think ~7000 dollars donated to the special Olympics for the penguin plunge and helping run it for free to reduce their costs. This school has done some amazing work this year with helping our community and being citizen soldiers, this is what makes headlines because it is controversial.

Another well written post. There is very little coverage of the efforts of Norwich this year. Then again the experience of these many great efforts will make the Norwich Students ready for the many obstacles they may face in the future.
 
CitadelGrad, please make your alma mater proud and act like a gentleman on this forum.
 
CitadelGrad, please make your alma mater proud and act like a gentleman on this forum.

Did I say anything that is untrue? There is nothing as absurd as a Condom Olympics going on at USAM or USCGA. The comparison of the recent event at Norwich to events at those two service academies is a very big stretch.
 
Did I say anything that is untrue? There is nothing as absurd as a Condom Olympics going on at USAM or USCGA. The comparison of the recent event at Norwich to events at those two service academies is a very big stretch.

Frankly, I am not sure what purpose you are attempting to serve by this commentary other than bashing another SMC. I ask you to please refrain from doing that.
 
Pointing out that what is happening at USMA and USCGA is far different than what happened at Norwich is not bashing. However, I do think that a Condom Olympics at an SMC (or anywhere else) is ridiculous.
 
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