Letters to the Editor
Catholics and Gays
Dear Sir,
The compassionless letter from the Treasurer of the Catholic Society does neither surprise nor shock me, although I would have hoped our fine university might have escaped the institutionalised bigotry which would rather see gays in hell than in church.
As a fellow Christian, may I ask Mr Collins what exactly he is objecting to, and in whose name? May I further add, for those who were wondering, that loving your neighbour has little if anything to do with denying an important part of their lives in sarcastic quotation marks, and utterly precludes blocking another person’s path to God on any criteria • especially given that the Catholic Church, like all other religious institutions, blesses heterosexual unions which prove far from ideal.
Along with a great many others, I am thankful to the chaplains of the Anglican Church for providing a sorelyneeded spiritual lifeline within the LGB community.
Katy Knight
Ex-LGBSoc committee
Pylon of Pedantry
Dear Sir,
Had you read between the lines of “Badgered for Balliol” in last week’s edition, you would have realised that it was a hoax letter sent in by a prat.
I wish I could tell the Ox- Stu and its readers the name of the guilty person who cannot defend himself - against a badger - but I wouldn’t wish to appear in court for libel. Regards,
Neil Wolfson
Mansfield College
Fuming OverMayday
Dear Sir,
In response to your recent article on the May Day Bridge closure I would like to point out a discrepancy in government policy.
Why is it that local councillors feel justified in pursuing paternalist action in preventing May Day celebrators from injuring themselves because of the strain this places on local authorities, and yet smoking • which arguably costs central and local governments a great deal more to deal with in hospital bills • remains legitimate? If drunkenly jumping off a bridge is deemed ‘stupid’ enough to warrant coercive action, then surely the daily inhalation of highly carcinogenic fumes merits a similar response.
Name and address witheld
Polished Off
Dear Sir,
As a female second year science scholar, I was outraged to read your article on ‘trophy wives’. I certainly did not apply to Oxford in order to find a husband with a lucrative and successful career; I am quite capable of earning and excelling professionally myself.
What with the gender pay gap still being in existence, and the fact that women consistently fail to do as well as men in Oxford finals, I found the article to be regressive, damaging, and irresponsible. There is no doubt that these backwards views about the status and value of women lie latent amongst many at Oxford • both men and women. Even if the article was intended as a tongue-in-cheek piece, I think that it was a little too close to home to work ironically.
Instead, it was yet a further blow to any advances made towards gaining sexual equality.
Name witheld
Christ Church
Getting Fit
Dear Sir,
Having recently made the pilgrimage from Cowley to town in the hope that a little Rad Cam flirtation would make an essay on dictionaries slightly more bearable, and having consoled myself after a particularly pointless lecture that the lecture room was a veritable hive of fitty male activity; I would nevertheless like to point out that the majority of female students are more than capable of juggling work and play without sacrificing their degree.
Also, for many women, intelligence, ambition and a sense of self worth are just too great to make trophy wife status (even if it comes with gucci shoes) bearable. Nor do I agree that art students are directionless and I would much rather spend my time sharking the witty and humorous than the image obsessed budding lawyer/investment banker.
Name witheld
Mansfield College.
27th Apr 2006