Staff Editorial
The Denisonian is proud to announce something that should be obvious: we support women’s rights and women’s issues and we want to make clear that these are human issues and rights as well. We are proud of the women and men who performed, directed, wrote, and supported the Vagina Monologues this month. Despite the fact that we are in the 21st century, sexual assault, domestic abuse, genital mutilation, and sexual harrasment continue to be problems in this world. The victims of these atrocities are everywhere from Iraq to the woman that lives down the hall in our dormitories.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 has been renewed twice, but was halted in 2012 because of opposition by some congressmen and senators over new provisions. These new provisions include extending protections to same-sex couples and allowing battered illegal immigrants to have temporary visas. While we understand that some are uncomfortable with the idea of equality for the LGBT community, and there has been a lot of controversy over the status of illegal immigrant, we cannot forget that a victim is a victim, and we have an obligation to protect that person regardless of sexual orientation or nationality.
We are living in a time where gender issues have the most visibility, and women, especially in the United States, have more opportunity than ever before. But we are also living in a time where old issues that were supposed to have been resolved (VAWA and Roe v. Wade) continue to be challenged by fringe groups, radicals, and the uninformed.
We support women at The Denisonian because we cannot think of a more important, human cause.
Happy belated V-Day,
The Denisonian Staff