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Check out our Bod on the Street section featuring the comfort of student expression on campus A4 Serving Washburn University since 1873
volume 137, Issue 19 • wednesday, February 23, 2011
Students query veteran about ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
Photo by Zachary Lambert, Washburn Review
Was asked, did tell: Eric Alva presents last Thursday in the Washburn Room of the Memorial Union. Alva told his story of coming out as gay while still a member of the military and how this affected him after he was wounded and discharged from Iraq.
Nicholas Birdsong WASHBURN REVIEW
The first American soldier wounded during the Iraq war spoke at Washburn University on Thursday, Feb.17. Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Alva addressed issues related to
discrimination, such as the military’s treatment of gays and lesbians. Alva stood behind President Barack Obama as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010” was signed into law. The bill marked a reversal in policy that had previously prohibited homosexual individuals from serv-
ing openly in the United States armed putated below the knee due to injuries, forces. had broken his left leg, had broken his During the lecture, Alva recount- right arm and suffered severe damage ed his journey to the military and his to his right hand. life as a secretly gay man serving as After retiring from the Marines a marine. Alva was forced to lie about and recovering from his injuries, Alva his sexual orientation in order to serve served as a counselor to other service as a Marine. members that had been injured in “It was so stressful, and not just Iraq. for me but for millions of others,” Alva said at Thursday’s “ event. “To lie about who you are It was so stressful, and every day just so you can keep not just for me but for your job and wear the uniform to protect this nation, and even millions of others, to die for it.” lie about who you are One tactic that Alva used to every day just so you satisfy the curiosity of his fellow Marines about why he didn’t go can keep your job. on dates with women was to take - Eric Alva photos from store-bought picFormer Marine Sergeant ture frames. He would set them in his room and pretend that the ” photo was of his girlfriend. Alva recounted the event that resulted in his injuries during his Alva joined the Human Rights deployment in Iraq. Campaign in 2006 and lobbied Wash“I took about three steps and ington legislators for lesbian, gay, that’s when the explosion went off,” transgender, bisexual and queer rights. said Alva. “I had triggered a landmine He worked towards repealing the milithat I had missed the other couple of tary’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, times I walked around there…There among other issues. was a lot of smoke. My hearing was Washburn Campus Activities gone. If you cover your ears it kinda Board sponsored the event. Rizki Aljusounds muffled; that’s what it was pri, CAB’s talks and topics director, like… I was holding my right arm secured Alva as Thursday’s speaker. and I could see that my index finger “I’m from Indonesia and ‘Don’t was gone and my whole hand was just Ask, Don’t Tell’ is a topic that really caked in blood, and I remember think- amazed me as an outsider,” said Aljuing ‘oh my God, I can’t move.’ I was pri. “I did research about DADT and I screaming the whole time… I thought found Eric Alva, his story and it really I was going to die.” amazed me.” Alva had to have his right leg amThe primary focus of the event
was Alva’s experience as a Marine and the difficulty with the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy but he related this policy to other forms of discrimination in society. Women and people of different ethnicities still face many obstacles in equal rights, according to Alva. In addition, with regards to DADT, after the repeal goes into effect, there will still be several benefits that samesex partners will not receive, such as financial benefits or tragedy assistance. But Washburn students were still able to focus on all of the positive effects Alva made in his speech when it ceased. “The event was wonderful,” said T.J. Bross, Washburn student. “I liked how it wasn’t just focused on his experience being gay. It was about people’s differences, like people that are disabled and of different sexual orientations. It hit on a lot of key things, in general, that we don’t focus on enough.” Despite having the policy officially repealed in late 2010, individuals may still be discharged for being LGBTQ. The certification process has not been completed for the change in policy, which is expected to be completed Summer 2011.
Nicholas Birdsong is a senior political science major. Reach him at nicholas. birdsong@washburn.edu
University plans for crises with student’s safety in mind Nicholas Birdsong WASHBURN REVIEW
Students can rest safe. Washburn University has developed a new security plan in the case of an emergency. The operations plan will provide directions for police and other departments in the event of any potential disasters. Newly codified procedures will allow university officials and police a clear mode of dealing with events such as natural disasters, fires, attacks on students or other situations that would interfere with normal proceedings. “It would be hard to project what type of crisis might affect the university,” said Darrell Dibbern, director of risk management and safety at Washburn. “I’m sure everything isn’t on there, but the document is in place where your command structure on campus can function for any type of
an event. ” The work, officially known as the Emergency Operations Plan, provides methods for cross-organizational interaction. The plan describes which departments to call, how to notify students and faculty, contacts for outside departments such as the police, and other necessary steps in the event of a disaster. The plan goes into even further detail than immediate response. The university has specific steps to recover from potential interruptions in its ability to operate normally. “Response and emergency management are laid out if we have an incident,” said Dibbern. “If we need to look 48[hours], 72[hours], weeks or even further out we can see what we need to do to recuperate and get classes back in order. ” The need for a clear and concise emergency operations plan was high-
lighted in the wake of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre that ended with the deaths of 33 individuals. Virginia Tech received criticism due to the slow response times and failure to properly notify students of the danger. With the use of a proper emergency operations plan, university officials at Washburn and other schools hope to help prevent disasters such as what occurred in Virginia. Washburn has not suffered due to the lack of a structured plan, and the focus on preventative measures aims to keep it that way. “I like to look at like a kind of superstition, that by saying as long as we have one we will never need it,” said Dena An-
son, director of university relations at Washburn. “I just think that it is good management that we attempt to be prepared for whatever might happen.” Plans prior to this latest effort had existed without much formal campus-wide definition. The policies had existed were somewhat
outdated, failing to take into account the increased utilization of technology such as cell phones and email, according to Anson. Administrators are now able to send text alerts, emails, Facebook updates and website banners in the event of weather emergencies or other disasters. Nicholas Birdsong is a senior political science major. Reach him at nicholas.birdsong@ washburn. edu
Photo by Matt Wilper, Washburn Review
Join the debate: As Washburn student media helps students decide the next president and vice-president of Washburn Student Government Association. *Includes a Q&A session with candidates.
March 3 Mabee Library 6 p.m. Be there...or be
.