Students for a Democratic Society members attempted to interrupt a prospective student tour Monday to spread awareness for their gender-neutral housing campaign.
The tour guide would not let the prospective students stop to listen to members of Students for a Democratic Society, but the society’s members did present the prospective students with fliers regarding campaign information.
Philosophy senior and Daily columnist Matt Bruenig participated in the event and said he feels it is important to reach out to prospective students.
“These are the students who are going to be in here next year. They are the ones who are going to need to be mobilized,” Bruenig said. “This, I think, is the best approach we have.”
Creating change for gender-neutral housing lies with prospective students because they will be the ones facing the issue, said Elizabeth Rucker, international studies and interdisciplinary studies on the environment junior.
“People in the dorms are moving out, so the housing and the administration doesn’t really have to deal with them,” Rucker said. “The prospective students coming in, they are the ones who are going to be encountering the problem.”
Arielle Foldoe, OU employee and philosophy and anthropology auditor, interrupted the first student tour in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.
Foldoe said she made an impromptu speech to the students about gender-neutral housing to make them aware of the fact it’s not offered at OU.
The lack of gender-neutral housing could be blamed not only on the university, but also Oklahoma’s political climate, Bruenig said.
“Well, basically this is a state-funded university and people in Oklahoma don’t like gays and they don’t want to look like they are being proponents of the gay agenda or something like that,” Bruenig said.
Bruenig, Foldoe, and Rucker all agreed they don’t expect gender-neutral housing changes to occur by the end of this year, but they are hopeful the movement will pick up steam in the next few years.
More tour crashes will hopefully take place in the future, Rucker said.
The directors of prospective student services could not be reached for comment by The Daily as of press time.
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TheJR 1 year, 2 months ago
This seems like a terrible way to garner attention for a cause. This makes the group seem like a bunch of lunatics. To each their own I suppose, but wow. I remember reading about housing expanding co-ed options last year, shouldn't that be considered a step in the right direction? Since I've been a student here, I haven't seen any campaigns against it.
I'd also like to give the "most ignorant quote of the year" award to the following: “Well, basically this is a state-funded university and people in Oklahoma don’t like gays and they don’t want to look like they are being proponents of the gay agenda or something like that,” Bruenig said.
Why is it that if I don't support co-ed housing, I must hate gays? This whole article just makes me disappointed that there is such ignorance on this campus.
Okie3L 1 year, 2 months ago
I hope they're glad to follow in the footsteps of terrorists. Even if they're not as radical as the original SDS of the 60s, they should be ashamed of using the same name.
braceyourself 1 year, 2 months ago
You spoke too soon about the most ignorant quote of the year, TheJR. That award clearly goes to "Okie3L."