Sometimes you speak for everyone, not just yourself

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to the most recent article by Adam Griffiths regarding his 60th notch in his bedpost. This letter is not being sent to tell him to silence himself because that is not my goal. My goal is simply to make him aware. Please know that what you say in this forum reflects on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as a whole. People already think that gay men are promiscuous and unclean. Please know that very few gay men are like this anymore. The notion of free love and free sex is an ideal of the ’70s. By all means, have sex with whomever you want. I don’t care. But, please, know that what you say about yourself is a deeper reflection of the LGBT community as a whole.

I am a gay man. I am proud. I am not promiscuous. I am a virgin, and I am waiting for that one person. I am not asking you to believe as I believe, nor am I attempting to criticize. I am simply asking you to make it known in your column that your beliefs, values and morals do not reflect that of the entire LGBT community. Please know that what you say can (and will) be misconstrued as fact for the whole community.

Jason Troyer

Freshman micro-sociology major,

LGBT studies minor

Help save 18 people each day, sign up to be an organ donor

Dear editor,

Eighteen people will die today while waiting for an organ transplant.

On March 21, 2006, my grandfather, John Neloms, was one of the 18.

April is National Donate Life Month. In honor of this month, I want to introduce you to my grandfather and tell you his story.

My grandfather suffered from diabetes. Eventually, diabetes decreased his kidney function to the point where a transplant was the only option. He went through all of the tests to ensure that his body was ready to go through the process of organ transplantation. He passed all the tests put before him and was finally added to the waiting list in 2005. Unfortunately, my grandfather never received a new kidney. He died suddenly from an unrelated brain aneurysm.

His story does not end here.

According to Donate Life Ohio, only a small percentage of people die in a manner that is conducive for procurement agencies such as LifeBanc to harvest organs. In order to be an organ donor, you have to be brain dead. Tests must confirm there is no brain activity but your heart is still beating. In other cases, you can still be a tissue donor. When faced with an opportunity to give what my grandfather was not able to receive, we decided to donate my grandfather’s liver. Today, there is a man in Michigan who is alive and able to live another day with his family because my grandfather gave him the gift of life.

Nationally there is a shortage in organ donation. Every 13 minutes, a new name is added to the transplant waiting list, yet willing donors seem to be few and far between. The shortage is even greater in the minority community. Minorities make up only 20 percent of the U.S. population, yet minorities make up about 50 percent of the transplant waiting list. This need is even greater for African-Americans, who make up only 12 percent of the U.S. population, but make up 35 percent of the transplant waiting list.

According to LifeBanc, Northeast Ohio’s organ procurement agency, the minority community is in dire need of organ transplants because some diseases of the kidney, heart, liver and pancreas are found more frequently in minorities. For example, diabetes and renal disease are found in higher numbers in minority communities than white communities.

In Northeast Ohio alone, there are more than 1,600 people waiting on a life saving organ transplant. Did you know that one donor could save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance up to 50 lives through tissue donation? We have the power to make a difference in up to 58 lives. During National Donate Life Month, I challenge you to make that difference. If you are not a registered organ and tissue donor, you can register at www.doitnowohio.org/kent. If you are registered, I challenge you to talk to your family and friends and encourage them to register.

Remember, you are one person who holds 58 lives in your hands. Make a difference. Save a life. Be a donor.

Brandi N. Neloms

Junior public relations major

Pro-life students should’ve showed up at pro-life display

Dear Editor:

I noticed how passionate the pro-choice protesters were at the recent genocide awareness event, but I wondered: Where are the Kent pro-life supporters? We should hear from more than just from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. We should also hear from Kent State pro-life students themselves. I wondered, where are they? I felt many Kent pro-life students just walked by and left. I don’t think the pro-choice voice should have been the only voice heard from the students those two days. I believe that pro-life students needed to be at Risman Plaza as well, holding up signs and saying what they believed, so that both sides could be heard from the students.

Christina Hammond

Junior speech pathology and audiology major