Corina Bautista
I want to thank you for writing about the
Transgender student. A lot of people get confused and don't
understand the meaning of what a transgender student is. I
have a cousin who was born and raised as a boy. Jorel felt
he was suppose to be a girl because he had always felt
really feminine at an early age. He told me that he just had
a liking toward make-up, boy's, girls clothing etc. Coming
from a Christian back ground it was really hard for me to
cope with the fact that my cousin was gay. I told him even
though I don't agree with who he is I still have respect for
him, and that I love him no matter what decision he makes.
His life growing up was very difficult he said, and people
would make fun of him.
High school
was one of the hardest places to step foot on. He was
just
an innocent person trying to figure out who he was. As time
went on and Jorel now known as Liana came to terms of who he
was he later went on to pay for operations to change his
physical appearance, and take hormonal pills to look
physically more like a woman.
Now I can gladly say my cousin
Liana is very happy with who she is now because she feels
like she's herself. On her long journey she had to come by
many obstacles
like losing her relationship with her own
father because
he was against what she done to herself. My
cousin use to tell me at times she felt like killing herself
because no one excepted who she was. Liana is an aspiring
young model
and gets many runway, and print modeling jobs in the bay
area. I believe before this article was posted a lot of
people did not understand what transgender was about. Liana
said never call us "Trani's" because we don't like that term
when referring to himself. One time when I was walking into
Target in the beginning stages of her transformation she had
to really use the bathroom, but didn't want to use either
sex bathrooms because she wasn't fully comfortable yet, but
lucky there was another option that said unisex. Liana felt
much more comfortable with the bathroom that had no specific
gender.
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Sandra Santos
I feel that the story on
Ari, a transsexual student at SJSU,
will help others like myself understand to be
accepting
of the changes done to our overwhelming
diverse campus
in order to make everyone, no matter
their race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and gender
feel at home in
their educational environment.
Last semester, I
followed the debate on whether or not to include
coed bathrooms at SJSU, but didn’t feel that it
necessarily affected me until I went into one of the
bathrooms without realizing it had been changed, and
felt so awkward I had to leave and find another.
Although not proud of it, at the time I was upset
that I wouldn’t be able to use the facility
I normally used and be comfortable. The bottom line is
that I was being selfish and was not prepared to be
confronted with the change, which is a reaction I am
sure I was not alone in having. And it is through
personal stories like Ari’s that the public will
become more at ease with changes made on campus that
make us feel out of place. After reading her story,
I am now able to identify with her; like I felt
uncomfortable in a coed bathroom, I imagine
Ari may
feel uncomfortable having to use a strictly male
bathroom at times, which isn’t fair. I believe that
not enough people know what it means to be
transsexual and I am glad that a definition of it
was given through
Ari’s voice.
The Spartan Daily staff
should be proud of having the cajones to include a
taboo
story in the paper such as this one that many
people may not feel comfortable discussing on a
regular basis, but that
should be
spoken of within society. This is the way to use the
power of journalism to facilitate conversation and
understanding between all groups at SJSU.
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Melissa
Rios
Ari Eldridge
It is great that SJSU offers on campus services to the
Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) community. Being
a student myself, I have never came across a transgender
individual here on campus, or at least not
that I have noticed. I feel very comfortable when
dealing with the LGBT community but one issue that
concerns me is how our students and personnel deal with
a "transgender" person. A transgender person does not
identify themselves with their natural born sex,
therefore more often than not, the physical appearance
they
display is perplexing to the point where it causes
people to put up a barrier. I think that the majority of
people may feel uncomfortable or insecure when speaking
to a transgender person and at the same time feel
hesitant because society makes us think that this is a
sensitive and "unspoken" issue. There needs to be more
attention on this issue and perhaps acquaint the SJSU
community with a transgender speaker in order to make
them realize that we are all alike and at the same time
gain insight on a more appropriate way to communicate
with our LGBT community.
Gang Rape
What is wrong with the children of present day
America? Why did these teens participate in such a
despicable crime? It is a fact that violence has always
been a part of our society but in the last couple
decades it seems to have gotten worse. Our children now
have the media as their stepparent. This advanced
technological era allows us to make the speculation that
media is the main influence in the lives of today's
young adolescents. Violence exudes from video games,
music videos, TV shows, movies...the list goes on.
Nowadays many kids just govern themselves based off what
they know and
if all they know is violence, sex, drugs, etc. than that is what they will
relate to best. I feel that the teens accused of raping
the 15-year-old Richmond High School student most likely
did so because they truly felt like it was "normal" or
would have no consequences. In today's society, if a
young male is able to have sex with a female he is
considered a man; he becomes superior to all the male
virgins. This is what the media teaches us and our own
society reinforces. As for the bystanders, perhaps they
"got off" on watching the gang rape. Sex and pornography
is very easily accessed by anyone, anytime, anyplace,
thus creating a deep-rooted craving for observing such
acts. This abhorrent
criminal
act is
without a doubt unacceptable; the problem here is
getting those who participated in the act to think so
as well.
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Alex Wara
I want to
commend the Daily for the story
“Transgender student finds support at
SJSU” by Jhenene Louis. San Jose
State always preaches diversity and
acceptance and hopefully by publishing
this story students, faculty members,
and community members can recognize such
a bold statement is true. I enjoy the
diversity that myself as a student gets
to see on campus on a regular basis. I
think that a student that attends a
school that is diverse will be able to
adapt to life after college better than
a student who does not attend a diverse
school. I applaud Ari Eldridge for
sharing her story with the students and
faculty on this campus and hopefully the
students at the Daily can feel proud for
helping her share her story in a
positive manner.
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Ashley Phillips
The
story 'Transgender student finds
support at SJSU' was great. Too
often we link diversity and
tolerance to race and religon so it
was nice to see it from a
new angle. I think it was really
brave of the Spartan Daily to run
this story and for Ari to come out
with her story. I really hope this
story will help people better
understand what being transgender is
all about and see that these people
are just like everyone else. Its
also nice to know that there are
some individuals on this campus that
are open and willing to support her.
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Kaajal Morar
Transgender student finds
support at SJSU:
This story gives SJSU's growing LGBT community some more
light, and as someone who has been touched by that
community, I appreciate the effort. Having previously
written a profile on the LGBT center as well as a profile, I
can relate on a journalistic level how challenging and
enlightening this experience is. I think it's an encouraging
piece for other students who may be transgender at SJSU and
a well-written profile on a people who may be afraid to
stand up for who they are because of societal pressures to
keep it to themselves. It was interesting to hear about what
Eldridge found as tell-tale signs that she didn't fit in
with her biological sex. I enjoyed reading about someone who
was willing to open their heart to the entire campus and
show people what it truly means to be part of the LGBT
community.
Gang rape:
Figures' opinion about the recent Richmond gang rape
provides an interesting perspective about why, after two
hours, none of the witnesses called the police. I think it's
important to remember that people are drawn to a crowd,
especially if there is a rowdy fight or other loud spectacle
occurring. Figures also points out that the details on the
happenings that led to the young girl's rape are unknown.
Perhaps she was provoking the young men. Maybe it happened
on a whim. Whatever it is, it should not have happened in
the first place.
These two
pieces in the Daily last Thursday were insightful
and I hope to read more like them.
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Rina
Santoro
After reading the article, “Transgender student
finds support at
SJSU,” by Jhenne Louis, my curiosity was
answered about the LGBT community by Ari
Eldridge sharing her experience.
When I walk through the hallways of
SJSU,
I see the LGBT flyers and am caught by its
flashy colors and it’s acronym. I didn’t know
what the abbreviation stood for until I read the
flyer and was astonished that we had a group for
that community one day. I wondered what went on
during those meetings, what did they talk about,
who started it,
and who attend it?
I accept those who are LGBT and have
never had a problem with the community, but for
some it’s the opposite. I think those who
oppose LGBT feel uncomfortable around them
because they aren’t educated about their side of
the story.
As I was waiting to eat breakfast over the
weekend, I shared this article with my dad,
Richard Santoro, who went to
San Jose City College in 1970.
“If that was published when I went to college
the whole campus would have been in a riot.”
His comment alone proved to me how far society
has improved to expose and accept those who are
different.
I congratulate Jhenne Louis for
writing the article, Ari Eldridge for having the
courage to be proud of who she is and to share
her story, and the “Spartan Daily” to allow an
article like this to be read.
Great job and keep it up Spartan Daily!
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Devin
McConnell
I applaud
Staff Writer Jhenene Louis, the Spartan
Daily and certainly Eldridge herself, for
bringing awareness to a feature of life that
doesn't receive much attention in the mainstream
media.
I think the article
did an excellent job of giving us a glimpse into
what it must be like to live outside of what‘s
considered “normal.” I think it benefits
our University to highlight all aspects of
student life on campus. In my MCOM 105 class we
are always looking for articles that showcase
diversity and I know we all appreciated seeing
an example of that in our very own school
newspaper. Thanks again for a wonderful piece.
And please, keep them coming!
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Hau- Yu Wang
(王浩宇)
As an international
student from a more conserve country. Most
transgenders are not willing to show their face to
public. After reading the report about Ari,
I happy for her to enjoy freedom to be herself here
on campus.
In my country, this kind
of news sometime shown,
but it's defiantly not the main stream view. So many
people are afraid of being out as transgenders or
homosexual in public. Here in American, gender
issue can be talk freely, which impress me a lot.
I encourage you guys to
do more reports on gender issues which most people
in my country don't want
to or simply don't care about. Spartan Daily maybe
small, but it can still do it's part to influence
people around the world.
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Haley Harms
After reading, ‘Would
you watch your friend get gang raped?’ I found
it to be a great and honest article.
The crime that those people committed is just sick.
I could not believe nobody called for help. I know if I was that girl in
that situation I would want at least one person to
get help. I also agree that the comment made by
that CNN reporter was uncalled for. This is not her
fault in any way, shape or form. She should not be
blamed. These people drugged her and humiliated her
in front of a crowd because of their
own issues. I’m glad you wrote this article and
think the issue should be addressed as to the real
problem: why nobody did anything. The thing I’m
curious to know is if it was all men watching and
participating. If there was a women there, I would
think she would get help for her fellow gender.
But then again, I could be wrong.
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Kolby FordThe article about the
transgender student who finds support within
SJSU was so interesting. I rarely hear any
stories about the daily life and struggles of
students who are lesbian, gay or transgender
which is why I was surprised that the story made
the front page. Discussing issues of the gay and
transgender community are touchy subjects and no
one ever wants to discuss them. As a broadcast
student I wish I saw more stories about the
subject on television so society can be more
understanding. I have an aunt who is a lesbian
and it was really hard for her to come out the
family. Some of my family, including myself
were very welcoming and accepting of her
lifestyle but some haven't approved. I told her
about this article and she says that its
refreshing to read an article about a
transgender in the newspaper.
I am so glad the Spartan Daily decided to print
this story because It will provide support for
anyone else who is struggling with the same
issues as Ari Eldrige.
Thanks Spartan Daily
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