This is why we fail. they know there will be no counter direct action.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24339132)

But what club members said at the tryouts soon made Naimi, who prefers to go by the pronoun “they,” realize they might not fit the role.

Naimi said they told a friend that they felt uncomfortable and that they wanted to leave."

Not sure why this makes me want to leave this world

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24334993)

Last month, Samuel Naimi ’16 attended tryouts for the Big Red Bear, Cornell’s mascot. But Naimi, who prefers to go by the pronoun “they,” realized they might not fit the role.

The members were explaining what the mascots can and cannot do in costume, which included restrictions such as [not engaging in homosexual behavior], according to Naimi.

These restrictions made them feel “extremely uncomfortable,” Naimi said. “They’re supposed to be representing the diverse Cornell community.”

The Big Red Bears Club neither denied nor confirmed that the incident occurred. The club released a statement saying it “by no means sets a standard for gender or mannerisms of the bear.”

“We take this type of accusation very seriously and will be looking into the incident to ensure that if it did indeed occur, a similar one will not happen in the future,” the statement said.

Naimi said they felt “marginalized, not being allowed to represent [their] identity.” The comment trivialized identities of the LGBTQ community, Naimi said. “It’s as if our identities are not serious, as if our identities are jokes and not part of the norm,” Naimi said.

Naimi, a facilitator at CU Gay-Straight Alliance, discussed the incident at one a the GSA meetings following the event. “I think everyone [at the GSA meeting] expressed some form of anger or expressed that they were upset,” Naimi said.

Bailey Dineen ’15, who also prefers to go by the pronoun ‘they,’ said hearing about the incident left them feeling infuriated. Dineen is the vice president of HAVEN: The LGBTQ Student Union and a Sun columnist.

Betrearon Tezera ’14, facilitator of Direct Action to Stop Heterosexism, said LGBTQ-identifying students feel the burden of constantly having to think about what spaces on campus are safe. “Constantly finding out, ‘Okay, am I going to be safe? am I going to be understood? …’ It’s incredibly taxing to think that way everyday, all the time.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24335050)

Naimi, a facilitator at CU Gay-Straight Alliance, discussed the incident at one a the GSA meetings following the event. “I think everyone [at the GSA meeting] expressed some form of anger or expressed that they were upset,” Naimi said.

Bailey Dineen ’15, who also prefers to go by the pronoun ‘they,’ said hearing about the incident left them feeling infuriated. Dineen is the vice president of HAVEN: The LGBTQ Student Union and a Sun columnist.

“That just shows how Filthy/Gorgeous is taken by some students. That just says that Filthy/Gorgeous is the only place where it’s ok to be a fag,” Dineen said. “The bear putting on an act is offensive to me.”

I wonder what happens to these people when they leave farthest Ithaca. Do they spontaneously combust with outrage when they realize no one is going to refer to them individually as "they?"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24335053)

Gay reporter: Can you elaborate? Does the bear growl? Does it forage?

Cornell Lawyer: Um. Yes. Yes it forages... responsibly.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24335087)

Then the article uses "they" throughout instead of he/she.

It gets confusing as fuck.

Why is this okay?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24335097)

11 minutes ago

It's not up to anyone of us to say "no, you should have felt differently" when we probably (statistically) don't identify as LGBTQ and have certainly never been in that particular situation. The fact that Naomi felt marginalized, uncomfortable, offended MAKES this a valid issue.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24337338)

Gasol who?

Gasol libs.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24337495)

Thanks millenials!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24339344)

------------------------------------------------------------

When they says "our" are they talking only about themselves or about a whole group of theys?

And yes, nobody wants to think their identities are jokes (even if their use of plural grammar is funny) but reality check dood(ette) - if you are LGTBBQ etc then you aren't part of the norm.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24340119)

An interesting piece from the Washington Monthly's College Blog about tryouts for Cornell's mascot, apparently known as the Big Red Bear, where one eager beaver bear applying for the position was reportedly told that the bear must act straight -- "act like a heterosexual man" and "only approach women." Apparently the good folks in Ithaca haven't gotten the message about, uh, bears (not to mention otters and, one I didn't know, wolves).

Anyhoo, I don't know whether to respond to this sort of thing by laughing, crying, or just beating my head against a wall. On the one hand it's the most innocent, trivial thing in the world: a silly mascot hamming it up on the sidelines. But before we dismiss it that quickly, let's think about this. Let's assume that the applicant for the position is gay -- heck, if I had more gumption in college I might have enjoyed being the Columbia mascot (thought our legendary football losing streak at the time would likely have put a damper on any victorious frolicking). This kind of message is certainly not a welcoming one to the applicant.

But more generally, I mean c'mon: the bear has to be het? He can flirt with females and that's fun/expected/inoffensive -- but guys are off limits? (We're assuming that the mascot itself is a male, which is probably true for most human-identified mascots, but hey, why can't Vikings or Mountaineers be women, at least when it's a woman's team on the field? As for animals, why not have female mascots, again, at least when women are playing the game and wearing the uniform?) Guys can't take good-natured sexual ribbing, but girls can? Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if at least some college age guys would be cool with any flirting that would be sufficiently innocent as to be ok when applied to women.

Of course many may not be. And maybe that's the big problem here. Heterosexual flirting: OK, it's expected and nobody minds. Same-sex flirting: Asking for a bloody nose, even when the fliter is wearing a bear outfit. I dunno. I get the argument from statistics (most college students, like most humans, identify as straight). But to deny even the theoretical existence of a gay mascot seems like, well, denial. And if an administrator's answer is that they understand, but they don't want to create the conditions in which a real problem might arise from a victim of the attention who can't handle it, then maybe the answer is to tell the bear to keep his paws to himself.

http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2013/11/ggrrrrrrr-but-in-a-totally-heterosexual-way.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2400680&forum_id=2#24518939)