Response to Chris' Koureas' article "A different perspective"

Response to Chris' Koureas' article "A different perspective"

Dear idMedia,
I would just like to clarify some points regarding the statements by Chris regarding the SRC meeting.
He says the following in his letter "Jon Kok accused the engineering students in general of having a homophobic vibe even though, when he was an engo for 4 years, he admittedly, never experienced any homophobic treatment. He even held a high position within SUEUA. Jon is a nice guy but I think he hates the fact that we don’t hate him."

Firstly, I have never said that I never experienced homophobic treatment. In fact I said quite the reverse. Many members of SUEUA have made me feel unwelcome, due to my homosexuality. I also said that there are members of the queer groups on campus who fear coming out in Engineering due to widespread homophobia.
Secondly, I have never held an official SUEUA position beyond member. I have worked on a number of the bbqs, however.
Third, my problem with SUEUA is that they don't see the homophobia, and thus don't recognise it as a problem. On some of the occasions when I have had homophobic comments made to me down at Eng, and mentioned it to friends in SUEUA, I've even been told that it's to be expected, and I should just ignore it. I take a different view: If you ignore the problems in society, you're an active participant in making them worse.

Let me say this: I don't think all Engineers are bad people. I think that there ARE bad people down there who make life bad for minorities. I think that most of the people down at Eng don't see that, and that things won't get better until they do.

Kind regards,
Jon Kok