Over 600 students living in a residence hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pass the bulletin board by the first floor elevators every day on their way to class. If they choose to read it, they can learn about “heterosexual privilege.”
The board, decorated by the Housing staff of UW’s Ogg Hall and titled, “Let’s talk about sexuality,” has paper cut-outs of the states that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, surrounded by note cards defining terms such as, “transgender,” “genderqueer,” and “pansexual.” But the part of this board that is causing complaints from some students and parents is a card that defines “heterosexual privilege” as the “benefits automatically derived from being (or being perceived as being) heterosexual.”
UW Director of Residence Life Fred Fotis told Breitbart that the boards are meant to be educational.
“We think [the boards] help make an active and inquisitive community,” Fotis said. “Residents read them – they spark conversation and thinking.”
Lauren Kaberlein, a Sophomore at UW, disagrees.
“In my opinion that space should be used to display useful information related to resident life, not peddle one-sided talking points,” Kaberlein said. “It should not be in a dorm or any public bulletin board.”
Junior Jonathan Kaiser told Campus Reform that he believes the board is inappropriate, but not unexpected, as he has seen similar bulletin boards themed around topics of sex and abortion in the residence halls at UW.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is not the only school condemning “heterosexual privilege.”
Earlier this year, Appalachian State University hung a bulletin board in one of the residence halls identifying all the forms of privilege that students should recognize, including “heterosexual privilege,” along with “white privilege,” “male privilege,” “Christian privilege,” and “able-bodied privilege.”
