There is a rampant misogyny and homophobia running through much of the Republican Party’s rhetoric. This is a bold statement to make, so I want to back it up. I am sure by now most of us at Wash. U. have heard about Representative Todd Akin’s comment on “legitimate rape” and maybe his comparison of his female opponent to a dog.

Some of your writers, though, don’t seem to think that homophobia’s a big deal. In fact, they seem to view homophobia as a mildly ridiculous and totally harmless matter. Specifically, today’s “Itinerary for Freshmen” article proposed that freshman who get rejected by would-be flirtees should “assert that they are probably homosexual anyway.”

The son of a Washington University physics professor notorious for vocally condemning homosexuality came out as gay in Sunday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Tomorrow’s blood drive, and the “I Donated” stickers that will proliferate on students’ T-shirts across campus, mark an honorable occasion. Blood banks are as vital as they are under-resourced, and the University is right to give blood drives its full-throated support. Moreover, the University’s contribution to the blood supply is exemplary.