Student Journal Ceases To Shock

Two days after The Peninsula, the campus' conservative journal, released an issue condemning homosexuality in the fall of 1991, nearly 100 students attended a meeting of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students' Association (BGLSA) to plan eat-ins and a rally in the Yard.

In the fall of 1993, after Peninsula released an issue that bashed the Radcliffe Union of Students, RUS Co-Chair Deborah J. Wexler '95 started to write a letter of protest. And then she stopped.

"I didn't think it was worth talking about in any serious way," she says. "I just didn't want to stoop to their level."

Since Peninsula debuted three years ago, it has provoked heated campus debate on such political hot buttons as abortion and homosexuality. But today the magazine evokes fewer headlines and less campus controversy, according to both the magazine's editors and critics.

Peninsula's staffers say the journal is persuasive and presents well-reasoned arguments. Critics, however, say the magazine is so conservative that it does not represent reasonable viewpoints. Peninsula's views, they say, do not even merit response.

Peninsula Attacks Feminism

When Wesler first read Peninsula's issue on feminism, she says she was angry. "On the one hand, [the issue] was infuriating to read," says Wexler, who is a Crimson editor. "On the other hand, it didn't ring true."

The issue featured articles such as "Sex, Lies and Videotapes" which questioned the academic value of Women's Studies 10b: Current Problems in Feminist Theory, and "RU- What?," which attacked RUS' legitimacy as therepresentative of women's voices on campus.

G. Brent McGuire '95, a Peninsula councilor andspokesperson, attributes the relative silencesurrounding the feminism to issue to itspersuasive nature.

"I think to some extent the lack of a visiblereaction to the feminism issue was simply afunction of the fact that our arguments are socogent," he says. "I'm not sure the feminists oncampus had so much of a response to what we had tosay," he said.

Kelly A. Bowdren '94, who in the last issuepenned the articles on RUS and Women's Studies10b, says she agrees. Bowdren is a Peninsulacouncilor and spokesperson and is also a Crimsoneditor.

"[The response from Women's Studies] has been alot quieter because frankly they don't want tostart a lot of noise," says Bowdren. "If they do,that committee will never come a department."

And Bowdren says she thinks RUS's reaction toher recent article was toned down for similarreasons.

"RUS is best not seen in the light," she says,"and therefore they don't want to start acontroversy."

But Wexler says the articles in the issue wereanything but cogent persuasive and that the pollof undergraduate women, a centerpiece of thearticle, was conducted unfairly.

Peninsula randomly surveyed 120 undergraduatewomen between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10:30 onThursday, November 4. The poll found that 50percent of those surveyed did not know what theletters RUS stood for.

But Wexler points out that RUS meetings occurat 7:30 p.m. on Thursday nights, and often run forover an hour. Thus, many knowledgeableundergraduate women may have been excluded fromthe polling base.

And Wexler says the attention a protest drawswas a factor in RUS's decision not to respondofficially to this year's feminism issue.

"Someone suggested having a rally," she says."but we thought that would emphasize the issueeven more."

Bowdren also acknowledges thatopposition to a publication's ideas is often whatelevates them to prominence.

When the conservative tab first came out threeyears ago, few thought it would have muchinfluence on campus debate.

"I don't think that too many people on thiscampus would find their invocations oftraditionalism to be at all believable in this dayand age," said Jarrett T. Barrios '91 in a Crimsonarticle about the publication's first release.Barrios was co-chair of the BGLSA in 1990-91.

Attitudes toward the magazine quickly changed,however, when Peninsula released a 56-page doubleissue on homosexuality in November 1991.

The issue contained a host of articles coveringevery facet of the homosexual debate. It featuredan exploding pink triangle, an emblem of gayidentity, on its cover.

"We do believe that homosexuality is bad forsociety, that it can harm even those who might nototherwise seem affected by it," the issue'sintroduction read. "More importantly, we think itis bad for individuals; submitting to thehomosexual 'lifestyle' can destroy individualsemotionally, physically, and spiritually."

Over the next week, the BGLSA arranged eat-insat the Freshman Union and Lowell House and a Yardrally. At the rally. Plummer Professor ofChristian Morals and minister of Memorial ChurchRev. Peter J. Gomes declared his homosexuality forthe first time.

Gomes, in a guest commentary for The Crimsonthat November, said he thought the issue was wellpresented.

"I am surprised," he wrote, "that it is sowell-written: I found not a single splitinfinitive..it has a comprehensive attention-spanfor the subject."

The campus furor over Peninsula's homosexualityissue put the journal in the spotlight, provokednewspaper coverage and gave the magazine anotorious reputation as "the" conservative andcontroversial campus publication.

"Peter Gomes, along with the BGLSA, made our[November 1991] issue, without a doubt," Bowdrensays. "It forced people to read the issue, to keepabreast of the topic."

But without the protests, Peninsula seems tohave recently faded into the myriad of campusjournals.

Out of 100 people randomly called by TheCrimson, only a handful said they had read anyPeninsula issues this semester.

One writer, who wishes to remain anonymous,believes few students actually read the journal,which is door dropped to all campus dormitories.

"The pieces are well reasoned, but not so manypeople read them," the writer says.

Students polled who read Peninsula say theydisagree with most of what the magazine prints.

"I don't think they're factual," says E. AndrewGriswold '97, one of the students polled. "I agreewith a lot of the opinions in there, but I don'talways think they give the other sides a fairshake."

Another student who participated in the surveyis dismissive of the journal.

"I think they're all pretty much bigots," saysMichelle Lai '97, one of the students polled."It's not really convincing. It's really obviousthat the people writing are from an exclusivegroup."

But Bowdren says the magazine has more alliesthan people are willing to acknowledge.

"One of the things that everyone seems not topay attention to is that we get supportive phonecalls," she says. "That's the characterization ofPeninsula that no one likes to realize."

In fact, Peninsula's councillors,guardians and auxiliares are actually a tight-knitstaff, what members call the "Peninsula family."

"[The titles are] loosely based on the PlatonicRepublic," he says. "We wanted to keep ahierarchical structure, but at the same time takeaway some of the potential for personality clashesthat you find in other magazines."

Peninsula staffers say the opinions they sharemakes the magazine a haven for conservatives."They're aren't many of us on campus," says SarahA. Gervase '97.

Bowdren says she feels the familial nature ofPeninsula is important.

"Given the ideology espoused by most members of Peninsula, most likely they would be shunned anywhere else," says Bowdren.

According to McGuire, one of the magazine'sgoals is to comfort conservatives who feelisolated on campus.

"We feel that there are people who think likeus on a variety of issues, who for understandablereasons don't want to let everyone know they sharethese opinions, at least in as close minded acommunity as Harvard," McGuire says.

"Principally, Peninsula serves to say to thesepeople. 'Hey, there are others like you here.Don't compromise your principles. You're right andhere are the reasons why you're right,"' he adds.

McGuire says the magazine has largely succeededin establishing a united front for right-wingissues.

"What Peninsula set out to do from the verybeginning was to generate a team effort in termsof representing the conservative voice," McGuiresays.

Peninsula often places ads exhorting campusconservatives to find their ideological soulmatesby writing for the publication. An ad in the mostrecent issue urges students to join the "Peninsulafamily." Earlier issues encourage right-wingers to"find out who [their] real friends are."

Although Peninsula may often divide thecampus, McGuire says the staff writers rarelydisagree with one another.

"People that join Peninsula know where westand," he says. "The core group share the sameset of beliefs. I can't say that Peninsula suffersfrom internal dissent at all."

But according to one writer, the magazinesometimes goes too far.

"Often times I think they might intentionallyby trying to be inflammatory," the writer says. "Ithink the current leaders are having a tough timefilling the shoes of the old guard," the writeradds.

One way the magazine can revitalize itself,according to the writer, is to move more towardthe political center.

"There has to be some sort of image control,"the writer says. "[The magazine should come] intothe mainstream, but without kowtowing to thecampus's liberal bias."

But McGuire says trying to appease the publicweakens conservative thought. He cites The HarvardSalient as a publication that has failed to be astrong right wing force.

"When the conservative voice is muted as itis," he says, "why spend time as The Salient hasdone in a recent issue, attacking Rush Limbaugh?Sure, he doesn't stand up to the intellectualstandards of a Harvard, but when you have twoconservative magazines on campus, do you reallywant to pick on your allies in those few pagesthat you have?"

And Peninsula's conservative voice has effectedchange, according to staffers. "I went back toWomen's Studies 10b this semester and listened tothe first lecture," she says. "There was a lotthat changed."

Although many strongly disagree with thepublication's views, McGuire says he is notdiscouraged.

"I think Emerson said it best," he says. "'Tobe great is to be misunderstood.' If that's true,we're the greatest publication since theFederalist Papers."

G. Brent McGuire '95, a Peninsula councilor andspokesperson, attributes the relative silencesurrounding the feminism to issue to itspersuasive nature.

"I think to some extent the lack of a visiblereaction to the feminism issue was simply afunction of the fact that our arguments are socogent," he says. "I'm not sure the feminists oncampus had so much of a response to what we had tosay," he said.

Kelly A. Bowdren '94, who in the last issuepenned the articles on RUS and Women's Studies10b, says she agrees. Bowdren is a Peninsulacouncilor and spokesperson and is also a Crimsoneditor.

"[The response from Women's Studies] has been alot quieter because frankly they don't want tostart a lot of noise," says Bowdren. "If they do,that committee will never come a department."

And Bowdren says she thinks RUS's reaction toher recent article was toned down for similarreasons.

"RUS is best not seen in the light," she says,"and therefore they don't want to start acontroversy."

But Wexler says the articles in the issue wereanything but cogent persuasive and that the pollof undergraduate women, a centerpiece of thearticle, was conducted unfairly.

Peninsula randomly surveyed 120 undergraduatewomen between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10:30 onThursday, November 4. The poll found that 50percent of those surveyed did not know what theletters RUS stood for.

But Wexler points out that RUS meetings occurat 7:30 p.m. on Thursday nights, and often run forover an hour. Thus, many knowledgeableundergraduate women may have been excluded fromthe polling base.

And Wexler says the attention a protest drawswas a factor in RUS's decision not to respondofficially to this year's feminism issue.

"Someone suggested having a rally," she says."but we thought that would emphasize the issueeven more."

Bowdren also acknowledges thatopposition to a publication's ideas is often whatelevates them to prominence.

When the conservative tab first came out threeyears ago, few thought it would have muchinfluence on campus debate.

"I don't think that too many people on thiscampus would find their invocations oftraditionalism to be at all believable in this dayand age," said Jarrett T. Barrios '91 in a Crimsonarticle about the publication's first release.Barrios was co-chair of the BGLSA in 1990-91.

Attitudes toward the magazine quickly changed,however, when Peninsula released a 56-page doubleissue on homosexuality in November 1991.

The issue contained a host of articles coveringevery facet of the homosexual debate. It featuredan exploding pink triangle, an emblem of gayidentity, on its cover.

"We do believe that homosexuality is bad forsociety, that it can harm even those who might nototherwise seem affected by it," the issue'sintroduction read. "More importantly, we think itis bad for individuals; submitting to thehomosexual 'lifestyle' can destroy individualsemotionally, physically, and spiritually."

Over the next week, the BGLSA arranged eat-insat the Freshman Union and Lowell House and a Yardrally. At the rally. Plummer Professor ofChristian Morals and minister of Memorial ChurchRev. Peter J. Gomes declared his homosexuality forthe first time.

Gomes, in a guest commentary for The Crimsonthat November, said he thought the issue was wellpresented.

"I am surprised," he wrote, "that it is sowell-written: I found not a single splitinfinitive..it has a comprehensive attention-spanfor the subject."

The campus furor over Peninsula's homosexualityissue put the journal in the spotlight, provokednewspaper coverage and gave the magazine anotorious reputation as "the" conservative andcontroversial campus publication.

"Peter Gomes, along with the BGLSA, made our[November 1991] issue, without a doubt," Bowdrensays. "It forced people to read the issue, to keepabreast of the topic."

But without the protests, Peninsula seems tohave recently faded into the myriad of campusjournals.

Out of 100 people randomly called by TheCrimson, only a handful said they had read anyPeninsula issues this semester.

One writer, who wishes to remain anonymous,believes few students actually read the journal,which is door dropped to all campus dormitories.

"The pieces are well reasoned, but not so manypeople read them," the writer says.

Students polled who read Peninsula say theydisagree with most of what the magazine prints.

"I don't think they're factual," says E. AndrewGriswold '97, one of the students polled. "I agreewith a lot of the opinions in there, but I don'talways think they give the other sides a fairshake."

Another student who participated in the surveyis dismissive of the journal.

"I think they're all pretty much bigots," saysMichelle Lai '97, one of the students polled."It's not really convincing. It's really obviousthat the people writing are from an exclusivegroup."

But Bowdren says the magazine has more alliesthan people are willing to acknowledge.

"One of the things that everyone seems not topay attention to is that we get supportive phonecalls," she says. "That's the characterization ofPeninsula that no one likes to realize."

In fact, Peninsula's councillors,guardians and auxiliares are actually a tight-knitstaff, what members call the "Peninsula family."

"[The titles are] loosely based on the PlatonicRepublic," he says. "We wanted to keep ahierarchical structure, but at the same time takeaway some of the potential for personality clashesthat you find in other magazines."

Peninsula staffers say the opinions they sharemakes the magazine a haven for conservatives."They're aren't many of us on campus," says SarahA. Gervase '97.

Bowdren says she feels the familial nature ofPeninsula is important.

"Given the ideology espoused by most members of Peninsula, most likely they would be shunned anywhere else," says Bowdren.

According to McGuire, one of the magazine'sgoals is to comfort conservatives who feelisolated on campus.

"We feel that there are people who think likeus on a variety of issues, who for understandablereasons don't want to let everyone know they sharethese opinions, at least in as close minded acommunity as Harvard," McGuire says.

"Principally, Peninsula serves to say to thesepeople. 'Hey, there are others like you here.Don't compromise your principles. You're right andhere are the reasons why you're right,"' he adds.

McGuire says the magazine has largely succeededin establishing a united front for right-wingissues.

"What Peninsula set out to do from the verybeginning was to generate a team effort in termsof representing the conservative voice," McGuiresays.

Peninsula often places ads exhorting campusconservatives to find their ideological soulmatesby writing for the publication. An ad in the mostrecent issue urges students to join the "Peninsulafamily." Earlier issues encourage right-wingers to"find out who [their] real friends are."

Although Peninsula may often divide thecampus, McGuire says the staff writers rarelydisagree with one another.

"People that join Peninsula know where westand," he says. "The core group share the sameset of beliefs. I can't say that Peninsula suffersfrom internal dissent at all."

But according to one writer, the magazinesometimes goes too far.

"Often times I think they might intentionallyby trying to be inflammatory," the writer says. "Ithink the current leaders are having a tough timefilling the shoes of the old guard," the writeradds.

One way the magazine can revitalize itself,according to the writer, is to move more towardthe political center.

"There has to be some sort of image control,"the writer says. "[The magazine should come] intothe mainstream, but without kowtowing to thecampus's liberal bias."

But McGuire says trying to appease the publicweakens conservative thought. He cites The HarvardSalient as a publication that has failed to be astrong right wing force.

"When the conservative voice is muted as itis," he says, "why spend time as The Salient hasdone in a recent issue, attacking Rush Limbaugh?Sure, he doesn't stand up to the intellectualstandards of a Harvard, but when you have twoconservative magazines on campus, do you reallywant to pick on your allies in those few pagesthat you have?"

And Peninsula's conservative voice has effectedchange, according to staffers. "I went back toWomen's Studies 10b this semester and listened tothe first lecture," she says. "There was a lotthat changed."

Although many strongly disagree with thepublication's views, McGuire says he is notdiscouraged.

"I think Emerson said it best," he says. "'Tobe great is to be misunderstood.' If that's true,we're the greatest publication since theFederalist Papers."