Dear editorial staff,

My identity is not open to discussion or debate, and I am tired of defending it.

I am writing in response to your decision to publish an opinion piece by Adrian Maldonado. It took me a week to decide if and how I might reply to this ill-informed work published by an award winning academic newspaper. At worst, this is an example of yellow journalism, and at best it is an embarrassing oversight.

I invite you and your readership to do some research on the topic of sexual orientation, including its history as a field of study, and the difficult—often brutal—stories of ignorance, violence, heartbreak and bloodshed that my Queer brothers and sisters can share. No one chooses sexual orientation, just as no one chooses to be ridiculed and tormented by individuals and institutions based on who they are.

My real problem is with The Et Cetera’s choice to publish this opinion piece in the first place. It is the stuff of tabloids, and seems aimed at reopening social wounds disguised as engendering dialogue. It was a shameful choice, and it is not a reflection of the vast majority of students I have worked with in my 14 years of teaching at Eastfield College.

Thank you,

David Willburn, Eastfield College Faculty