An Open Letter To Charles McCaslin:

Your voice can now be heard all over the internet bragging about hooking up with a young woman and using deplorable anti-gay hate speech to refer to your enemies.

When Spectrum, SMU’s LGBT+Allies organization, heard these remarks, we chose to respond. We hope that you (and the rest of the SMU community that has been impacted by your harsh words) take the time to listen to our voices by reading this letter that has been compiled from several letters written by members of Spectrum and WIN.

– Melissa Michael, Co-President of Spectrum

Dear Charles McCaslin,

To some, this may be just another video of a drunk guy saying more than he should have, but to us, this is a representation of everything we are fighting against: inequality.

No matter where you are, you will always represent your sex, gender, generation, political party, community, and your school. Your harsh words have put the SMU community at risk, as well as contributed to the perpetuation of various systems of oppression beyond our university’s walls.

Your comments show a sense of ignorance and a lack of awareness that, especially as a Hunt Scholar, recognized for your qualities of leadership, should not exist.

SMU already has the stigma of being overly conservative, intolerant, and homophobic. As many people and organizations all over campus are fighting against these negative stereotypes, comments and public expressions of immaturity like yours are pushing back progress and greatly affecting the prestigious image of our university.

In your “formal apology” that was printed in the Daily Campus on April 1st, you dealt primarily with your image and the impact you had on the College Republican community, rather than focusing on those whom you have actually offended.

We do not tolerate the degradation of women as sex objects whom you “hook up” with, the bashing of those who put great emphasis on their studies, or those who do not identify as heterosexual. It is clear from your apology that you still maintain your homophobic and sexist beliefs. This is unacceptable.

Your words are not the words of the SMU community and we applaud everyone in the College Republicans organization and at SMU that have denounced the things you said as inappropriate and objectionable.

Spectrum, the Women’s Center, and the SMU community as a whole are accepting of people at this university, regardless of how they identify or are perceived. It is our hope that everyone on this campus feels that they are part of an environment where they are safe to express themselves and never have to encounter comments like those you made so carelessly and callously.

The National Day of Silence is coming up. We hope that you will join us on April 15th in standing up against derogatory language and intolerance by being silent for one day and truly making the effort to understand the people – people just like you – whom your words have impacted.

– Spectrum

Spectrum is a chartered student organization that seeks to provide a safe haven where people of all sexual orientations and gender identities can openly express their experiences and thoughts about LGBT issues on campus and beyond.

Melissa Michael is the President of Spectrum and can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].