Is Dustin Lance Black strongly opinionated? We’d argue yes. Strongly opinionated about gay rights. Strongly opinionated about nobody seeing his sex photos. And, likely, strongly opinionated that Hope College’s decision to ban him from its Michigan campus is ridiculous.
Black, who’s nearby filming What’s Wrong With Virginia, was invited to take part in two different events at the school: speaking to a screenwriting class at the school, and taking part in a roundtable discussion on sexuality. But neither opportunities were “educational” enough for Hope College Dean of Students Richard Frost, who the Holland Sentinel reports “said that from past experience, strongly-opinionated speakers usually don’t further academic discussions about gay, lesbian or transgender issues.”
Hope students originally requested a showing of “Milk” along with a panel discussion, which was not approved by the college. Subsequently, several college administrators, faculty and students met to discuss the two separate events — the class visit to discuss screenwriting, and the screening and discussion of the film — and the decision was made to go ahead with the invitation for the class visit.
Not everyone is so pleased with the decision. Namely, students. Particularly the queer ones. There’s this letter to the editor arguing Black’s pedigree is reason enough to invite him to campus, and this note we received from Timothy Brandt, who describes himself as a “GLBT Hope College student”:
Essentially, both our group and a screenwriting class wanted to host Black on campus. The Administration (i.e., the President and Board) chose to allow Black to speak to the class about his process as a screenwriter (How is the influence of being gay NOT going to come up there?), but told GSF that we were not allowed to host Black for an academic Q&A (after a showing of “Milk”) on the topic of facilitating healthy discussion about the issue of homosexuality in communities, both Hope College’s and Holland, Michigan’s. Eight departments had already told us they would support the academic nature of the event, but the Dean indicated that the Administration’s “position was non-negotiable.”
The President and Board’s reasons for their decision: “The dean of students enumerated two reasons for this decision. First, ‘Dustin Lance Black’s advocacy would be too strong for campus.’ Second, the event and Dustin Lance Black would ‘polarize’ the campus, prompting counter responses from other groups that would further impede the discussion of these emotionally charged topics. In addition, concerns were raised about donor support, which could place stress on the college’s finances” (excerpt from GSF’s statement to the editor and campus).
Students on both sides of the homosexuality culture war are outraged that their college’s administration doesn’t think they’re mature enough to discuss important issues on campus respectfully, or even sanely. Doesn’t our school have a Communications department? And what kind of spineless nitwits do Hope’s donors want the college to produce? Homosexuality isn’t going away. The pissed-off and hurt students aren’t going away. The Administration is censoring academic discussion of one of the great social issues of our time. Sounds like the dark ages to me.
Dark ages, indeed. Which explains why college students were rallying earlier this month after the administration’s decision. Here’s The Anchor‘s Oct. 14 frontpage:
What’s next? Banning cross-dressing because it’s too distracting for college kids?
The entire premise of keeping Black off campus is ridiculous. Colleges are supposed to foster worldly leaders. Censorship isn’t the way to do this. Then again, remember that Hope College is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. As the school’s website notes, “Its great religious heritage is expressed through a dynamic Christian community of students and teachers vitally concerned with a relevant faith that changes lives and transforms society.” But didn’t RCA, in 2005, approve a recommendation “to immediately begin an honest and intentional denomination-wide dialogue on homosexuality”? Yes, yes they did.
And do you know how best to have a dialogue?
BY HAVING A DIALOGUE.
Lady Kiki Worthington
Dustin should have been invited. Pro-barebacking people deserve a place at the table.
Wonka
Lady,,He is pro barebacking ? where does he state this?
Justin
Black was scheduled to host a general discussion after a screening of Milk here at the University of South Carolina last month. It got canceled the day before the event with no explanation – we’re still trying to figure out what happened there.
terrwill
I figured there would be at least three or four posts prior to mention of the “bareback incident”…….. 😛
Cam
Wait, so they had the chance to have an oscar winning screenwriter come to their out of the way college in Mi to discuss the movie he scripted and they turned it down? It’s amazing, that would have gotten the college a decent amount of attention from places outside Michigan. That is publicity it’s hard to buy. It’s amazing that the president of the colleges bigotry is more important to him than bringing in more attention and money to the college. So he’s a bigot AND a bad businessman, neither should be in charge of an institution of higher learning.
Just looked it up, no shock it’s a christian college, and here are some upcoming events there…THESE were apparently more important than getting an Oscar winner to show up……
Exhibition: “Art of Margaret Cogswell: River Fugues” DePree Art Gallery, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
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The Last Lecture Series “Can You Count?” by Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of religion and chairperson of the department of religion, Maas Auditorium, 7 p.m. The Last Lecture Series gives Hope professors and faculty the chance to reflect on life and impart wisdom as they respond to the question, “If this was the last lecture of your career, what would you say?” Sponsored by Mortar Board honorary society.
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Hope College Concert Series features Osso String Quartet, DM Stith and a showing of Sufjan Stevens’ “The BQE”, Dimnent Memorial Chapel, 8 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door, and will be $10 for the general public and $5 with Hope College or Calvin College I.D.
Colin
He should be banned. People sending messages about unsafe sex shouldn’t be around young people. Dustin is disgusting.
extrabatteries
@Colin: agreed, i lost my respect for him as a public voice when the photos got out. he can create great artwork, and convey universal messages through other mediums, but as far as speaking on his own behalf, that ended with a click to perez hiltons douchebag blog.
Landon Bryce
Wow. I’ve had sex without a condom, even though I know I shouldn’t have. I wouldn’t today. But if one of my partners took a picture of us and sold it, Colin would see me as sending messages about unsafe sex. Black was virtually sexually assaulted by having a private moment from his life made public against his wishes. He is not a bareback porn star, and writing about him as though he had chosen to make those message public is evil.
But then I’m wondering why he would consider going to this dump at all after being demonized. The students chose a bigoted college that treated a guest speaker with no respect. They are not cool enough to get to hear Dustin Lance Black.
Disgusted American
I agree with Landon Byrce 100% – BRAVO!
Charles
Wow Colin. How do you know that when those pics were taken, that Dustin was not in a monogamous relationship, and that both he and his partner were not recently tested for hiv?!?!? get off your f-ing high horse. I think the school was stupid for not letting an oscar winning screenwriter share his experience and knowledge with the students.
extrabatteries
@charles: youre completely wrong. his ‘partner’ was adult porn star and founder of the adult site fratboycam.com jeff delancy. so ya, non-monogamous unprotected sex with a porn star, and then wanting to speak about sexuality is hypocritical – that is the problem, documentation of the event popping up on perez hilton didn’t help.
Charles
I stand corrected.
Landon Bryce
Extra batteries:
Please check out the actual facts of the story before you continue to spread lies:
http://www.iptrademarkattorney.com/2009/08/copyright-dustin-lance-black-starzlife-right-privacy-publicity-lawsuit.html
Black was involved in a relationship with Delancy and betrayed by him. No one who exhibited those pictures thought Black gave permission for them to be taken. Anyone continuing to attack Black based on those pictures is continuing a crime against him. Certainly, no one has accused Black of being less sexually ethical than Dan Savage admits to being, right? He is non-monogamous and does not use condoms with his boyfriend.
vernonvanderbilt
For fuck’s sake, people. If you want to discount his message because of a few pics floating around on the internet, I wonder whose opinion you would respect. Shit. You’re acting like you’ve never made any mistakes in your lifetime. You think because one of his was photographed that puts you on the moral high ground? I’d rather have a thoughtful, articulate, creative man like Black speaking out for us than a catty, miserable, holier-than-thou queen like some of you on this site. Haters gotta hate, I guess. Any target will do, no?
Yuki
My god, people on this site are bitchy! He made a mistake, so what? He’s advocating safety, and there’s very little problem with doing bareback when you’re in a monogamous relationship.
extrabatteries
im not criticising the documentation of the problem. im saying should a guy who dates porn stars really be gifted the moral stage to talk to young gays about sexual responsibility. the answer is no, photos or not. the issue was never about whether he made a mistake, its whether or not he has evolved from that time into someone capable of being a standard bearer as a gay role model. i say he isnt, his personal life is something completely different than his profession, and separate from his life as an artist. i have no problems with him talking about gay rights in the context of his work or artwork, but when it comes to his personal life, there is a lot to be questioned about him being a role model. if you dont ask these questions, or at least have a decent reason why those questions arent relevant, you are basically fueling the right and their ability to de-legitamize gay morals and values. this is exactly why we are so easily steam roled on family values, there are a lot of us who want to see not someone squeaky clean, but someone who has the conviction to represent those values in more than just in a lecture. nothing bitchy about it, its a fact, here is where we stand, here is what we need, here is how we are seen, here is where we want to be, its proper to question ‘does this bring us closer to where we want to be’. i say it doesnt, black makes a great artist, but isnt a pillar when it comes to being a personal role model.
rudy
No. 5 · Colin
Artists are not and never have been role models.
If you don’t want to listen to any music by composers who helped spread and died of STDs and HIV, that’s your personal decision, but it has as much business in the running of a university as a Baptist preacher’s insistence that creationism be taught in biology class.
Cam
So Colin, since Martin Luthor King Jr. cheated on his wife nobody should take anything he had to say into account? If the doctor who was saving your best friends life smoked pot in college you should not allow them to oporate on your friend? etc… Give it a rest, your weirdly overeacting attitude to that situation comes off too false. You are most likely either some anti-gay person posting on here in disguise, or you are the king of unsafe sex and are actually pissed at your own behavior. I can’t think of anything else that explains just how freakily over the top you are about that.
Colin
I will stay on my “high horse” thank you. If you bothered to follow the story that broke months ago about Dustin Lance Black you would have known that he was not in an LTR with the guy that he took sex photos with. He shouldn’t have been having unsafe sex. Dustin isn’t a child the man is pushing 40 and should know better. He has positioned himself as a voice for the younger generation. I’m just saying he isn’t the best voice to be talking to/for our community.
As for everyone making DLB the victim because the photos got out publically…..puh-leeze knock it off. Someone who is really that concerned about cocks being seen shoved up their holes without conodoms wouldn’t have allowed a camera to be in the vicinty when he is having sex. he works in the film world so i’m sure that he knows how a camera works. he is smart enough to win an academy award but not smart enough to keep his private life private.
I like being on my high horse. It’s Dustin bareback who has been elevated in our community who shoouldn’t have been elevated.
time for me to trot off!!
Landon Bryce
Colin:
I sincerely hope that your most embarrassing moments are shared against your wishes with the world.
And I hope no one shows you more compassion or mercy than you show others.
You are disgusting.
extrabatteries
wow lance, you dont get it do you? colin, you are spot on. answer me this, how could someone who preaches responsible drinking also be caught on camera drunk driving and continue preaching without skipping a beat? do you think the only issue that would be brought up is whether the photos should have been released?
no one seems to want to deal with the content of the photos, and their implications towards black as a public face. there is a difference between being a person standing at the front of the movement and standing behind an idea where the idea is at the forefront; the idea cannot be corrupted by the actions of one individual. i dont think any less of black as a person, i dont care much for what he does or doesnt do in his personal life. but once that info is out there, i think its a shame to give him a free pass without addressing it. the breech of the right to privacy cannot blind us to what was revealed at the expense of the legitimacy of the whole of us.
Landon Bryce
Here’s the deal, Extra Betteries,
Most people have sexual indiscretions in their lives. If you’ve never done anything that could hurt your reputation if pictures were sold for money, no wonder you are so eaten with jealousy and hatred. You need to stop worrying about Dustin Lance Black and either get laid or get therapy.
Cam
I’m curious. If the photos were of Dustin Lance Black having unprotected sex with a woman would any of these people be freaking out? Of course not. Sounds like there is still a weird little bit of “Gay Sex Is Bad” thought floating around in their minds.
Amy
I’m a 2006 Hope grad and an out lesbian. As part of the 2005 protests against the administration for censoring a Hope professor…I’m outraged and embarrassed that this represents my alma matter!
extrabatteries
@landon: sorry douchebag, i am not putting my face at the front of a movement if my actions would hurt that movement. if you dont see how putting someone ‘hollywood’ who barebacks porn stars, lets it be photographed *hello what else would a porn producer do with those photos?* and then decide you are now capable of being the face of the movement? sorry, he can be your posterboy, but i think my generation is continuously let down by having ‘advocates’ like this speak for the majority.
@cam: so you wouldnt mind a straight political activist who was caught on tape with a porn star? gay isnt the issue, gay sex is awesome, having what it takes to be a leader is what im addressing.
Landon Bryce
Extrabatteries:
Gay men love to rip each other down.
That’s what we need to get past more than anything else.
Gay people need to work hard on developing a sense of loyalty to each other. By attacking Black, you help destroy someone who has done great things for you, if you are actually a gay man and not a trolling bigot. I’m not defending Black’s actions here, but he is not defending them either.
extrabatteries
lovely landon, lovely. you ignore every point i have made. what does gay have to do with it? leadership role belong to leaders. what qualities does he posses as a leader that gives him a free pass to blaze past the scandal? he hasnt addressed how his personal actions reflect or dont reflect his ability to speak on behalf of the community. i expect those who want to stand in the front and be the face of the community go through some sort of vetting. i believe 100% that he is an honest and true fierce advocate for lgbt rights. i dont debate his talents as a filmmaker, as speechwriter, or as a soldier for equal rights. i do however mind putting him as the face of a movement while he barebacks porn stars. plain and simple, he hasnt addressed how this effects his ability to speak on behalf of the community.
Landon Bryce
Extra batteries accuses me of ignoring him. That’s because he ignores the facts of the case is so opinionated about. He ignores both the facts and Black’s statement regarding it:
“It is unfortunate that individuals and other outside parties are trying to profit from material which is clearly private. I have had the privilege to speak to people across the country, both gay and straight, on a number of critical issues including safe sex. More important than the embarrassment of this incident is the misleading message these images send. I apologize and cannot emphasize enough the importance of responsible sexual practices.”
extrabatteries
and once again, he hasnt addressed how this effects his ability to speak on behalf of the community. if the consensus is that we, as a whole, dont mind if our leaders are out-gay hypocrites caught with their pants down then we have a winner. but somehow we mind if they are closeted republican senators in a airport bathroom, or democratic governor with a call girl?
a prodigal son needs to leaver before he comes back. i am not ok with black simply slipping from scandal to limelight; its a troubling precedent. i can think of better gay leaders to speak to kids about safe sex, none of which are barebacking porn stars at the moment. there something you dont get about the gay community – its based on diversity, and not everyone has to think hes the bees knees.
Hydrater
Extrabatteries:
but somehow we mind if they are closeted republican senators in a airport bathroom, or democratic governor with a call girl?
It’s the hypocrisy there that’s at issue (and law breaking). Did Black break the law here?
You aren’t going to be able to control individual behavior, or past statements and actions. You will never have a perfect representative. That’s not how it works.
Landon Bryce
Extra batteries:
How many gay men working in Hollywood with Black’s access and looks have not dated porn stars? None of the ones I’ve talked with enough to trust what they told me, actually. The worlds intersect a lot more than you apparently think they do.
You equate Dustin Black with Larry Craig and Elliot Spitzer. Black has never voted for anti-gay laws. He has never claimed to be an agent for sanctimonious moral clean up. If you want me to engaged with your ideas, you need to make them less stupid.
Black is not a hypocrite– where has he said he was perfect? Having worked with kids, I can tell you that you that he would be able to speak more effectively from his position– “I did something dumb, it hurt me, don’t do it”– than from a pedestal of pretended perfection.
If you really believe that the gay community was based on diversity, why do you want Black marginalized within it? You have not just expressed an opinion– you have repeatedly
ccrunner
Dustin was asked to come and talk about being a Gay Male in a society where it is not entirely acceptable. He wasn’t asked to come and talk about sex, or the actions of which or protection. It was for the pure sake of having a well-known gay man share his experiences and how to deal with the public, media etc.
As for the screenwriting class, it was just that, how does one convert a book, story, or whatever into a movie. Yet again, nothing to do with sex, safe or non safe. This group wasn’t asking to host him for his sexuality or orientation but for the experience of talking to an OSCAR WINNING WRITER.
Colin
Landon, I’m happy to put my life on display. I’m not ashamed of my life….profesionally or personally. If Black didn’t want sex pics released why did he take the photos?!?!? This is 2009 and not 1999. Do people really think they are going to get out? Trust me, I’m not ashamed of all the men I have slept with and there have been a lot, BUT the difference between me and Black is that I don’t take photos for everyone to see. If Dustin were younger I would have a little more sympathy for a mistake, but he did this in his early 30s. he should have known better and he shouldn’t be surprised about the consequences.
Landon Bryce
Colin,
The pictures were taken in 2006, not 2009. That’s a significant difference.
Of course, Black did not give permission for nude pictures to be taken and demanded that they be erased.
You ignore those facts when you judge him.
“Blame the victim” is a game that never goes out of style, but it is always wrong.
Tylertime
Landon,
If I do my math correctly in 2006 DLB was over 30 and should have known better. In 2006 there had been plenty of celeb sex tapes out (Paris Hilton, Pam Anderson, Kim Kardashian, Colin Farell, etc).
A man who takes photos of himself having sex isn’t a victim you idiot. if the photos were taken with a hidden camera that is a different story. Also, a guy who has unsafe sex in this day an age and catches something isn’t a victim either.
insufferable_know_it_all
I thought he was in a monogomous relationship. He needs to sue the F*** out of Perez Hilton. I couldn’t believe that he actually did that to Dustin. That was the lowest betrayal of them all.
Landon Bryce
Tyler:
Why do you think Black “took photos of himself having sex?” No one involved has ever claimed that that was the situation– he did not believe the pictures taken included genital data and demanded that the pictures be deleted when he knew what they were. Are you a liar or do you know things contrary to the story both Black and Delancey have told?
louie
THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT NAKED PICTURES OF DUSTIN LANCE BLACK! Nor is it about Lance Black’s ability to be a leader, though I do believe that he is one in his own way.
I am a junior at Hope College. I’d like to point out that this article is about the students and the campus, and their RIGHTS as liberal arts students, supposedly trained in critique and analysis of all things, including our culture, to be allowed a space to talk about issues important to us. This article is about showing the ludicrousness of a college that renders its students “incapable of civil discussion!!”
And I’m embarrassed that it had to be my college.
Caroline
I go to Hope College and I’m glad they didn’t let Mr. Black speak. Based on what I have heard from my gay friends and what I have read he isn’t a positive role model. There are plenty of screenwriters out there. Invite someone else. Plain and simple.
MakeItNotBeTrue
1. Dustin Lance Black IS a hypocrite, no matter how you look at it. Date porn stars if you want to, get them in your movies (hello Brent Corrigan, is that you?), have unprotected sex, take pictures. Fine. But don’t go around preaching to young gay kids then.
2. He’s a pompous ass, going around WeHo with Oscar in hand when he first got it.
3. His script for “Milk” was soooo bad, it had to be completely revised by another writer, yet HE NEVER acknowledged or thanked his colleague.
4. What business does he have going to a Christian college knowing how they despise gays?
5. Who appointed him spokesperson for gays?
Atmobonomap
Just test the posting. Thanks! And delete please.
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