Blegen invites colonels for talk on military

Sarah Brown Guest Writer

On Thursday, Oct. 27 Colonel Oak de Berg and Colonel Joellen de Berg spoke at Taylor Hall about their experiences in the military. Oak de Berg spoke primarily about the “gays in the military” debate and his case for a universal draft. Colonel Joellen de Berg spoke about her life as a female officer, a pioneer in the rights of women in the armed services, and her trials getting into the Air Force. Both colonels expressed a positive view of the military, yet were critical of a number of military and political policies. “It was refreshing to hear people who were in favor of the military yet hold more liberal stances on military issues,” said Kirsten Boreen ’09, who attended the event.

The event was sponsored by Blegen House, which is part of the Campus Life Office, and is the center for the Study of Social Change staffed by people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer communities at Vassar, as well as the Women’s Studies department. Director of Blegen House John Schoonbeck was good friends with the couple in high school and asked them to speak when he realized that they had a lot to say that was relevant to the Vassar community.

One of the most unique features of the Blegen-sponsored event was that students and faculty had the opportunity to hear the colonels speak in the parlors of Lathrop and Main before the main presentation in Taylor, and then were able to attend a “wrap-up” reception at Main Dorm. According to Blegen House Intern Dustin Kight ’06, there has been a push from administration to hold more “academic” programs in dorms, and this event seemed to be a perfect opportunity to use this approach. “Often students are frustrated with not being able to attend events at specific times, but because our event spanned seven to ten o’clock, with an informal gathering of the co-sponsors at Blegen house at six, it seemed more students were able to accommodate the event to their schedules,” said Kight.

Upcoming Blegen-sponsored events include a talk given by Vassar dad Dr. Meltzer about his trail-blazing work in the field of sex reassignment surgery without extinguishing sexual feelings in the genitals of patients post-surgery. The event will take place on Nov. 5 in Rocky 200 and is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center.

From Tuesday, Nov. 15 through Wednesday, Nov. 16 Blegen is co-sponsoring with Professor of English Judith Nichols the American Friends Service Commission (AFSC) exhibit “Eyes Wide Open,” a display of the boots and slippers of the dead in Iraq. The exhibit will take place on the lawn in front of Alumnae House along Raymond Avenue. Finally, in mid-November, Blegen will host an art exhibit organized by Anna Gutman ’06 under the loosely defined theme “Sexuality, Gender and Body Issues.” Blegen will also co-sponsor with Intersextions (the Queer Students of Color group on campus), the Sociology Department, Women’s Studies and Africana Studies the visit of acclaimed gay and minority rights activist and author Keith Boykin. For more information on Blegen programming and events, visit Blegen’s website, blegenhouse.vassar.edu.